The University of Queensland’s Josh Darrah is “reeling mad” following his recent win in a Queensland short-film festival.
Mr Darrah, Multimedia Co-ordinator at UQ Ipswich’s Boilerhouse Community Engagement Centre, won the title of Best Director for his film The Cleaner in the recent 2008 Reel Mad Short Film Festival.
Reel Mad is a home-grown Sunshine Coast event which gives competitors 24 hours to film, edit and submit a short film under seven minutes in length before judges are given just 24 hours to view the entries and select winners.
Josh’s short film features a cleaner using the office he is cleaning as a space for his own covert and humorous operations.
While competing in the festival, Josh worked with friend and co-director Luke Blair, who also submitted a short film, and together they created two short films in just 24 hours.
“I had the idea for the story about a week before and then we had to include five secret items in the film to prove it was made in the 24 hours,” Josh said.
“It was crazy, we barely got any sleep, but it was loads of fun!”
At UQ, Josh plays an active role in the 360° Program which is conducted by the Boilerhouse Community Engagement Centre and funded by the Department of Communities. The program delivers fun and engaging after school courses at UQ’s Ipswich Campus for local students in years 8-10.
Teaching high school students as part of the 360° Program allows Josh to impart his creativity and flair for multimedia, which is aptly demonstrated with the Reel Mad Best Director Award.
Josh teaches students teaching video and film production and other creative courses such as 3D paper modelling, t-shirt screen printing and digital music production.
“I have been making short films for around seven years now, just for the sake of being creative and having a different kind of fun,” Josh said.
“I hope to be able to give that same sense of fun to my students.”
The Reel Mad Short Film Festival, which raises funds for youth suicide prevention, has become and iconic event on the Sunshine Coast.
Now in its fifth year, the festival attracts industry professionals from across Australia including David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz who act as judges, choosing winners in 10 different categories.
The 360° Program for term 3 includes the following courses: Babes in Business, Personal Fitness Training, Crafty Capers and Paper Model Making. To enrol in a course please contact the UQ Boilerhouse on (07) 3381 1532 or online at www.uq.edu.au/boilerhouse as applications close on Thursday, July 24.
Media: Contact UQ Ipswich Marketing Manager Loretta Porche on 3381 1068 or l.porche@uq.edu.au.
