5:45pm: Opening Night Gala including Screening
Help us bring in WEFF ’22 with a bang! Join us for opening night celebrations and a taste of what’s to come. Our Opening Night screening kicks off with a showcase of the best entries across a range of genres with notable highlights from First Nations filmmakers.

6:30pm: Bringing the Drama Screening & QUT Low Budget Feature Filmmaking Panel
Bringing you the best in drama that short films have to offer. This screening is followed by a Panel Discussion: Challenges and opportunities in low budget filmmaking brought to you by Queensland University of Technology. Chaired by Dr Sue Cake, Screenwriting Lecturer at QUT, the panel includes Dr Sean Maher, Dr Phoeve Hart and Tony McGrath. Please note, this session is strictly 18+ only.
8:30pm: Let’s Get Topical
Covering the most current and topical of issues with the best from our documentary and socio-political categories, plus some thought provoking dramas.

6:30pm: The Kids Are Ok
A selection of films from young and emerging filmmakers including animations, comedies and more.
8:30pm: Dance Music Dance!
From burlesque to experimental dance films and more we’re bringing the music and the moves.

5:00pm: WEFFY Awards including Screening.
Join us in honouring the best in short film talent at the WEFFY Awards. Closing night celebrations include a screening of this year’s winners across all 14 categories. You won’t want to miss it! Please note, this session is strictly 18+ only.

1:00pm – 2:30pm
Enjoy an afternoon in the theaterette at SAE Institute Brisbane in a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere where you can see Leah Purcell on the big screen ‘live’ as she yarns with Sam Watson and her private audience (that’s you mob). Enjoy Leah’s honest yarning about her journey in the creative arts as an actress, writer, director and producer – surviving, thriving, winning awards and kicking goals that are changing the course of history for Aboriginal women in film.

11:00am – 3:00pm
Find your true calling with the leading global specialist in creative media education. Get exclusive behind the scenes tours, check out course presentations, view student work and ask all the questions you have about studying at SAE by speaking with our friendly SAE crew team during the event.

Explore creative media through our interactive sessions at Open Day. Discover our postgraduate, degree and diploma programs.

SAE Institute Brisbane (Jane Street West End)

5:00pm – 6:30pm
Meet First Nations filmmakers, Pauline Clague, Chantelle Murray and Richard Jameson, who will share their transitions within the film and television industry that brought them to their current trajectory. Everyone’s path is unique and whilst we push for that big break there are many avenues to help stay engaged with our passion through film and screen related business.

Our moderator Steph Vadja (previous WEFF director) opens up the conversation with our panel guests to look at the transitions they are currently experiencing and where they came from ranging from educational releases, commercials, film festival shorts to ‘proof of concept’ sizzles to long form in theatrical releases, television series and streaming platform releases. As well as the broader discussion of how Aboriginal filmmakers can navigate the space to keep their stories through the black lens -led by mob for mob- and ensure the IP stays with First Nations People.

SAE Institute Brisbane (Jane Street West End)

10:00am – 11:30am
Often our first films are one’s family have asked us to document. These grass root films form the foundation of our drive to make that television series; 1hr broadcast; SVOD half hour  or a feature documentary  and then do it all over again!!! In this panel we talk to First Nations filmmakers at different stages of their factual careers:  Douglas Watkins with big boots in the award winning sector for feature documentaries; and one hour broadcast debuts for Shontell Ketchell and Jessica Magro. Whilst Ljudan Michaelis-Thorpe co-directs her first feature documentary with Rachel Ward,  ‘Standing on the Solution’.

SAE Institute Brisbane (Jane Street West End)

6:30pm – 8:00pm
How we interpolate our understanding of ourselves and our reality to that of what is considered an ‘objective’ read on such will always be one of most important areas of art creation, as it is one which can only ever be answered as we partake in it, rather than something which can be ‘taught’ in the more conventional sense. In this respect, no medium of film represents this desire quite like that of the documentary, as it is as much about the creators undergoing this process of attaining understanding as much as it is the viewer who does so.

Join our panellists who will be sharing some samples of their work and talking about how they have used film to build movements, change perceptions and create completely new realities for our communities. They include: Jonathan Sriranganthan, Councillor for the Gabba, Nurdewi Djamal aka Dewi Wilson, Astrid Jorgensen, Mivon Prince-Leyva and Mohammadreza Shams (Works shown only) 

SAE Institute Brisbane (Jane Street West End)

6:30pm – 8:00pm
SCREEN Pathways- getting on track for your film industry career is a practical panel session that shows how to break in to the industry and get the support you need for the long journey ahead.

The panel guests will discuss support from a health and well being perspective, introduce places to find  networks of like minded black fella filmmakers, give tips based on their own pathway and of course, explore what SQ has in the pipeline for our mob. Panellists include: Michael Mace (Koa Elder), Joseph Meldrum (Screen Queensland), Miriam Dynevor moderated by Ljudan Michaelis-Thorpe

SAE Institute Brisbane (Jane Street West End)

6:30pm – 8:00pm
Women in Film and TV (WIFT) Australia’s Qld chapter are proud to present a curation of short films:

There is No I In Island: EP1 – Forest of Fears Animated Documentary (4:48)   Every voice you hear in this project was self-recorded by members of the Island community of lutruwita (Tasmania) during the COVID-19 lockdown in May 2020. These unique reflections have been paired with beautiful imagery and music produced by our amazing team of Tasmanian Visual Artists, Animators, Designers, and Composers.

Wireless Drama (21:32)   In Atlanta, Georgia, an up-and-coming figure skater’s career is put in jeopardy when she is accused of having an abortion.

Spirit of Happiness Drama (11:50)  Christmas memories from the life of Coral, a child of the stolen generation, and her unbroken Spirit of Happiness.

Street No.4 Horror Drama (7:37)   Determined to prove to her partner that their new eucalyptus house is perfect for their family, a pregnant woman discovers there’s more to the house than what was advertised.

Record Store Music Video Animation (3:45) A beautiful and stark animated music video.

Lost Daylight Documentary (15:00)  The moving and important story of the Dawn Daylight, one of the many Aboriginal elders whose formative years were marred by forced child labour. Her deeply personal story casts a shadow over some of Brisbane’s most respected institutions.

Choice Drama (19:09)  Nina is a caring, loving, but exhausted mum & wife who has tried to be everything that everyone needs. Responding to the coming out of her transgender teenager, Nina battles with the choices that she and her family have to make and how these choices will affect her child! …. but timing is everything!

Sunshine Drama (9.50) A family film about a waitress with trisomy 21 who notices that one of her customers is extremely upset. She goes out of her way to try and make the customer feel better, and little does she realise that her efforts have a far greater impact that she could have imagined.

SAE Institute Brisbane (Jane Street West End)

1:00pm – 2:00pm
When the technological boundaries of any given medium are shifted, the commercial and artistic boundaries typically follow suit, as the broadening of scope and capacity that said boundaries moving offers enables greater possibilities than what was previously possible. One such technology in which this is the case is that of both Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR)- also known under the umbrella of Extended Reality (XR). These technologies allow for mediums previously exclusively consumed passively, to be actively consumed- the opportunities such provides being as numerous and varied as they are different to how we currently consume media. Chaired by Dr. Erin Evans – Aradcious, Panellists include: Dr. Ralf Muhlberger – Ardacious, Karen Sanders – XR Hub, Leonie Sanderson – People Tech Revolution and Matt Kirby – QLD XR Festival.

SAE Institute Brisbane (Jane Street West End)

6:00pm – 8:00pm
Open House is SAE Brisbane’s end of Trimester student exhibition, an opportunity to see the work produced by our current students and our graduating cohort and experience the next generation of filmmakers, games designers, musicians, audio engineers and producers, animators and graphic designers!

We welcome everyone into this opportunity – from current and past students through to alumni, industry and our local community.

SAE Institute Brisbane (Jane Street West End)