Perth’s home-grown Home & Away star Kirsty Marillier says this year’s $77,500 prize pool for The Best Australian Short Film Competition was exactly the opportunity she needed when she was getting knocked back in her bid for acting stardom.
These days — after three rejections from WAAPA and a further two from NIDA — the TV star from Leeming finds herself on the judging panel to help other young screen talent as original entries pour into the movie competition.
Famed for her role as Rose Delaney on the Channel 7 drama, she revealed why she joined the jury for the competition, which has seen 300 entries from around the country already flood in.
“I think competitions like this are crucial to upskilling young talent. As a younger artist I would have killed for an opportunity like this,” Marillier said.
“This kind of prizemoney it’s quite rare. As an actor, it’s only once in a blue moon those big prizes come along. They really can change the course of your career.”
“The fact that the short film competition is based in WA is a bonus for me. I have such a soft spot for Perth and I hope it encourages people to be brave, and give people that tick of approval they might feel they need.”
The 33-year-old said entering competitions is good for confidence-building and dealing with the knock-backs and rejections she went through before she landed TV roles.
“I auditioned three times for WAAPA and twice for NIDA and on my fourth audition when I didn’t get a call back I went to Grill’d with a friend, I was 20 at the time, and I remember saying, ‘I think I am going to throw in the towel’,” she admitted.
But she finally got into WAAPA.
As for what she will be looking for from the entries, she explained: “A short film really needs to have a good premise — what is the intent behind the piece, and what kind of narrative questions does it have.”
“It’s really important that the story is tight for a bite-sized film. We really need to be told what we are getting and why it is told in this way in 15 or 20 minutes,” she said.
“We don’t get that opportunity you do in feature films to stay with the story that long, so it’s about being really specific. I am always looking to be moved as an artist. I’m looking for a unique perspective and for it to be tight.”
Marillier credits honing her craft in WA for her own growing success.
“I loved my times at WAAPA. It was some of the best years of my life actually. I auditioned for WAAPA three times which showed how badly I wanted to get into that school,” she said. “The training was so rigorous, there was so much that I have taken into my career now.”
The award-winning playwright said competitions can be a good artistic springboard.
“A few years ago I won the Nick Enright Prize for playwriting — and that was really a lauded award,” she said. “I think what that meant was there was a level of seriousness I took to my writing process after that moment. It changed my career.”
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