When: Thursday 27 March 2008, 12.30 – 2.00pm
Where: The NAB Theatrette @ The National Bank Building, Ground Floor, 800 Bourke St (cnr Harbour Esplanade) Docklands
Alkinos Tsilimidos, Director (Em 4 Jay, Tom White)
Matthew Newton, Actor (Stupid, Stupid Man, The Bet, My Mother Frank)
Marc Gracie, Director (The Craic, Take Away, You and Your Stupid Mate, Shock Jock, Full Frontal, The Adventures of Lano and Woodley)
Alkinos Tsilimidos
Ian Dixon with attendees
Chris Corbett chatting with audience member after the seminar
Film Critic Tom Ryan with daughter Maddie
Rachel Singleton (OC Membership Officer)
ALKINOS TSILIMIDOS, DIRECTOR
Alkinos has been described as one of Australia’s most important contemporary film directors. He has a reputation for being an actor’s director and is renowned for his uncompromising approach to stories of social relevance.
He graduated from Swinburne School of Film and Television (now VCA) in 1988. His début feature film Everynight…Everynight (1994) won international critical acclaim. It was awarded Best First Film (Prix D’Montreal) at the Montreal World Film Festival and was in Official Selection at the Venice International Film Festival. His second feature Silent Partner (2001) was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the AFI and Film Critics Awards and was in Official Selection at the Toronto, Montreal, Newport, US Arts Comedy, Athens, Singapore and Bangkok International Film Festivals.
In 2004, Tom White was released to extensive critical acclaim. It received thirty-one Australian feature film award nominations, Colin Friels winning the FCCA and the IF AWARD for Best Actor. Tom White was invited to participate at many international events including Montreal, Hof, and Pusan International Film Festivals.
Em 4 Jay (2006), his fourth feature, participated at Melbourne, Brisbane, Athens, Mostra De Valencia – Spain, Newport Beach – US, Titanic - Hungary and New Zealand International Film Festivals. Variety said: “Authenticity makes EM 4 JAY a Down Under low budget TRIUMPH.” Alkinos is currently working on his fifth feature, Rambles.
MATTHEW NEWTON, ACTOR
Matthew Newton has worked extensively on television including the series Stupid Stupid Man, The Surgeon, All Saints, Farscape, Water Rats, Grass Roots, Good Guys Bad Guys, Chuck Finn, The Flying Doctors, and the critically-acclaimed mini-series Changi, for which he was nominated for the Silver Logie.
As a singer he has performed on Carols by Candlelight, Studio A with Simon Burke, and ABBA Mania, and put himself through drama school working the Sydney jazz scene. Since making his film debut in Looking for Alibrandi, his feature credits include The Bet, Bitter and Twisted, Blurred, My Mother Frank, Queen of the Damned, and The Great Raid. In 2006, his directing debut Right Here Right Now won Best Film at the Rebelfest International Film Festival in Toronto, and he has just completed principal photography on his second feature. Matthew graduated from NIDA in 1998.
Matthew is currently appearing in MTC’s Rock n’ Roll written by Tom Stoppard, having made his debut for the Company last year in The History Boys. His other theatre roles include Tony in Boy Gets Girl, Marcello in The White Devil, and Mosca in Volpone for Sydney Theatre Company, as well as Lucas in Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor at the Ensemble Theatre. He has worked with some of Australia's leading directors including Robyn Nevin, Gale Edwards, Rowan Woods, Adam Cook, Marion Potts, and Kate Woods, and in 2000 toured with The White Devil for its New York season.
MARC GRACIE, DIRECTOR
Marc Gracie has been working in the entertainment industry for over 15 years and has created more than 100 hours of film and TV production. Marc started out in 1985, directing Australia's highest box office-grossing non-musical stage show Wogs Out of Work. Feature film credits include the box office hit The Craic starring Jimeoin; Take Away featuring Vince Colosimo, Stephen Curry and Rose Byrne; and You and Your Stupid Mate featuring Angus Sampson. His recent TV credits include Shock Jock, Jimeoin's Tea Towel Tour of Ireland, Full Frontal, The Adventures of Lano and Woodley and Comic Relief 1 & 2.
CHRIS CORBETT, SCREENWRITER
Chris Corbett has written episodes of Stingers, Blue Heelers, The Secret Life of Us, McLeods Daughters, All Saints and City Homicide. He also worked as a script editor on Stingers and Blue Heelers and as Story Editor on Stingers. Prior to working in television he served as Dramaturg at the Melbourne Theatre Company, directed shows for the Five Dollar Theatre Company , the Melbourne Theatre Company and performed in major festivals across Australia, New Zealand and Europe with the group Strange Fruit. He currently teaches at RMIT’s Professional Screenwriting Course and writes and produces the YouTube comedy show Tinytown.
Tinytown is a wry yet hard-hitting comedy exploring the complicated lives of two twelve year old cops. Episode 2 features a guest appearance by John Wood.
IAN DIXON (Facilitator)
Ian Dixon has worked as a professional actor for over twenty years (he took over from Guy Pearce to play the lead role in Grease). He graduated from VCA School of Film and Television in 1998 and went on to direct TV for SBS, as well as receiving director training on Blue Heelers and Neighbours for which he went on to direct full episodes. Ian directed the SBS film Wee Jimmy and most recently produced, directed, wrote and edited his first feature film Crushed due to be screened in April/May. Ian was Assistant to the Artistic Director of the Australia Korea Foundation and has worked as teacher and lecturer at tertiary institutions, notably the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Victorian College of the Arts and OPEN CHANNEL. He recently completed his PhD on the films of John Cassavetes through the University of Melbourne at VCA. Ian is in high demand as a tutor, and currently tutors at OPEN CHANNEL, Homesglen TAFE, SAE and Swinburne.
