Soldier On – a short film produced by a team of Bond University film and television students – will be shown at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival.
A team of 17 Bond students led by Chloe Kent (producer), James Haigh (director), Gina Powell (writer), Dallas Davidson (production designer) and Hilde Skjøtskift Sonesen (cinematographer) originally produced the 10-minute film as their graduation project.
“We have previously seen a number of student films selected for various international film festivals, but this is the first time one of our teams have made it into the prestigious Festival de Cannes,” said Dr Michael Sergi, Director of Film and Television at Bond University.
“Their success clearly demonstrates the high standard of our student productions and the quality of teaching and learning in Bond’s Film and Television program,” he said.
Filmed on location at The Southport School and in Warwick, Soldier On tells the story of a young returned serviceman - Alex Carney - who wants nothing more than to re-establish a normal life with his parents and younger sister after returning home from Afghanistan. Having experienced more than most during his tour of duty, Alex struggles to separate military and civilian life, and ultimately faces the decision of whether he should return to the army to protect his family from himself.
The film will be screened as part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner – a professional forum dedicated to meeting industry people and exchanging ideas, where up-and-coming filmmakers from all over the world are given the opportunity to show their work and promote future film projects.
Producer Chloe, director James and writer Gina will be there in person to network with the film industry heavyweights.
“We’ve arrived in Cannes and the atmosphere surrounding the Festival is incredible – it feels like we’ve stepped onto a film set,” said Chloe. “The Festival officially commences today [May 17] and we are really looking forward to attending lots of feature and short film premieres.
“Of course, our most important ‘date’ will be the Short Film Corner where we’ll be mingling with industry professionals and attending workshops. We’re hoping that we may even have the opportunity to sell Soldier On.”
James and Chloe will be documenting their Festival de Cannes adventures through videos and journal entries on Facebook via the Bond University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Bond University Film and Television Awards (BUFTA) web pages.
“Whilst the incredible journey James and I are now on is a result of the hard work put in by our whole team over the course of 11 months, it is also recognition of the support Bond provides in helping students bring their ambitions to life,” said Chloe.
Soldier On will have its official Australian premiere next Wednesday [May 23] at the St Kilda Film Festival where it has been selected for the Under the Radar division for young filmmakers.
Visit the Bond University website for more information on the Bachelor of Film and Television or the BUFTA competition, now open to Australian school students who are budding young filmmakers.