2024 JUDGES
ALEX OSBORNE
Alex Osborne is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Arts in Creative and Professional Writing, with a minor in Event Management at LaTrobe University. Pursuing additional media electives, they independently wrote and produced the podcast 'How’s The Fest : an in-depth look into the Melbourne Comedy Festival'. This was awarded a high distinction and gained Osborne an overall A grade pass in audio news writing and podcasting. Receiving the opportunity to participate in the Comedy Festival.
Francisca Braithwaite is a Chilean-born, AACTA Award-winning producer, writer, and director with a love for compelling storytelling and a dedication to creating impactful film and TV projects. Her short film, "Finding Addison," which she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in, won the 2024 AACTA Award for Best Short Film. The film was also selected by the prestigious French Academy of Cinema César for their Les Nuits en Or Program, which showcases the top 30 films from around the world. Her feature film "Rising Tide" was also selected for the 2024 AACTA Regional Landscapes Initiative. Francisca is currently undertaking a Masters Of Screen Business at AFTRS, which is due to be completed mid 2025.
In late 2020, Francisca founded Blue Sparrow Entertainment, a female-centric film and television production company. Blue Sparrow focuses on resonating with audiences, evoking emotions, and sparking conversations. The company is dedicated to bridging cultures and highlighting the richness of the human experience, with a strong commitment to diversity and female-driven stories.​
FRANCISCA BRAITHWAITE
GABRIEL CARRUBBA
​Born and raised in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Gabriel realised his passion for the arts after seeing the film 'Stand By Me' in a High School English class. At the age of seventeen,
Gabriel left school to pursue a career in acting at the Film & Television Studio International. After graduating, he landed his first role in the Sci-Fi, Netflix drama 'Glitch'. A year later, Gabriel went
on to study filmmaking at JMC Academy, while simultaneously studying method acting at the Melbourne Actors Lab.
After graduating from JMC Academy, Gabriel teamed up with Zane Borg at Pancake Originals, to push untold Australian stories. His directorial debut feature film 'Sunflower' was selected by Queer Screen to take part in the Goes to Cannes showcase at the Marché du Film (Cannes Film Festival) program in 2023. Shortly after, 'Sunflower' World Premiered at the Sydney Film Festival (SFF) and has since been selected for every major Australian film festival, including the Melbourne International Film Festival. In July of this year, ‘Sunflower’ released theatrically around the country.
Writer, director and producer, James Di Martino, prides himself in creating and finding rich stories that need to be told. In 2018, James directed the Social Shorts and AACTA finalist short film, ‘Five O’Clock’. In 2019, James completed the low-budget horror film, ‘The Faceless Man’ which was labelled the “best film of the year” at Film Treats critics reviews.
‘The Faceless Man’ went on to premier at Monster Festival and Haapsalu Film Festival in Estonia. In 2021, James worked with Llewellyn Michael Bates to make the short film, ‘City of Salt’ which won the best director award at Peninsula Film Festival and Cinefest Respectively. In 2024 James and Llewellyn teamed up once more for the short film "Baby" which premiered at the SLAMDANCE film festival in America to rave reviews.
JAMES DI MARTINO
JASON BYRNE
Jason Byrne Film Producer, works across multi-platform content creation and has produced internationally acclaimed and award winning work in the advertising, feature film, online media, documentary and branded entertainment space. His roots in advertising however, have paved the way for what’s now considered his niche in the communications/media & advertising world.
Jason’s online content credits include ‘How to Talk Australians’ (dir. Tony Rogers, 2014) garnered over 12 million YouTube views, comedy web series ‘Little Acorns’ (2016), and period black comedy web series ‘Bruce’ (dir. Tony Rogers, 2016) starring Dave Lawson, Angus Sampson and Richard Davies. His feature and short film credits have been nominated and awarded at the AFI, IF & SPAA awards. Feature credits include ‘One Perfect Day’ (dir. Paul Currie, 2003), Little Deaths (2004), Rats & ‘Cats. (dir Tony Rogers 2005) and Sucker’ (dir. Ben Chessell, 2015).
Marc Gracie is an Australian writer, producer and director of films and television, best known for his work in the comedy field. His credits include producing and directing roles on projects such as ‘The Adventures of Lano and Woodley’ TV show, ‘Full Frontal’, ‘With Tim Ferguson’ and . He’s directed several features such as ‘Takeaway’, ‘You and Your Stupid Mate’, ‘Spinout’ and ‘The Tumbler’, which he won the 2009 Melbourne Underground Film Festival Best Director award for due to his work on the film. He also directed the original Wogs Out of Work stage production, and has been one of the largest contributors to the field of Australian Comedy on in the past 30 years.
MARC GRACIE
JAK SCANLON
Jak Scanlon is a Melbourne/Narrm-based film writer, director, and producer with extensive experience in film. He has been involved in a wide range of productions, from small-scale independent short films to larger, to short-form online content, to more ambitious feature film projects, spanning various genres from drama to comedy. Scanlon's work is characterized by naturalistic dialogue, compelling performances, and strong visual design, reflecting a versatile and dedicated approach to cinematic excellence.
Nick Kozakis, director and editor at Visible Studios, is an award winning 3x ARIA nominated and ADG nominated director, helming projects with some of Australia's most talented creatives. Nick most
recently directed his feature film, “Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism,” which has been acquired for North American distribution by XYZ Films, with Coven as the global sales agent for the rest of the world. Godless has played at many prestigious festivals, including but not limited to MIFF and Sitges where it won the ‘People’s Choice Award’ for best film. It had its world premiere at Overlook Film Festival in March 2023 and is now a Tubi Original. Godless has also been nominated for 3 x AACTA awards. Nick's portfolio includes many notable music videos (such as 'Dance Monkey' for "Tones And I" which has over 2 billion YouTube views). With a knack for building tension and suspense, Nick has quickly become one of the most exciting and promising emerging talents in the film industry.
NICK KOZAKIS
RIA PATEL
Actress, dancer, and writer Ria Patel is a dynamic talent straddling the worlds of Australian and American cinema. She recently finished filming a comedy under the direction of the esteemed Tony Rogers (known for "Wilfred"), the film showcases the immigrant dream. Ria's work spans genres and themes, with a particular focus on mental health and sisterhood in her acclaimed film "The Rose Garden," which has garnered accolades including Best Film at the DC South Asian Film Festival.
In addition to her film work, Ria has worked with renowned brands like Toyota, Kmart, and Hewlett Packard. However, her work with Libra Australia holds a special place in her heart, as it allows her
to represent South Asian women and tackle the taboo topic of period pain, a subject she is deeply passionate about shedding light on.
Ria truly believes storytelling has the power to connect, comfort and also challenge the audience to evoke change in the world and within themselves. Stories have always been there for her and now, she is committed to being there for her audience.
Ted has a career that spans virtually every medium of performance, from Broadway to TV and film, musical to drama, music videos, cartoon voicing to creating roles in new works. Ted is an award-
winning teacher and coach of actors, directors, producers, and writers – and is a prolific creator and producer of content for stage and screens. Ted also teaches and mentors directors, producers, writers at the top film schools in the USA, including adjunct faculty at USC School of Cinematic Arts (including the Stark Program), The American Film Institute, Chapman University, Occidental College, Elon U. in LA, and many others.
Ted holds a BFA from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and has worked as an actor with figures such as Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Whoopi Goldberg, Jerry Zaks, Stephen Sondheim, Alan Menken, Flaherty & Ahrens, Rob Marshal, etc. Ted has also coached many other renowned actors, athletes, and musicians among the likes of George C. Scott and Jack Lemmon, James Gandolfini, Mark Feuerstein, Tyra Banks, Valarie Pettiford, and many others. He has his own studio in Los Angeles. See more details at TedBrunettiStudio.com
TED BRUNETTI
TONY ROGERS
Tony Rogers has directed work for clients as diverse as Work Cover, Sorbent, Libra, Just Jeans, CBA, Ford, Nissan, Fosters and AAMI. His award winning signature style is comedic realism and high concepts, using brilliant casting and great performance. Recently Tony has directed Brand work specifically for Nissan – Tank, iSelect – Office, Libra – Drag Queen, AAMI – Rhonda ( Campaign ), and Work Safe – Wheel of Pain. He was the co- creator and director of the ‘Wilfred” series for SBS, which is now a hit series in the US. His first foray into feature film was the highly acclaimed “Rats and Cats”, a quirky but realistic look into the lives of an unexpected group of Aussies passing time in the fictitious coastal town of Gladdington, and has most recently filmed a movie adaption of his beloved web series: ‘How to Talk Australians’
Following a number of years working in the music industry alongside many prominent Australian and International Artists, Tori’s focus and passion moved to film and television. She has been working in film and TV production since 2007 - continuously in development and production on short and long form projects in both Australia and NZ. This includes the likes of Australia’s web series ‘How to Talk Australians’ and also a multitude of television commercials with some great Australian and Kiwi directors. She worked with Emmy Award winning director Eva Orner on her Amazon Prime documentary ‘The Burning’, which speaks to climate change and documenting the Australian Bushfires of 2019/2020.
Tori’s notable short films include ‘Lil’ with director Lizzy Bailey – shortlisted in 2019 Tropfest; ‘The Hunted’ with director Benn Jae (2019 St Kilda Short Film Festival); ‘The More the Storm’ – with director Nathan Croft screening at St Kilda Short Film Festival and Flickerfest 2023, and most recently ‘Echoes’ with director Ahmad Ebrahimi at SKSFF. Tori is currently in post production on Tony Rogers feature film ‘How To Talk Australians – Highway to Hell’.
