Accelerator 2006 Participants

Amy Gebhardt wrote and directed a Screen Australia and YouTube funded short film INTO THE SUN on the basis of which she was selected by Dr George Miller to make WE WERE. She also shot & directed ABC-TV half-hour documentary CARNIVAL QUEEN and directed Second
Unit on Justin Kurzel’s Cannes-selected MACBETH.

Ben Phelps’ award-winning, second short film, NICE SHOOTIN’ COWBOY, won the Narrative Short Jury Award at the Austin Film Festival

Denie Pentecost’s film SEXY THING travelled to many film festivals worldwide and screened on SBS-TV. His next short film, THE ROAD HOME, screened at Flickerfest and won The MetroScreen NSW Filmmaker Award at 2013’s Mardi Gras Film Festival.

Glendyn Ivin‘s debut short CRACKER BAG won the Palme d’Or at 2003’s Cannes Film Festival. His debut feature film LAST RIDE won a jury prize at Rome International Film Festival and a Black Pearl at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival for Best New Director. He directed episodes of Network Ten series PUBERTY BLUES and OFFSPRING, as well as the Nine Network TV-movie BEACONSFIELD (2012), plus Nine Network mini-series GALLIPOLI (2014) and ABC-TV’s THE SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY (2016), as well as SBS-TV min-series SAFE HARBOUR (2017) and BBC’s Scottish-Australian co-production THE CRY (2018), and set-up ABC-TV’s THE BEAUTIFUL LIE in 2015.

Heng Tang completed his short film MOONCAKE & CRAB.

Jane Shearer made a short titled BIRD in 2008.

Lily Coates formed The Apiary with Gavin Youngs in 2009, specialising in films about, and made in collaboration with, musicians, theatre-makers, dancers and visual artists. Commissions include work for The Australian Ballet, Aesop, The Royal Ballet, National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Victoria, Rogerseller, AFAR Media, The Avant/Garde Diaries and Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance.

Rene Hernandez’s short THE GROUND BENEATH, a 20-minute film funded by the Australian Film Commission, screened at MIFF 2008 and won the 2008 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Screenplay in a Short Film. In 2012, she completed her short film REASON TO SMILE, and in 2016 she was commissioned by the Macquarie Centre to make a short fashion film called LOVE YOURSELF, which won the People’s Choice Award at the 2016 Australian Fashion Film Awards (AFFA).

Rhys Graham wrote and directed the MIFF Premiere Fund-supported film GALORE, which world premiered at MIFF 2013 before having its international premiere at 2014’s Berlinale. He was one of the directors of the portmanteau film of Tim Winton’s THE TURNING (also supported by the MIFF Premiere Fund for MIFF 2013 and also at Berlinale 2014). His documentary MURUNDAK – SONGS OF FREEDOM (co-directed with Natasha Gadd) won the Grand Prix at Seminci, Spain and FIFO Tahiti, as well as a UN Media Peace Award.  Graham co-wrote the 2016 feature film NOWHERE BOYS: THE BOOK OF SHADOWS for Matchbox Pictures.

Sian Davies was a director on the portmanteau film LITTLE DEATHS and also wrote and directed TV, including OFFSPRING, TIME OF OUR LIVES, MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES, WENTWORTH and THE ExPM (a six-part comedy for Shaun Micallef). She directed episodes of THE GLOAMING for Stan Originals.

Te Arepa Kahi acted in The Māori Merchant of Venice, and directed TV documentaries (The Flight of Te Hookioi), award-winning shorts — Taua and The Speaker — and reggae movie Mt Zion. He worked on feature documentary FREEZING WORKS as Executive Producer, and directed POI E, which was nominated for a Crystal Bear at 2017’s Berlinale in the Generation 14plus competition.