The 41st annual St Kilda Film Festival (SKFF) presents The Big Picture: Filmmaker Development Day, a jam-packed FREE series of hands-on workshops, forums, panels, exhibitions, screenings, networking opportunities and Q&As with some of Australia’s top emerging and established film talents, on Saturday 7 June. Presented by JMC Academy, this Filmmaker Development Day continues to grow in popularity, helping creatives hone their craft, covering a diverse range of filmmaking topics.
A standout of this program is ‘The State of Animation’, featuring Oscar winning animator Joan Gratz (USA). Joining Joan in this panel are local heroes Dennis Tupicoff and Malcolm Turner, Director of the Melbourne International Animation Festival. Animation surrounds us every day and its large volume of experimental work creates enormous creative outcomes. Meet and learn from some of the artists who have had a major influence in the animation sector and hear their perspective on where animation will head next.
Following a sold-out event in 2024, ‘Behind the Lens: Practical Workshops for Creative and Technical Roles’ is back for more, presented by WIFT Victoria and Panavision Australia. This is a unique hands-on event which features on-set demonstrations on a range of cameras, both with vintage and contemporary lenses. Designed for directors, producers and cinematographers, the two sessions will deepen understanding on how lenses and camera technology can shape visual storytelling.
Actor and Intimacy coordinator, Michala Banas, opens up the conversation on current best practice around screen intimacy in Navigating Intimacy for the Screen. This presentation and Q&A will cover areas about the world of navigating delicate content, and how to create safer workplaces when dealing with confronting material. This first-class session is always enormously popular and a must for any director, producer and performer at any level of their career.
‘One Minute to Midnight: Making Social Justice Documentaries’ shows a new generation of First Nations and young screen artists working across traditional and immersive documentary forms who have emerged to reach audiences with powerful messages. Filmmakers will discuss across the board: where contemporary audiences live, how to create works that reach them, and the science of documenting social justice in action. Panellists will include creators from this year’s film program.
Hosted by local makeup company, Sharp FX, ‘Practical SPFX: Makeup and Prosthetics‘ is a production and craft workshop that focuses on looking at on set makeup and prosthetics. Presented by renowned makeup effects artist Tania Di Ross, this session covers many SPFX details for filmmakers such as OH&S, continuity hacks, cheat props, working with blood and more.
Reflecting on some of the entries for the film festival in 2025 ‘We Discuss the Dead: Horror, Genre and Audiences’, shines a spotlight on this growing theme of cinema. This session assists filmmakers on how to best navigate this genre space, and what distributors are looking for through looking at recent case studies. Filmmakers share strategies that have been found useful when working in horror films to standout.
Chaired by Shaun Miller, the panel of ‘Big Picture Intensive: The Dark Art of Writing’, explore a range of experiences and strategies to get your work in the right place and how it can reach the screen successfully. Television screenwriter, Sarah Mayberry; producer, Chris Gist; writer, Chris Corbett and story consultant Karen Altmann take to the panel to share their journeys and the courage it takes to turn an idea into script, then to a film.
“The Big Picture is simply the most essential day on the annual calendar for new and emerging screen artists who want to hear and see first-and what’s going on in the industry” says St Kilda Film Festival Director Richard Sowada. “There’s no internet knowledge here, it’s the real thing, from the real people about the real world. It’s a year of film school in one day!”
The ever-popular FREE Filmmaker Development Day ‘The Big Picture’ takes place in South Melbourne, primarily at JMC Academy’s Park Street Campus, plus their Bank Street Campus, as well as The Backlot Studios, as part of the 41st annual St Kilda Film Festival, presented by City of Port Phillip. There’s a session for everyone, from those who are just starting out, to those looking to fine tune their skills.
The Big Picture: Filmmaker Development Day.
Saturday 7 June, 11.00 AM – 6.30 PM
For more information on screenings and bookings, visit: stkildafilmfestival.com.au
St Kilda Film Festival (SKFF) returns to the big screen across Thursday 5 June – Sunday 15 June 2025. SKFF is Australia’s longest-running short film festival, recognising the genre of short film, including music videos, gaming and immersive forms, celebrating some of Australia’s best local short filmmakers and screen artists
SKFF is supported by major government partners Screen Australia and VicScreen.
