AFTRS

We’re proud to be named in The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 15 International Film Schools for the 15th year running! The July edition lists us among the best film schools in the world, recognising our industry-driven programs and connections, helping to drive creative careers both at home and overseas. Ready to unleash your creative potential in film, television and audio at Australia’s national screen and audio school? Join us this Saturday, 9 August, for Open Day, and experience first hand what makes AFTRS one of the best Schools in the world. /lists/best-international-film-schools/australian-film-television-and-radio-school-7/   📸 Behind the scenes of The Mark with Inez Playford @inezplayford Photography by Monique Placko @mplackz @moniquethephotographer

It’s a wrap! Thanks to everyone who joined us today for Open Day!   The day was packed with hands-on studio activations, inspiring conversations, and expert advice to help you ace your application. Ideas were flowing, creativity was everywhere, and we loved welcoming you and sharing what makes AFTRS Australia’s national screen and audio school.   Who’s ready to apply?   📸 Flore Vallery-Radot @flore_vallery_radot

As part of our 50th celebration, we looked to the future and asked our staff and students what the next 50 years of storytelling will be about. Imagine along with us and let us know what you think.

We’re excited to share this scene from Quiet Night Thought, currently streaming on @abciview as part of the AFTRS Showcase. It appears alongside four additional films recently added to the slate — Bőr, Call It Anything, Set Menu and The Cop From Wagga. Created by the Master of Arts Screen classes of 2022/2023, these works are now being enjoyed by audiences across Australia following successful festival runs. Quiet Night Thought follows a couple paired together by a matchmaker, who ponder love, marriage and longing through letters exchanged from afar. The film is based on a personal love story set during the Great Leap Forward in 1950s China. The Master of Arts Screen short has been awarded gold in the Short Film category at the 2023 ACS QLD & NT Awards. Its successful festival run includes screenings at Flickerfest, Shanghai International Short Week, Rhode Island Film Festival, St Kilda Film Festival, CinefestOZ, Chinese New Year Southport Chinatown Festival, Darwin International Film Festival, Canada China International Film Festival, Westpac OpenAir Cinema, the Aussie & Kiwi Film Fest in Prague and the Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival. Watch Quiet Night Thought on ABC iView. Quiet Night Thought Crew: Writer – Celeste Franklin Director – Yuxin Cao Producer – Denis Curnow Cinematographer – Kevin Nguyen Editor – Sophie Daulby Production Designer – Anthony Catanzariti Sound Supervisor – Luke O’Loughlin Music – Madeleine Mallis

The @sydfilmfest launched its full program last week and we can’t wait to see the films screening at venues all over Sydney June 3-14. Congratulations to the crew from the Master of Arts Screen 2025 production ‘The Lounge’, screening in the Freak Me Out Program. Writer/Director: Nicola Sercombe Producer: David R. Priestly Cinematographer: Liam Coleman Costume Designer: Ellen Fitzgibbon Production Designer: Rikkili Clark Editor: Daniel McGarry Gallagher Sound Supervisor: Luis Rumbolo Music/Composer: Gaba Wright _______ And we’re so proud of the many AFTRS alum with a wide range of works in the line-up, including: Silenced (opening night) Editor: Bernadette Murray _ French Girls Sound Designer: Andrew Dean Dialogue Editor: Nathan Turnbull _ Whistle (Australian premiere) Director: Christopher Nelius _ Body Blow Director: Dean Francis _ Leviticus Director/Writer: Adrian Chiarella _ The Killings at Parrish Station Director: Daniel Nettheim Composer: Michael Yezerski Editor: Katrina Barker _ Boss Cat Director: Genevieve Clay-Smith Producer: Eleanor Winkler Editor: Adrian Rostirolla _ The Worm Director: Tom Noakes Producers: Lucy Gaffy, Will Goodfellow, Tom Noakes Editor: Lucas Baynes _ Saint Valentine Director: Vanessa Gazy Producers: Cyna Strachan, Liam Heyen Cinematographers: Grégoire Lière Editor: Anil Griffin _ Sugar Director: Simon C. Editor: Marcus Tran _ Raft Race Composer: Caleb Jacobs _ Mister Adidos DOP: Jack McAvoy Co-Producer: Eric Zac Perry 📸 The Lounge | Master of Arts Screen | 2025

Congratulations to all the filmmakers who will be screening their work at @stkildafilmfest in June. The program includes a selection of AFTRS films and work from AFTRS alumni: Acts of Protest | MA Screen: Documentary 2024 Director: Zebedee Parkes Producers: Zebedee Parkes, Cassie Charlton, Mike Luo Bringing His Spirit Home | MA Screen: Documentary 2024 Director: Dylan Nicholls Producers: Sophia Carolyn Wallace, Dylan Nicholls Fracture | MA Screen 2024 Director/Writer: Robin Kalus Producer: Greg Moran  Goodbye Fishies | BA Screen: Production 2024 Director: Jonathan Z. Writers: Taranitch Sriheyra, Saulan Beverly Yin‑Lo, Jonathan Zhang Producer: Sidney Im Interview with a Hero | MA Screen 2024 Director: Andy Diep Writers: Valentin Domont, Andy “Celeste” Diep Producer: Catherine van der Rijt Listen Carefully | MA Screen 2024 Director/Writer: Miki Clarke  Producers: Greg Moran, Miki Clarke Nothing and the Sun | BA Screen: Production 2024 Directors/Writers: Layla Philippou, Ruby Reardon Producer: Riti Ramanujachari River Town People | MA Screen: Documentary 2024 Director: Michelle Kaldy Producers: Michelle Kaldy, Jemma Craig See‑Saw | MA Screen 2024 Director/Writer: Nazareth Alfred Tuesday Tuesday | MA Screen 2024 Director: Lianne Mackessy Writers: Lianne Mackessy, Emily Sheehan  Producer: Catherine van der Rijt Ayana | BA Screen: Production 2024 Director: Saskia Faniis  Writer: Alexander Gasgoine  Producer: Elle Charalambu  First Contact | MA Screen 2025 Director: Maya Carmen  Producer: Alexander Holiday Flowers for Hamish | MA Screen 2024 Director: Laura Turner Writer: Lachlan Parry Producer: Chhayly Moek

We’re thrilled to share this moment from Call It Anything, now streaming on @abciview AFTRS Showcase, alongside four new films newly added to the slate: Bőr, Quiet Night Thought, Set Menu and The Cop From Wagga. Produced by the Master of Arts Screen classes of 2022/2023, these films are now reaching audiences nationwide after enjoying successful festival runs. Call It Anything tells the story of a son struggling to express his feelings to his mother. To convey what he cannot put into words, he enlists three musicians to translate his emotions into music, embarking on a personal journey that explores the complexity of emotions through the ecstasy of musical performance. The Master of Arts Screen short premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival, screened at SXSW Sydney as part of the NSW House program and represented Australian films at Festival Antipodes Saint-Tropez and the London Australian Film Festival. Watch Call It Anything on @abciview Call It Anything Crew: Director/Producer – Melvin Kwong Cinematographer – Jesse Philips Editor – Izzat Nadeem Sound Designer – Samuel Turner Music – Nodira Islam Cello - Lily Innis Guiter - Tobias Dracoulis Accordion - Lukas Maio

Meet Sarah Price who brought a business riddle to the MASB and found clarity through the tools and frameworks explored in the course. Since completing the program, Sarah has seen exponential growth in the screen sector in the Northern Territory, with her work gaining national recognition. She has received a Casting Guild of Australia Award for Best Casting in a TVC – Community in 2024 and Best Casting in a Short Film in 2025, and was also named a Rising Talent by Inside Film Magazine in 2025. Applications for the mid-year intake of the Master of Arts Screen: Business are open until Tuesday 2 June.

We are delighted to share this scene from Set Menu, a Master of Arts Screen production which brings the audience to dinner with Frances, who is denied the coveted set menu for dining alone at a famously exclusive restaurant and strikes an unexpected deal with a stranger to access both the menu and a night of peace and solitude. Hop on to ABC iView to watch the film, which is streaming as part of the AFTRS Showcase, along with films from more AFTRS alumni, including Jane Campion, Ivan Sen, Phillip Noyce, Catriona McKenzie, Chris Noonan, Gillian Armstrong and Cate Shortland. Set Menu won the inaugural AACTA Award for Best Student Film, and it premiered at SXSW Sydney. The film screened at the Cinequest Film & VR Festival USA, Westpac OpenAir Cinema, Perth Revelation Film Festival, CinefestOZ, and Newport Beach Film Festival. Set Menu was also selected as a finalist in the CILECT global film schools competition, where it placed 4th out of 118 films. Delicious! CREW Writer – Roslyn Zhang @rosemarywhitehouse Writer/Director – Lindsay McDonald @lindsayhamiltonm Story By/Producer – Neisha Dallamora @neishionaltreasure Cinematographer – Sam Bader @sambader__ Production and Costume Designer – Sheree Tam @shereextam Editor – Harrison Finch Composer – Carla Dobbie @carladobbieprojects Sound Design – Luke O’Loughlin @luke__oloughlin Co-Producer - Denis Curnow @curnowed Key Cast – Kathryn Hartman, Stephen Madsen, Emma Kew, Jonathan Lagudi and Bryn Chapman Parish

We are excited to share this moment from Bőr, which has joined the AFTRS Showcase on ABC iView. The film tells the story of Anna, an isolated Hungarian mother struggling to adapt to her new life in 1950s Australia as intense homesickness drives her further away from her young son and husband. The Master of Arts Screen production was awarded Best Short Film award at the Byron Bay International Film Festival, director Dylan Ferenc Nyerges was awarded the Emerging Australian Filmmaker at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) and the short has also been recognised at the 2024 ASC NSW & ACT AWARDS, with the Gold award for student cinematography going to Tommy Thoms who also won the Golden Tripod for Student Cinematography at the 2025 ACS National Awards. Bőr has screened in multiple festivals including SXSW Sydney, the Revelation Perth International Film Festival, and St Kilda Film Festival. Watch Bőr on ABC iView. Bőr Writer/Director – Dylan Ferenc Nyerges @dylannyerges Producer – Emily Bull, Farabee Kabir @emilygbull.film @farabee.kabir Cinematographer – Tommy Thoms @timeafterthoms Composer – Madeleine Mallis Editor – Elita Guo @elita_guo Production Designer – Craig Bornstein @craigebornstein Costume Designer – Nicola Burns, Craig Bornstein Sound Supervisor – Luke O’Loughlin Key Cast – Nora Goldbach, Akos Armont, Kai Pakinga

Meet Bardia Mor, one of the youngest Master of Arts Screen: Business alumni. Coming from a creative background, Bardia entered the course with the ambition to accelerate his career and step into future leadership roles within Australia’s screen sector. Through MASB, he developed a deep understanding of the business side of the screen industry and now applies these skills in his day‑to‑day professional work. Take the next step towards leadership in screen, applications for the Master of Arts Screen: Business mid‑year intake are now open.

AFTRS graduate Karl Svikis tuned into what felt right: radio. After years of being told he had a “radio voice,” this turned into real industry momentum. The Graduate Diploma of Radio and Podcasting course offered the perfect mix: hands‑on broadcast experiences, like hosting Show Radio at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, collaborating with passionate peers, and building confidence in the studio. Along the way, he harnessed the power of storytelling across both radio and podcasting. While still studying, Karl was already gaining industry experience and has not looked back. He now works for Southern Cross Austereo as a ‘street teamer’ and has been invited to be a casual producer on The Hot Hits National evening radio show. If Karl’s journey is your tune, read more to be inspired and discover how you can launch your audio career. with @aftrsradio