Lord Mayor's Young & Emerging Artists Fellowship

About the Fellowship

In 2019, I was granted a Lord Mayor's Young and Emerging Artists Fellowship through the Brisbane City Council to undertake an internship and mentorship with a production company overseas.

With the pandemic at play, the project was delayed and some adjustments needed to be made. Finally, in 2022, I was able to embark on my fellowship which turned out to be a Producer’s Attachment with Si-En Tan of Singapore-based production company, Momo Film Co.

As part of this, I shadowed her in attending the Asian Contents & Film Market and participated in PlatformBUSAN, both as part of the Busan International Film Festival. The fellowship activities also included reviewing pitch materials and drafting story coverage for the production company’s development team, and preparing project materials for pitching to other stakeholders.

Highlights from the Fellowship

The highlight of my fellowship was attending PlatformBUSAN and the Asian Contents & Film Market. Navigating a major industry event and film market can be daunting, especially for a first-timer like myself, and this one was particularly significant as it marked a return of in-person events since the pandemic. 

It was a pleasure to be accepted to participate in PlatformBUSAN, a networking platform for new and emerging independent filmmakers in Asia. The best part of this was getting to meet filmmakers from across the world, deepening my connections and opening up possibilities with working internationally. I’ve stayed in touch with many of the filmmakers I met over there and am really excited about the potential for us to work together in the future.

As part of the program, there were incredibly informative and insightful sessions with my favourite session being “Ajoomma: The Curious Case Study of a Singaporean-Korean Co-production” in which first-time director He Shuming, and the film’s producer Anthony Chen and co-producer Lee Joon-han discussed how the film came to life. I appreciated the level of detail in the conversation across all aspects of making the film. Hearing that it was in development for six years, I was encouraged to learn of their journey in tenacity and way-finding, confirming my belief that to be successful requires both passion and perseverance. 

Attending the Asian Contents & Film Market with Si-En was an incredible opportunity to see up close what it’s like to attend a market to progress project financing and meet up with creatives to discuss their projects. This exposure allowed me to understand the dynamics of international film markets and how to navigate them effectively for when I am ready to do so with my own projects. Through the market, I was able to witness firsthand the passion and dedication that goes into bringing projects to life, and it inspired me to continue pursuing my own creative endeavours.

A Memorable Moment

Business is important but don’t forget why we’re here. We’re here to make art and tell stories. Make sure you go see some films to remind yourself of this.

The above is something that Si-En said to me about half-way through our time in Busan. After shadowing her in several meetings and feeling dwarfed by the sheer size of the market and the flurry of activity, it meant a lot to me to be reminded about the true reason we are working in the film and television industry.

I’m grateful to Brisbane City Council and the Community Grants team for their support in being able to undertake this fellowship. The skills and connections I’ve gained have been enormously beneficial to my practice as a film producer, writer and director, and I am sure will be an experience that I carry with me in my career as a creative professional.

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