BBFF2025 | Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year
Scores of Young Australian Filmmakers entered BBFF’s coveted Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Competition this year. This session features the top 12 Nominees for 2025.
4pm Sunday 19 October at Palace Cinemas
The Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Competition has been part of the Byron Bay International Film Festival (BBFF) since 2007, and it continues to shine a light on the voices of tomorrow. Each year, the competition gives emerging filmmakers a platform to share their vision and be recognised for their talent, passion, and fresh ideas.
For 2025, BBFF will showcase the top 10 finalists, all under the age of 25. These young creatives bring a mix of skill, energy, and originality to their work, offering audiences a glimpse into the future of Australian cinema. Their films tell diverse and powerful stories - each one shaped by the unique perspective of its creator and the creativity that thrives in our film community.
The 2025 nominees include A Hundred Bucks by Tallulah Louis Remond-Stephen, Consume by Aliyah Knight, In The Cold Of The Sun by Cleo Helena Baldwin, Lateral by Max Cadzow-Smith and Hugo Parrish, and Mother Tongue by Lavanya Wickramasinghe. Joining them are Say by Chloe Kemp, Snap by Lily Lunder and Koko Crozier, The Mediator by Roman Anastasios, The Tinsel Years by Milla Rovere, The Wake by Tadji Ulrich, and Wake by Luca Ferraiuolo.
Together, these films reflect a wide spectrum of voices and styles - from sharp-edged drama to playful experimentation - united by the courage of young filmmakers eager to test the boundaries of story and form. With many nominees attending in person to share their perspectives, this screening offers a rare and inspiring opportunity to encounter the next generation of cinematic storytellers.
It’s a celebration of emerging talent, bold ideas, and the future of film. Don’t miss your chance to see these stories first.
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TALLULAH LOUIS REMOND-STEPHEN
A Hundred Bucks
Scantily dressed and wrapped in tape, an aspiring actress and a self-styled artist clash over ambition, art, and miscommunication in a tense, absurd, and unexpectedly real photo shoot.
Tallulah (24) is a French-Australian actor-director whose award-winning work blends European introspection, Australian rawness, and a touch of the absurd to explore the realities of modern girlhood.
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ALIYAH KNIGHT
Consume
17 year-old Esther, raised in a strict religious household, spirals into guilt and confusion after an intimate moment with her best friend leads her to believe she’s crossed an unthinkable line - one she must now hide from her mother and twin sister.
Aliyah (23) is a Black and queer storyteller whose darkly funny, politically charged work explores cannibals, Catholic guilt, and killer vampire girlbands.
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CLEO BALDWIN
In The Cold of the Sun
Cadaver Amongst the Cattle: A dead body, a dodgy boss, and a murder-obsessed best mate - Dalia just wanted a quiet day on the station.
Cleo Baldwin is a filmmaker driven by a love of women-centred comedy and storytelling that makes audiences laugh - and think - often at the same time, drawing on personal history, poetic ideas, and a flair for the absurd.
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MAX CADZOW-SMITH + HUGO PARRISH
Lateral
Rick, an unsatisfied, middle-aged cinema attendant, stumbles into an endless non-Euclidean labyrinth beneath his workplace. He soon realises he is not alone...
Both 21 years old Max Cadzow-Smith and Hugo Parrish are filmmaking collaborators united by a love of offbeat, experimental horror—blending raw energy with a playful sense of dread and a shared desire to push the genre’s boundaries.
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LAVANYA WICKRAMASINGHE
Mother Tongue
During a family gathering, a shy teen reconnects with her Sri Lankan heritage through her grandmother in a tender exploration of language, identity, and belonging.
Lavanya Wickramasinghe (19) is a Melbourne-born filmmaker whose work explores identity and human connection through bold, collaborative storytelling across film, theatre, music, and visual art.
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CHLOE KEMP
Say
Escalating conflict during a car journey through rural Victoria forces 21-year-old Dana to determine where true safety lies for her three-year-old daughter.
Chloe Kemp is a writer-director drawn to provocative storytelling that transforms uncomfortable truths into impactful, conversation-starting cinema.
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KOKO CROZIER + LILY LUNDER
Snap
A lone photographer at a mountain cabin grows suspicious that she might be someone else's subject.
Koko Crozier and Lily Lunder - both 20 - are a filmmaking duo known for their female-driven stories with a psychological edge, combining naturalistic eeriness with slow-burn suspense to explore the darker corners of human experience.
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ROMAN ANASTASIOS
The Mediator
It’s 2009. Mick Gatto (Steve Bastoni) is coming - and two men in a London hotel should’ve run when they had the chance.
Roman Anastasios (23) is a VCA-trained director with a cinematographer’s eye, drawn to bold, character-driven stories told with cinematic scale and emotional depth.
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MILLA ROVERE
The Tinsel Years
Lonely and stuck in the monotony of life, Jane fakes her own funeral—only to reveal a deeper desire to win the approval of her Mall-Santa mogul mother.
Milla (22) is an emerging filmmaker drawn to stories of lonely, flawed characters reaching for connection—crafting darkly funny, emotionally honest narratives with a tender eye on selfish, searching female protagonists.
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TADJI ULRICH
The Wake
Following the death of his father, an emotionally deflective son’s attempt to return home and reconnect with his mother are strained when she reveals that she has seen a giant sea monster carcass on the beach.
Tadji Ulrich (23) is known for stories that blend genre elements with traditional drama, crafting experiential films that offer a unique lens through which to interrogate the intricacies of love, loss and healing.
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LUCA FEERAIUOLO
Wake
A poignant tale of two brothers who are on their annual camping trip together. However, Elijah finds it hard to stay present during the trip with his older brother Syd, as there is an aching weight within himself that he does not want to face.
Luca Ferraiuolo (23) is drawn to emotionally rich dramas that explore personal struggle and human connection, crafting intimate, visually striking stories with authenticity and heart.
SESSION TIMES
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PALACE BYRON BAY
Sunday 19 October 4pm