Perth Film School Alum, Isabella Jacqueline represents WA at the Adelaide International Youth Film Festival
A longstanding Perth Film School student and alumni, this year I was fortunate enough to be afforded the opportunity to represent WA at the newly christened Adelaide International Youth Film Festival (AIYFF) as one of the first ever Youth Jury Members.
With some powerful Chinese sponsors and industry connections, the AIYFF is a multi-cultural celebration of youth and youth-focused film that aims to become the largest operating youth film festival in the Southern Hemisphere. As a Youth Jury Member, my duties included voting on and discussing the pros and cons of the countless short and feature-length international films brought through the festival. I must say it was an honour to view so much original, quality content and ultimately to judge it. I was also lucky enough to meet with panels of guest speakers and representatives from varied production companies and view sneaky samples of their recent work not yet on air – which was unexpected! – as well as meet some of the driving forces behind the content we watched.
The Youth Jury was comprised of teenagers and young adults from all across the globe, looking to pursue a career in filmmaking. We had everything from writers, directors and technicians to musicians and actors – I made plenty of like-minded friends from all across the globe and we had some wonderful discussions! One of the things I know we all found incredibly inspiring was the number – and calibre – of the youth made films, compared with those made by established industry names . . . They were remarkably good, and I think it’s fair to say that in the more than capable hands of our up-and-coming film makers, the future of our industry looks bright!
I shall conclude by thanking Perth Film School for the opportunity to apply for this adventure and AIYFF for choosing me; it was such an experience that I am quiet disenchanted with everyday life now!
Thank you
Isabella Jacqueline
