A young Mittagong film making duo have created a buzz at the international Smart Phone Short Film Festival.
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The 15 and 18 year old siblings, Olive and Ludo Blakemore, proved they don't need expensive film gear, a million dollar budget and a large crew to make a great movie.
The budding filmmakers were thrilled to win Best Performance and were selected as an Official Finalist. They also received a $500 prize.
The dynamic duo specialise in comedic tributes to the silent films of the 1920s.
Their award winning silent film The Bush Vampire was created for the 2019 Lithgow Halloween Short Film Competition. The project was one of 13 finalists selected from more than 450 entries from all over the world.
Ludo and Olive have made short films since they received their first iPods at the ages of nine and twelve.
The pair to love to engage friends and family in fun, active story-telling with minimal props and beautiful Highlands scenery. For The Bush Vampire the duo used an iPhone 6s with a stabiliser and cinematic lens attachment.
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Olive said shooting the film and working with family was difficult sometimes.
"We are learning to respect each other's different strengths and abilities and when to get out of each other's way - especially when we are working towards a deadline for a competition entry, or doing a promo film for a local business," she said.
"We love old black and white films and we are really happy with the way The Bush Vampire turned out."
Ludo said the creation of more short films was definitely on the agenda.
"We are definitely going to make more films like this and will keep entering film competitions around the world," he said.
This is the second time the filmmakers have entered an international smart phone film competition, and the second time one of their short film has made it all the way through the official selection process.
Their 2018 Short film Zombee was screened in the SF3 Smartfone Kids Flick Fest at Event Cinemas, Sydney in September this year.
The judges were reportedly impressed with the calibre of Ludo and Olive's film making skill at such a young age, especially when pitted against professionals with better resources.
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Olive said "hearing the audience laugh and applaud our film on the big screen was embarrassing but also great."
With a bit of help from their parents, the pair have launched a film and video production business called Wombat Films.
