Emerging filmmakers stunned audiences in a creative display at Goldfish Film Festival last weekend, Ben Collison reports.

Novocastrians were treated to a remarkable night of independent films on Saturday, with the next generation of filmmakers lining up to display their latest creative collaborations at the 2023 Goldfish Film Festival.

The Newcastle Conservatorium of Music hosted an eager audience filled with anticipation, comprising of entrants, their families, faculty, and contemporaries. Among the audience were the ABC’s Mayeta Clark and University of Newcastle Alumni, Emily Jordan who served on the judging panel.

Gracing the red carpet, the festival served as a formal debut for first-year students, coinciding with the end of their first semester.

Kept under wraps until the last moment, thirty films were selected from a tight-packed pool of sixty films that represented a diverse range of genres and creative talent.

Creative Collaborations Course Convenor Josh Belinfante said that the festival is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the talent of UON students.

“…it offers them a platform and a stage to celebrate each others achievements as they begin to move to the next steps and stages in their respective careers in the creative industries,” he said.

With each submission worthy of recognition, the highly competitive field wowed audiences, setting a high standard for next year’s cohort to reach.

Best Sound Design Award – Fuis Ton Destin. Photo by Ben Collison

The 2023 Winning entries were:

Best Poster – Crash Corpse

Best Sound Design and Original Score – Fuis Ton Destin

Best Editing and Product Design – Muse

Best Writing – Boys Will Be Boys and Whispers in Tin City

Best Film – Quest Master’s 2: Goblins Revenge

I caught up with Arwen Hoffmann, a Bachelor of Communication student majoring in Visual Communication Design, who served as the Art Director on Best Film winner, Quest Masters 2: Goblins Revenge following the presentations.

“It was a really rewarding experience. As Art Director there were challenging moments especially shooting the forest scenes, but it was so much fun working with everyone and it paid off,” said Arwen.

With bated breath, the Creative Industries will return to the red carpet for the Newbie Awards held later in the year.

Feature Image provided by Josh Belinfante, Creative Collaborations Course Convenor