16mm Film Challenge: Filming Memory

Did you know that Nosferatu, Anora and The Brutalist were all shot on celluloid film?

Run in conjunction with Sydney Film Studios, this unique 2-day workshop will guide selected participants through the process of learning to load and shoot 16mm analogue film.

Participants are asked to apply by submitting a 200 word (max) outline for a 1-2 minute film that recreates a memory from their past.

Selected participants will then attend a 2-day workshop held at Breathless Films in Newtown on Saturday March 29 and Sunday March 30, during which they will learn to load and shoot 16mm film in teams.

Of the memory proposals submitted, 2-3 will be selected as the basis for the films shot on the second day of the workshop.

In small crews (4-5), filmmakers will make a short film out of one 400 foot roll (10 minutes) of 16mm film. The teams will learn how to shoot on a 16mm film camera and record sound separately. The 16mm negatives will then be sent off to a film lab for processing and scanning onto a digital format. The teams will then synch and edit the digitised material into a short film.

The short films will screen as part of the Inner West Film Festival at the Short Film Showcase on Thursday April 17

Places are limited.

Application Fee $10

Apply Now

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About the Instructors

Dr Ben Ferris

Ben is an experienced film practitioner with over 30 years of experience. He began his film career shooting on 16mm and 35mm film. He was a Founder and Director of the Sydney Film School from 2004-2018, and is currently Founder and Producer at Breathless Films (Birdeater, Lonesome, The Longest Weekend). Fun fact: His 16mm short film The Kitchenwon the Grand Prix from the Akira Kurosawa Foundation in Japan.

George-Alex Nagle

George-Alex Nagle is an award-winning filmmaker working across narrative and experimental shorts, music videos, and video art. His first experimental 35mm short, Real-Time, won the Boundary Breaking Short Award at the Sydney Underground Film Festival, while the following year, his COFA Honours work, Blood, a multichannel installation comprising 16mm film developed in human blood, was selected for Hatched: National Graduate Show at PICA. His AFTRS short, Embrace, premiered at the Sydney Film Festival, while Inanimate won Best Australian Film at the Canberra International Short Film Festival.

In 2022, his mid-length drama Mate became the first Australian film to win the prestigious Oscar/BAFTA-qualifying International Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival before screening at over 40 international festivals including SFF, MIFF, PSSF, and winning Best Director at the Sapporo International Short Film Festival. Mate was nominated for ADG and SPA awards and was acquired by Arte TV and SBS. He currently teaches in the Master of Film and Screen Arts at Sydney College of the Arts.

Denis Scholsem

Denis started as a cinematographer where his passion for striking visuals, symmetry and lighting contrasts helped bring his clients stories to life. During this time, he worked on multiple music videos with Sony Music and helped to capture Gracie Otto’s first feature film, The Last Impresario. His dedication to storytelling then drove him towards the craft of directing where he cut his teeth in production agencies, further improving his technical knowledge in production and editing. This led to him being the Creative Director in a content agency where he oversaw their production and video department. With a style close to cinema verité – human centric and unscripted, he is able to visually craft narratives and bring out unexpected insights. His technical background in camera operation and editing has enabled him to understand and refine the production process from concept to delivery. This approach has seen him collaborate with clients like Pepsico, Woolworths, The NRMA, Tourism Australia, Kmart and more.