Aberdeen student Joseph Brown, 17, is awaiting the premiere for his latest short film, The Rise of the Magpies, at the 2021 Blue Heeler Film Festival (BHFF) on Saturday, October 30.
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Joseph said the film was inspired by a magpie attacking him and his mates as they were doing preliminary filming for his entry.
"When I heard about the BHFF coming back for 2021, I sat down with my mates to theorise new ideas for a film, and what we concluded was that what people could use this year is an Aussie comedy packed with adventure," Joseph said.
"We were doing draft filming shots when a magpie suddenly attacked us and wouldn't leave us alone and it made me think, 'What if magpies were much more deadly and tried to take over, and how can I incorporate this into a film?'"
The organisers of the 2021 edition of the Blue Heeler made the decision to livestream the event due to uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 restrictions, and Joseph said the ongoing pandemic had also had an impact on the making of his film.
"COVID restrictions have impacted my film both positively and negatively," Joseph said.
"It meant that I had to keep all the filming strictly to the Muswellbrook and Denman local area, which on the plus side meant that this film is 100% locally made.
"On the negative side it was quite disruptive at times and coordinating meeting with my actors and actresses was often a challenge with the restrictions changing constantly."
Luckily, Joseph said he was able to complete filming just prior to the Muswellbrook LGA going into lockdown, which meant he was able to spend the time completing the editing of the film safely at home.
The winner of the festival's junior prize on two previous occasions with his films Toxic Zone and The Secret Service, Joseph said his previous wins at the Blue Heeler had inspired him to continue working on his filmmaking skills.
"Winning the junior prize at the 2015 and 2016 festivals made me realise what I am capable of, and gave me ambitions to work on filmmaking skills, attend BHFF workshops and dedicate myself more to directing, editing and acting," he said.
"I learn a lot from fellow film entries every year, and hope that my films can inspire others as well.
"Filmmaking is my passion, and having the power to communicate words, actions and emotions to affect an audience is a responsibility that filmmakers must take on."
Joseph said having a film festival like the Blue Heeler so close to his hometown of Aberdeen had had an enormous impact on himself and other young people in the area.
"We are very lucky to have an event like the BHFF, which has certainly shaped my life and allowed myself and many others to pursue a strong interest in filmmaking," he said.
"I think this is what the BHFF is all about. Giving people, not just young, but people of all ages and walks of a life a fair go at participating in a fun film festival, and also having a big community event to bring people together."
While Joseph said he would welcome a win on Saturday evening to complete a hat-trick of Blue Heeler victories, he was more focused on enjoying all the other festival entries and, most importantly, making people laugh.
"The opportunity to participate in this superb festival makes me happy enough, and if I made a single person in the audience smile, then I consider a film entry a success."
The 2021 Blue Heeler Film Festival will be livestreamed on the Eventive platform from 6:30pm on Saturday, October 30.
Tickets for the festival are free and available at the Blue Heeler page on the Eventive website.
