Thesis
"Creativity is a space without edges, without limitation, without a
full-stop...true and meaningful creativity is dangerous...it happens in the
shadows, in those cracks between the walls...you feel that nameless expanse
around you in order to possess the confidence to explore it...and then
gradually you give it a form, a name, a structure...and its thrilling..." Says Ben Ferris - Director
Ben Ferris
Ben Ferris studied Latin and Classical Greek at the University of Sydney, winning both the Salting Exhibition and Coopers Scholarship. In 1998 he graduated with First Class Honours after reconstructing the surviving fragments of the “Alexandros”, a play by the Athenian tragedian, Euripides.
Ben was the Director of the UBS Film School at the University of Sydney from 2000 – 2004, and in 2004 he was one of the founding partners of the Sydney Film School where he is currently Director.
Ben is a film writer / director / producer with Australian production company Artemis Projects. A pioneer of the global resurgence in “one take” cinema, Ben’s film “The Kitchen” screened alongside “Russian Ark” at the Inaugural One Take Film Festival held in Zagreb, Croatia in 2003. In 2004 he went on to win the Grand Prix at the same festival for his film “Ascension”. In 2006 he was invited back as an international jury member.
His film “The Kitchen”, which also screened at the prestigious L’Etrange Film Festival in Paris in 2004, attracted international critical acclaim by winning the Grand Prix at the Inaugural Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Festival held in Tokyo in 2005. It was selected for the 20th Singapore International Film Festival in April 2007. In 2007 “The Kitchen” had a theatrical release in Tokyo and worldwide DVD distribution.
Ben’s feature film “Penelope”, the first Australia-Croatia co-production, was released in Croatia in 2009 and in Australia in 2010, and in 2011 has received worldwide release on DVD. “Penelope” screened at the One Take Film Festival and 56th Pula Film Festival in Croatia, the Sydney Underground Film Festival and Australian Film Festival in Australia, and won the Van Gogh Award at the Amsterdam Film Festival in 2010.
In his capacity as Director of Sydney Film School he has also Executive Produced a host of award-winning student short films and documentaries, and in 2009 the multi-award winning Australian feature film “Three Blind Mice”.
Louise Wadley
Louise Wadley Writer/ Director / Producer graduated from the National Film School in UK and worked on a series of BBC, ITN Factual and Channel Four award winning Documentaries as well as Shooting and Directing the most repeated broadcast documentary in Ireland to date, "To Russia with Love", a Russian/ Irish production.
Louise wrote and directed a number of fiction shorts acquired by the BFI and now back in Sydney after over 20 years in the UK has several features in development including "She sells Seashells by the Seashore" about the life of a once famous, but now forgotten 18th Century palaeontologist.
Michael McLennan
Michael McLennan is a Sydney-based writer/director/producer/editor. His films as director are The Highwayman, Strangely Dim, Go Quickly, Why We Trade, Magpie and Small Things. His short film Go Quickly was awarded the Best Film at the 2007 Australia-Japan Student Film Forum, and was commended by the Dendy Film Awards in 2006. Other credits include a range of assignments as producer, editor (Rapt, Still, TGIF), sound designer (Augustine Confessions), director of photography (Liminal, Carry Me Home), and music editor (the feature film Penelopa). Since 2008, he has served as supervisor in the thesis film program at Sydney Film School, and also lectures in sound design and music for film. He is the only graduate of the school to have twice won the prestigious Chairman's Award, for the films The Highwayman and Go Quickly. In 2009, he founded the Secret Film Society, production cooperative of Sydney Film School students that went on to make 10 short films. In 2010, his short film Small Things premiered at the Zagreb One Take Film Festival.
Stefan Popescu
Stefan Popescu is an experimental filmmaker and PhD graduate in Media Arts. Stefan’s films have screened at various film festivals, galleries and on television programs. In 2005, Stefan screened a collection of his films in Thailand, at The National Gallery and at the 4th Experimental Film Festival. Stefan’s debut feature film, ‘Rosebery 7470’, has screened at Calgary International Film Festival (2006) and won Best Director and Best Actress at the 2006 Melbourne Underground Film Festival and is distributed by Accent Underground.
Stefan Popescu is also one of the directors and heads the programming for the Sydney Underground Film Festival. Additionally, Stefan is a part time lecturer at Sydney College of the Arts.
