Showtime for two UTS filmmakers

Running continuously since 1952, The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is one of the most reputable film festivals in Australia.

Among the thousands of submissions, UTS Doctor of Creative Arts students Marcus Gale and Jason Di Rosso have had their films selected to be shown at this year’s event. 

Both are members of the FASS Creative Practices Research Group, convened by Associate Professor Alex Munt.

“These films making it to such a prestigious festival speaks to research excellence. The MIFF acts like a global arbiter of quality. So, these achievements shows that universities can compete on that level supporting bold, new cinematic voices,” he says.

“Although these films were put together on tight budgets, they were still made to be viewed by a wide audience. Film festivals function as the first point of distribution in building an audience.”

“Let’s not forget the trajectory of Greta Gerwig, director of the Billion-dollar grossing Barbie film, who started her career in microbudget ‘mumblecore’ feature films in the US."

"Films made with creativity, passion and big ideas go far."

Associate Professor Alex Munt

The Hidden Spring

Finding out his feature film, The Hidden Spring, had been selected to be part of the MIFF 2023 program was a welcome surprise for Jason Di Rosso. 

“When it comes to film festivals there is an element of luck. During my career I have had more push backs than acceptances,” he says. 

Already working in the media industry as a leading film critic at the ABC, and host of the weekly radio show The Screen Show, the film is Di Rosso’s documentary debut. 

“This short film is a personal account that explores my relationship with my father during a time where he had just been diagnosed with a grave illness. Everything took place during lockdown, and I was living in Sydney, and he was in Perth.” says Di Rosso.

“On a personal level the film was an exercise in dealing with my own very real grief. This film does mark a sort of milestone in my life, while also being part of my film making practice.”

Grain of Truth 

Also making it into the MIFF program is Marcus Gale, with his film Grain of Truth. 

“It's great to be part of a leading film festival in Australia and to see short films embraced by a larger audience and on a big screen,” says Gale.

His film centres on the disappearance of Frances Wright, a woman who went missing shortly after filming mysterious orbs of light in the skies of the Blue Mountains. 

The creative process of putting this film together was particularly unique for Gale. Grain of Truth is a shorter re-edited version of his doctoral film, Liquid Light. 

“I was writing my thesis at the same time as creating this film. It was highly symbiotic as my film and the theoretical underpinnings influenced each other as I progressed through my Doctorate,” he says.

“When it comes to making films, it's important to embrace the creative process and follow your own interest and passions rather than trying to cater to a commercial market."

Seeing the bigger picture

Now is an important time for independent cinema, says Associate Professor Munt, given the current Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strikes.

“The success of these UTS films at MIFF highlights that there is still a demand for small budget films and ideas-led cinema," he says.

“Those large profit margins are unsustainable, and audiences want to see movies that are not only produced by corporations such as Netflix."

“People want to see a diversity of views and universities are really great places to provide that,” says Professor Munt.

Both films The Hidden Spring and Grain of Truth are being screened in the Melbourne International Film Festival during August.