Performing Arts News

Bell Shakespeare Shorts’ Festival

Stop the Presses!

In incredibly exciting news, ‘Sonnet 73’ has been selected for the national finals of the Bell Shakespeare Shorts Film Festival! This is the fourth year of this highly prestigious Film Festival, and we are ecstatic that ‘Sonnet 73’ has been selected as one of only 17 films from across Australia.

Sonnet 73 was written and directed by Alfie Swan in Year 10, working with Jesse Hardaker (Year 10), Raphael Hampartzoumian (Year 10) and Charlie Monks (Year 9) in the cast. 

The brief from Bell Shakespeare is that the films entered in the festival for consideration in the competition, have to engage with one of Shakespeare’s plays in some way, this year Stage 5 Drama completed a set of films to enter as part of their class coursework. These films ranged in theme and style, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream inspired by the Barbie movie, Romeo and Juliet told from the perspective of Rosalind, a King Lear- inspired work where a young woman has to choose who of her friends to take to Luna Park, and many others. Alfie took a different tack, rather than basing his film in the stories of one of Shakespeare’s plays, he took a risk and found his inspiration in the Sonnets. This risk has payed off!

‘Sonnet 73’ joins a long list of very successful student films made here at BMGS – including as our fourth national finalist to Bell Shakespeare Shorts. In recent years students' Drama films from BMGS have been selected for (and won!), competitions from the local level right through to winning national filmmaking competitions. Students have also had the films they have made while here at BMGS selected for both National and International Film Festivals, and gone on to study at a variety of Film and Theatre schools after graduation.

We are so proud of the work that Stage 5 have done on their films and congratulate Alfie, Jesse, Raph, Charlie and ‘Sonnet 73’ on this outstanding achievement.

The Awards Ceremony will be livestreamed via Bell Shakepeare’s social media later in November.

Ms Danie Evans

Senior Drama Teacher

Drama Department