Media production students at the University of Newcastle have earned international recognition after their short film assignment was successful in several categories at Hollywood’s prestigious IndieX Film Festival.
The Rite of Writing tells the story of a screenwriter who is forced to work with a group of other writers, all specialists in different movie genres. Each writer has an entirely different view of how the film should play out, causing contention and a clash between the characters.
Students created, developed, shot and edited The Rite of Writing for their Short Film course assignment and it was also submitted to the LA-based IndieX Film Festival.
The short film won Best Student Comedy, an Outstanding Achievement Award for Student Director and Best Student Parody.
Director Mitchell Treharne said the film was entered into the festival upon advice from their tutor and senior lecturer in Communication and Media, Dr Simon Weaving.
“We all won those awards together. It was entirely a group effort. If it wasn’t a combined effort from all of us, I don’t think the film would have turned out half as good,” Mitchell said.
“It’s a strangely addictive feeling, getting recognised like that. Ever since we won the awards, I have been really keen to direct again. This is definitely something I would love to pursue after uni.
“We were supposed to create another short film, which is our final project for the whole degree, but because of COVID restrictions, we had to push that back until next year. So, it’s going to be a little while before we can create another one, but I’m so excited to get back out there and do it all again.”
The student crew included producer Makayla Cocking, writer Matthaus Schumacher, cinematographer Ike Leggett, sound designer Isaiah Zorro, editor Julienne Fox, and production designers Samuel Adamson and Lachlan Alderson.
Matthaus said his inspiration for the script had come from a basic film theory.
“The main thing that inspired my script was the concept of Auteur Theory, which is where the film director is considered the sole author of the whole artistic vision,” he said.
“I wanted to play around with that concept and explore the advantages of creative collaboration where authors and creators share their different ideas and views, ultimately creating something so much more special and unique.”
Matthaus said there were no words to describe how pleased he was with the awards and the overall outcome of the film.
“It’s just so fantastic. I am so thankful to everyone involved. Without them, my script was just words on a piece of paper,” he said.
“The cast and the rest of the crew were just amazing and really elevated the whole experience and overall production of the film.”
Makayla Cocking said holding the producer role enabled her to test out some of her skills and get a taste for what it’s like being on a film set.
“The producer is a multi-faceted role. It requires a lot of creativity but is also grounded by the logistics of time restraints and resources,” Makayla said.
“Being the producer was really cool because I was able to combine both of my interests into one role and use different skills from both of my majors, Public Relations and Media Production.
“Everyone was just so motivated, and we all got along, which allowed us to think creatively and not be scared to express our opinions. We all had this shared vision of what we wanted to achieve, so it ended up being such a fun experience.
“To think that it just started as our uni assignment and now we are here with three international awards is just so unreal.”
Hayley McMahon
Congratulations ! Your futures look bright ! What a great lead into your futures !