Workshop to help budding filmmakers

ADAM KAMIEN

ORGANISERS of Australia’s only Jewish short-film festival Celluloid Soup will offer a film workshop for the first time early in 2010.

The five-day course will be run in conjunction with audiovisual resource centre Open Channel and the Jewish Museum of Australia, and will cover all facets of filmmaking, from idea generation to editing.

There will be 20 places available, and the short films produced during the course will be screened at a special presentation during the festival.

There will also be a series of lectures from keynote speakers such as Natalie Miller and Michael Hirsh from Working Dog -— the production company responsible for The Castle, and TV shows The Panel and Thank God You’re Here -— Roadshow Films managing director Joel Pearlman and Romper Stomper producer Daniel Scharf.

Celluloid Soup producer Adam Krongold says that while the advent of technology has made filmmaking more accessible, budding filmmakers often lack a fundamental understanding of what makes a good film.

“Initially, when Celluloid Soup started, films were being made using film so they were professional people using it, because no one else could afford it,” Krongold told The AJN.

“Now everyone has video cameras so everyone is a filmmaker, but not everyone has the skills to make a film. So the idea was to offer a film workshop so prospective entrants in the film competition are able to hone their skills and learn about filmmaking.”

The course material will tackle the production process, camera operation, sound and lighting and editing.

Celluloid Soup is in its 12th year and boasts an Oscar winner among its entrants, with Academy Award winner Eva Orner having participated in the competition in 1998.

While the festival takes place in Melbourne, Krongold encourages entrants from all around Australia to send in their films and says he hopes to take Celluloid Soup on the road in the years to come.

For more information about Celluloid Soup, visit www.jewishmuseum.com.au.