Entertainment
8 June, 2025
Calling all filmmakers
GOT a story to tell on screen? The Understory Film Festival is back and looking for FNQ’s brightest filmmaking talent –submissions are now officially open for the festival coming up in November.
For over a decade the Understory Film Festival has been shining a light on regional voices and stories from both seasoned filmmakers to people getting started on their creative journey. With its return in November 2025, it’s time for locals to let their creativity fly and prepare for this year’s festival.
Last year’s winner of best picture and people’s choice with the film Chesters, director, writer and producer Jannah Dryden from Whitfield, said the Understory Film Festival had encouraged her to turn her short film into a web series.
“Chesters is a proof-of-concept film for a web series that I’m writing, so the idea was to put Chesters out on to the film festival circuit to see how it would land.It landed very well, which gave us the proof and the boost we needed to start writing and producing this web series,” she said.
“So the story follows Shaun and his absurd first day at work, which goes hilariously wrong, as he uncovers the shady dealings behind the company’s façade.
“The film was garnering all of this attention overseas and winning awards out of town, so for it to finally be screened at home, was the best place to have it.
“It was really cool to be able to be at home, have all the cast and crew there and Hayden Keable, who’s one of the main actors, we ran towards each other at the front of the stage when we won best picture, so it was a beautiful and quite an emotional experience.
“It definitely gave us the energy and fire in our bellies to go ahead with the web series.”
Ms Dryden said she recommended other local filmmakers to give the festival a try.
“It’s been phenomenal to see the growth in the quality of films that are coming from the local area in just the last year of the Understory Film Festival,” she said.
“So 100 per cent, I think this is worth a shot, there’s nothing like seeing your work up on the big screen.
“Often times being regional filmmakers comes with the mindset of having a lack of resources which can hold people back but I think that’s an opportunity to innovate and do things differently.”
The Understory High Film Festival, aimed at high school students, is also opened for submissions. The Understory High screening and awards will be held in October.
To find out more and
submit your entries, visit
