From
The Daily Telegraph in Australia. You can read a transcript of an ABC news interview with the filmmaker
here. The making of the film was an
inclusive process, according to Accessible Arts in Australia.
Newcastle filmmaker Genevieve Clay has won Tropfest 2009 with her short film "Be My Brother."
The 20-year-old took out the top prize at the 17th annual Tropfest on Sunday night for her story about a young man with Down Syndrome.
Clay thanked her leading man Gerard O'Dwyer, (pictured) who she said inspired the film she entered in to the short film competition.
"It's his film. It's my lead actor's film. It came from Gerard," she said.
O'Dwyer picked up the best male actor award on the night.
Clay said she discovered O'Dwyer while she was making a documentary for Down Syndrome NSW.
"He just burst out with a Shakespeare soliloquy on the first day," she said. "I thought what an incredible young man. I thought, I have got to get this guy on film."
Clay said Be My Brother took almost a year to make and she was quietly confident about its chances of winning.
"Because I had an incredible cast and incredible lead actor I was confident," she said.
Clay won a prize package worth $100,000, including a trip to LA to meet with film executives, and $5,000 cash.
From The Daily Telegraph in Australia. You can read a transcript of an ABC news interview with the filmmaker here. The making of the film was an inclusive process, according to Accessible Arts in Australia.