The CinefestOZ Podcast

Jack Byrnes is a Melbourne director and creative visiting CinefestOz with his insanely brilliant action packed short film, “Unstoppable.” The first ever Australian action flick with the leading man kicking ass and taking names in a wheelchair. Jack and Joel sit down to discuss the creation process of wanting to create an unknown entity in the action genre, a chair bound action hero who not only crushes the bad guy but takes th...

Renee Webster captured the attentions of Australia like none other recently with her feature, “How to Please A Woman,” stealing box office limelight and the hearts of the country, and deservedly so. Her experience as a writer and director with a growing list of exceptional credits tells a story of a creative on a mission and in the booth, we discuss just that. How do you champion your voice across different mediums, remaining flexi...

“Sundowners”, writer, co-director, producer, star (Jay), Bailey co-director and producer join the booth to chat about their nominated Best WA Short Film. We chat everything from low budget filmmaking, creating on the fly, their creative process as long time collaborators and how to find the perfect unknown lead. The film is a raw, unfiltered and honest depiction of sleeping rough and surviving through optimism with moments reminisc...

This short film is not for the faint of heart, because my friends it’s bound to steal it. The colour, comedy and raw empathy that filmmakers Travis Jeffery, Shannon Ryan, Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor and executive producer Ari Haralambis (all in the booth) turn out for this short is incredible. There’s no question as to why it was nominated for Best Script, Best Short Film and Best Direction at the CinefestOz Short Film Awards. Jeremy Lin...

Alex Williams is a fellow CinefestOz ambassador and student of the mini series biopic having played more factual individuals than fictional characters in his lifetime as an Australian heartthrob. Alex’s ingenuity, creative curiosity and sheer intelligence has seen him wrangle the podcast world creating “They Might be the Giants,” the much loved and fan favourite deep diving podcast sharing the history, passion and love of football ...

Travis Jeffrey may just be Australia’s hardest working character actor. From country Victoria to the sound stages of Disney epics, Travis’ work ethic has seen him brush shoulders with some of the most elite filmmakers, actors and directors in the industry. In the CinefestOz podcast booth, Travis and Joel discuss auditioning for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, how acting in a Disney epic differs to a homegrown indie feature film ...

Audrey is primed to set the world on fire! The film was one of the four features vying for the coveted $100,000film prize this year at CinefestOz 2024 and the scale, madness, hilarity, sexuality, joy and brilliance of the film truly set it apart. It’s already sold out audiences internationally and will surely tickle more than just your fancy but your heartstrings too. In the booth for this episode is the humbly magnificent Jeremy L...

For eight survivors of childhood sexual abuse, a ground breaking program turns into a journey of recovery, transformation and friendship. Left, Write, Hook is a life changing physical, mental and emotional 8 week writing and boxing program, it’s also a book and now it’s a stunning documentary from director Shannon Owen and creator Donna Lyon, who is also joined by participant Nikki in the CinefestOz podcast booth. We discuss the co...

You need to see this film. Hands down one of Australia’s most exciting new directors, David Vincent-Smith has written and directed an absolute heart stomper. His deftness of touch through subtle semiotic storytelling and the brilliance of all cast and crew absolutely shines through in what is a truly unique film that covers two of the toughest topics to depict; family and addiction. In the booth joining David Vincent-Smith is produ...