Samantha Takes Out Top Film Award
What started as an escape, became a passion and now Samantha Dennis-Serhan has been recognised for all the work that goes into her production company.
Samantha’s film Wild Country took out best local film at the recent Blue Heeler Film Festival, a feat she is very excited by.
“I guess in a lot of ways it was it was a bit of validation in a way to like show, yes, I can do this, I knew this is good, I know this is what I want to do,” Samantha explained.
“To be a female director in the room, and to be doing an action film because there are fewer female directors that do action movies, and to have those awards be given to you was just surreal and very rewarding.”
Wild Country, filmed around Muswellbrook and Denman, follows the rampage of a young girl whose dog is stolen.
Best local film was not the only accolade the film received, Shane Hanrahan received the Best Actor Bluey, and Teddy Dennis-Serhan best actress, for their roles.
Samantha is planning on putting the seven-minute film on YouTube to share with everyone wanting to see it, and down the line she intends to put the full 15-minute version up when the additional footage is edited.
“I think the best thing, and the most surprising thing, which came out of it was not the plot, it was the family that I developed which is the villains,” she said, adding there may be a sequel in the future.
But that will be after her feature film, Our Friend Flint, is wrapped.
Blue Heeler Film Festival 2022 Winners list
Open category sponsored by Bengalla Jason King ‘Rover’
Secondary Schools sponsored by Bengalla Erin May Ryan ‘Spoons’
Best Local Film Samantha Dennis-Serhan ‘Wild Country’
Best Actor Shane Hanrahan ‘Wild Country’
Best Actress Teddy Dennis-Serhan ‘Wild Country,
Best Director Jack Barrett ‘The Ferocious Beast’
Best Cinematography Jason King ‘Rover’
Best Production Design Shimmy Yang ‘Homework’
Best Doggo Loki & Harley ‘The Working Dog – one day at a time’
Best Doggo Nellie ‘Memories of Nellie’
Best Doggo Ivy & Maggie ‘Working Dog Expert’
Highly Commended – Open Category
Bryan Fisher – ‘Revenge of the Short People’
Caleb Leneham & Tom Wilson- ‘Fetch and Co’
Hugo Morgan – ‘Hair of the Dog’
Jacob Ian Mitchell Borradaile & Joanne Louise Kelly – ‘Memories of Nellie’
Chris Buckley – ‘The Working Dog One Day at a Time’
Dominic Fitzgerald – ‘Waiting for Herefordot’
Highly Commended – secondary category:
Ethan Ickowicz & Zac Ickowicz – Working Dogs: The Dogumentary
Lachlan O’brien & Max Nightingale – The Underground
Carl Ross & Phoenix Mcleod – 1950’s detective movie
Jessica Freda Ash & Maya Balkin – A Day In The Life At Bennify
Finley York – Dogma
Jack Danger Barrett & Charlie McGovern – The Ferocious Beast