Opportunities may be limited due to COVID-19 but that hasn't stopped Dubbo creatives from achieving new successes.
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Creatives involved in the making of Studio 138 short film Seeing are celebrating after the film screened at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood on August 7 as part of the Standalone Film Festival and Awards.
Writer Erifili Davis was also announced at the festival as one of three nominees in the Best Horror Writer category.
Ms Davis said she was most excited the film made its way from hometown Dubbo to Hollywood.
"Ultimately, the story took a team to bring it to life and in particular I'd like to acknowledge the efforts of Patrick [Smart] and Daniel [Rutter] who worked together to complete the edit and weave into it, and Nolan's amazing original soundtrack along with the actors' performances," she said.
The opportunity to write Seeing came as a result of a Create NSW funded workshop by Dubbo Filmmakers in 2018, where writers were invited to submit an idea for a short film for the opportunity to work with professional screenwriter Holly Lyons.
"The idea for Seeing came to me just before the deadline for submissions," Ms Davis said.
"Working with a professional like Holly was a huge opportunity and I learnt so much. She helped me to push the story further."
Ms Davis also worked with local writer Helen Murphy.
Despite a failed crowdfunding campaign, Ms Davis decided to go ahead and produce the film, relying on volunteer cast and crew.
"We have so much talent here in Dubbo," she said.
"I was particularly pleased to give young people a go and the opportunity to work with more experienced filmmakers like Daniel Rutter, who was the director of photography."
The film, directed by Patrick Smart who made his short film directorial debut, starred Milla Ross, who also made her screen debut in Seeing.
Mr Smart has since gone on to film school at AFTRS in Sydney.
Dubbo musician Nolan Furnell, who wrote the award nominated original score for Seeing.
"It's so humbling to think that our little film has made it all the way to Hollywood - it's almost surreal," Mr Furnell said.
"You hope, but never expect, that your work could go so far," director Daryl Rodda adds.
"I wish I was there."
Currently, Ms Davis is working on an episode of an international web series for a Canadian producer and is writing a short, post-apocalyptic film to shoot later this year.
Seeing can be viewed online at http://seeingshortfilm.com.
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