The Short Film Pod Jacobie Gray & Leonie Marsh

Colour Blind is a satirical web series created by producing partners Anna Lawrence and Tai Hara addressing race and diversity in the entertainment industry. Based on Hara's experiences as an actor, and also directed by him, the series aims to gently shed light on current inequalities and racial mindsets through it's hilarious mockumentary shooting style and cringe worthy situations. In this episode Hara and Lawrence talk us through the project; from initial conception to shooting with a skeleton crew to securing funding for post production and how they've adjusted their marketing strategy to better serve their audience. Hara is best known for his role on the much loved Australian television drama Home & Away and Lawrence works in online branded content where she currently holds the position of Head of Video at Pedestrian Group, Australia's largest digital youth publisher.   

In this exclusive episode celebrating the 20th year of Tribeca Film Festival we speak with industry veteran Sharon Badal about the 2021 program, the launch of Tribeca At Home and the 2020 program which will screen concurrently this year. Sharon has been with the festival since its inception in 2001 and, as Vice President of Filmmaker Relations and Shorts Programming, shares how she curates a program that reflects and inspires the audience, especially during these pandemic times. Prior to Tribeca Sharon spent ten years in distribution and marketing for three major studios and has authored a book called “Swimming Upstream – A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film Distribution" published by Focal Press. She has completed both a B.F.A. in Film and Television Production and a M.A. in Cinema Studies and Business at NYU.



Website: www.theshortfilmpod.com | Instagram: @theshortfilmpod | Sound Engineer: Lana Kristensen

Sky Davies is a very warm and considered cinematographer working across a slate of projects in Australia and internationally. Featured in Screen Australia's International Women’s Day Spotlight on 20 Talented Women in Screen 2021, she is passionate about gender equality in her camera crews and is very nurturing towards emerging talent; never ruling out working with a first time director if it's a match. We discuss her career trajectory - including lots of twists and turns, the importance of mental health, her 3 Pillars of Health and how she feels about short form projects now. 



Website: www.theshortfilmpod.com | Instagram: @theshortfilmpod | Sound Engineer: Lana Kristensen

In this episode we have a fascinating chat with Guy Nattiv. Guy is an Academy Award® winning writer/director from Israel. His first American short film, SKIN, won the 2019 Oscar for Best Live Action Short, along with 350 festivals around the world and was acquired by FOX Searchlight. The feature version, also entitled SKIN, stars Jamie Bell, Vera Farmiga, Aussie Danielle Macdonald and premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival to significant acclaim. The intriguing thing is; Guy actually wrote the short AFTER shooting the feature! 

Before coming to the USA, Nattiv was a lauded filmmaker in Israel, where his first feature, STRANGERS, was in competition at the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals in 2008. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife/producing partner Jaime Ray Newmand, where they run New Native Pictures. In this chat we cover their big Oscar win, financing his feature, the short film festival circuit, strategy for your career and how to stay sane in Hollywood. 

Website: www.theshortfilmpod.com | Instagram: @theshortfilmpod | Sound Engineer: Lana Kristensen

In this very special follow up episode (listen to Megan Riakos in Ep 3 first) we are thrilled to broadcast a live panel event created by Megan to celebrate the release of Dark Whispers Vol 1. 

WHISPERING LOUDLY: FEMALE VOICES IN CONTEMPORARY GENRE FILMMAKING, SYDNEY MARCH 2021

Was an International Women’s Day panel and networking drinks event with the creative team behind Australia’s first all-women horror anthology Dark Whispers – Volume 1. Presented by Hemlock & Cedar Films in association with City of Sydney, Actors Centre Australia, Stranger with My Face International Film Festival, the NSW chapter of WIFT Australia, Sydney Film Fatales & Screen Vixens.

Listen to the Dark Whispers team discuss the state of play of genre filmmaking in Australia. Brought together by the project’s creator and lead producer Megan Riakos (Crushed), these are filmmakers with bold visions, who have made their voices heard in a highly competitive field by playing to their unique strengths. They have succeeded by pushing boundaries, whether thematically, in terms of style or format or even in terms of genre definitions.

Guided by moderator Rosie Lourde (Deadhouse Dark, Romance on the Menu) the panel reflects on their shared love of dark genre and their experiences in navigating the crucial areas of financing, production and marketing. The discussion also included the notion of developing a personal “brand” and how to develop a sustainable career in the arts. 

Speakers include Megan Riakos, Briony Kidd, Enzo Tedeschi, Angie Black, Katrina Irawati Graham, Isabel Peppard, Marion Pilowsky, & Jub Clerc.

Website: www.theshortfilmpod.com | Instagram: @theshortfilmpod | Sound Engineer: Lana Kristensen

Megan Riakos is a go-getter. A writer, director, producer, advocacy leader, lecturer and all round wonderful woman, Megan continues to bring a distinctive female lens to the world of genre filmmaking. Her debut feature as writer/director/producer of the thriller Crushed received strong reviews with The Australian calling it “a tense, bloody mystery thriller”, and The Hollywood Reporter labelling it “A solid debut.”  

Megan’s next project was Australia’s first horror anthology feature film Dark Whispers – Volume 1 which is why we are chatting to her in this ep. Megan created an incredible opportunity for ten Australian women horror directors by curating their shorts into a feature film anthology, directing a wraparound segment herself to stitch all the segments together. It's such a fantastic example of how your short film could garner a second life (and thousands more eyeballs) despite its age or festival run. Dark Whispers was selected for festivals across the world including at Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival in Silicon Valley, Seattle International Film Festival, Berlin Final Girls Film Festival, Cinefest Oz Film Festival in Western Australia and MonsterFest. It has been hailed by Killer Horror Critic as “A shining example of horror anthology film done right…” and Screen Hub calling it “bursting with ideas and energetic visual approaches”. Just because your short has finished premiering doesn't mean it has to sit on the shelf for eternity. 

Website: www.theshortfilmpod.com | Instagram: @theshortfilmpod | Sound Engineer: Lana Kristensen