<description>Hello, and welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast. My name is Matthew Eeles. 

In this episode, I’m joined by Danielle Stamoulos, the writer and lead actor of the impressive new short film, Gorgo. 

Regular listeners will notice that this Podcast episode is shorter than usual as it was originally recorded for my radio show on 2RRR. 

Danielle is an AACTA-winning Greek-Australian filmmaker, actor, and writer working across film, TV, and theatre. Her short film GORGO, which she created, wrote, and starred in, won the 2025 AACTA Award for Best Australian Short Film. It also screened at major festivals, including Santa Barbara, Flickerfest (winning Best Original Music), St Kilda, Newport Beach, and Rhode Island. Danielle also won Best Performance at the recent 2025 Stellar Film Festival.

Inspired by Greek ‘promised brides’ &amp; Ovid’s Medusa myth, Gorgo is a dramatic short film that tells the story of a Greek bride’s cross-continental journey to marry a man she has never met. Matchmade by her best friend Athina, with promises of a new future in a distant land, Medousa finds herself arriving in Australia to a strange home—and a cold welcome. Thrust into her new marriage, she soon discovers a monstrous secret that threatens to tear apart the best friends’ vow of sisterhood.

I really hope you get to see the incredibly moving short film at some stage. Keep an eye on cinemaaustralia.com.au and we will try to keep you as up to date as possible. 

Anyway… enjoy. </description>

Hello, and welcome to the latest episode of the C…

Hello, and welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast. My name is Matthew Eeles. 

In this episode, I’m joined by Danielle Stamoulos, the writer and lead actor of the impressive new short film, Gorgo. 

Regular listeners will notice that this Podcast episode is shorter than usual as it was originally recorded for my radio show on 2RRR. 

Danielle is an AACTA-winning Greek-Australian filmmaker, actor, and writer working across film, TV, and theatre. Her short film GORGO, which she created, wrote, and starred in, won the 2025 AACTA Award for Best Australian Short Film. It also screened at major festivals, including Santa Barbara, Flickerfest (winning Best Original Music), St Kilda, Newport Beach, and Rhode Island. Danielle also won Best Performance at the recent 2025 Stellar Film Festival.

Inspired by Greek ‘promised brides’ & Ovid’s Medusa myth, Gorgo is a dramatic short film that tells the story of a Greek bride’s cross-continental journey to marry a man she has never met. Matchmade by her best friend Athina, with promises of a new future in a distant land, Medousa finds herself arriving in Australia to a strange home—and a cold welcome. Thrust into her new marriage, she soon discovers a monstrous secret that threatens to tear apart the best friends’ vow of sisterhood.

I really hope you get to see the incredibly moving short film at some stage. Keep an eye on cinemaaustralia.com.au and we will try to keep you as up to date as possible. 

Anyway… enjoy. 

Episode #120 | Danielle Stamoulos

<description>Welcome to this very different episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast.

So, what’s so different about this episode? Well, it’s the first-ever Cinema Australia Podcast recording with a live audience.

This episode was recorded during the recent WA Made Film Festival, where we invited friend-of-the-fest Zak Hilditch to join me and other punters for an interview about his career and his new film, We Bury the Dead.

We Bury the Dead was filmed in Western Australia and follows Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley), a desperate woman searching for her husband in the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment.

Hoping to find him alive, Ava joins a "body retrieval unit," but her search takes a chilling turn when the corpses she's burying start showing signs of life.

We Bury the Dead will celebrate its official world premiere at SXSW from March 9 to March 13.

As the film isn’t officially out yet, and I missed it at the Adelaide Film Festival, most of this episode focuses on Zak’s career as a whole—which is hard not to admire.

Following Zak’s Backyard Trilogy, a series of low-budget films he made in the early stages of his career, the filmmaker went on to make the cult classic These Final Hours here in Perth, followed by the Stephen King adaptation 1922 and his horror thriller Rattlesnake, both made for Netflix.

Thank you to everyone who attended this session during the WA Made Film Festival. We hope to bring similar sessions to future festivals.

Anyway… enjoy.
</description>

Welcome to this very different episode of the Cin…

Welcome to this very different episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast.

So, what’s so different about this episode? Well, it’s the first-ever Cinema Australia Podcast recording with a live audience.

This episode was recorded during the recent WA Made Film Festival, where we invited friend-of-the-fest Zak Hilditch to join me and other punters for an interview about his career and his new film, We Bury the Dead.

We Bury the Dead was filmed in Western Australia and follows Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley), a desperate woman searching for her husband in the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment.

Hoping to find him alive, Ava joins a "body retrieval unit," but her search takes a chilling turn when the corpses she's burying start showing signs of life.

We Bury the Dead will celebrate its official world premiere at SXSW from March 9 to March 13.

As the film isn’t officially out yet, and I missed it at the Adelaide Film Festival, most of this episode focuses on Zak’s career as a whole—which is hard not to admire.

Following Zak’s Backyard Trilogy, a series of low-budget films he made in the early stages of his career, the filmmaker went on to make the cult classic These Final Hours here in Perth, followed by the Stephen King adaptation 1922 and his horror thriller Rattlesnake, both made for Netflix.

Thank you to everyone who attended this session during the WA Made Film Festival. We hope to bring similar sessions to future festivals.

Anyway… enjoy.


Episode #119 | Zak Hilditch

<description>Welcome to the Cinema Australia Podcast.

In this episode I’m joined by Charles Williams to discuss Inside, a prison drama starring Guy Pearce, Cosmo Jarvis, Tammy MacIntosh and newcomer, Vincent Miller whose name you should make note of because you’re going to hear a lot more from this impressive young actor. 

Here’s the synopsis: After being transferred from juvenile to adult prison, Mel (Vincent Miller) is taken under the wing of both Mark (Cosmo Jarvis), Australia’s most despised criminal, and Warren (Guy Pearce), a soon-to-be-paroled inmate. As a paternal triangle grows between them, we see that even the worst of men have a little bit of good inside that will be their undoing.

Charles Williams is an acclaimed Australian film director whose short film All These Creatures won the Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Palme d'Or as well as an AACTA award here at home. 

Charles grew up in a remote country town in northern Victoria. Since then, his films have gone on to screen at more than 200 of the world’s most prestigious festivals. 

He has also been selected as part of TIFF’s Filmmaker Lab, The Golden Globes Filmmaker Residency and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

Inside is Charles’ debut feature film. It has a discomforting psychological depth to it reminiscent of the films of Justin Kurzel like Nitram and Snowtown, and Thomas M. Wright’s The Stranger.

There’s nothing familiar about Charles Williams’ filmmaking style though. Inside feels completely unique both visually and narratively. 

Anyway… enjoy.</description>

Welcome to the Cinema Australia Podcast.

In this…

Welcome to the Cinema Australia Podcast.

In this episode I’m joined by Charles Williams to discuss Inside, a prison drama starring Guy Pearce, Cosmo Jarvis, Tammy MacIntosh and newcomer, Vincent Miller whose name you should make note of because you’re going to hear a lot more from this impressive young actor. 

Here’s the synopsis: After being transferred from juvenile to adult prison, Mel (Vincent Miller) is taken under the wing of both Mark (Cosmo Jarvis), Australia’s most despised criminal, and Warren (Guy Pearce), a soon-to-be-paroled inmate. As a paternal triangle grows between them, we see that even the worst of men have a little bit of good inside that will be their undoing.

Charles Williams is an acclaimed Australian film director whose short film All These Creatures won the Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Palme d'Or as well as an AACTA award here at home. 

Charles grew up in a remote country town in northern Victoria. Since then, his films have gone on to screen at more than 200 of the world’s most prestigious festivals. 

He has also been selected as part of TIFF’s Filmmaker Lab, The Golden Globes Filmmaker Residency and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

Inside is Charles’ debut feature film. It has a discomforting psychological depth to it reminiscent of the films of Justin Kurzel like Nitram and Snowtown, and Thomas M. Wright’s The Stranger.

There’s nothing familiar about Charles Williams’ filmmaking style though. Inside feels completely unique both visually and narratively. 

Anyway… enjoy.

Episode #118 | Charles Williams

<description>Welcome to the Cinema Australia Podcast.

In this episode, I’m joined by Under Streetlights writer, director and co-producer Danielle Loy to discuss this incredibly moving musical drama. 

This film is the exact reason why you shouldn’t sleep on independently-made Australian films. Quite often, they’re far better than a lot of the mainstream Australian films being made. Under Streetlights deserves all the attention it gets. 

Inspired by true events, Under Streetlights follows two young artists, Izak (played by Jacob Harvey) and Ella (played by Madison Hull) from vastly different worlds who collide through their shared passion for music, forging an unexpected bond that defies cultural barriers and fuels their fight to rise above their struggles. 

Danielle Loy is an award-winning filmmaker and lawyer from Alice Springs. Her documentary film Bush Law was awarded best documentary at the Melbourne International Film Festival by screen critic veteran Margaret Pomeranz. Danielle has spent her working life dedicated to bridging chasms of misunderstanding between indigenous and non-indigenous legal systems, and working in a plethora of roles in films and tv shows made in Central Australia. 

I can’t thank Danielle enough for sharing her personal stories that led to and inspired the making of Under Streetlights. This was an interview that I won’t forget anytime soon. 

Anyway… enjoy. 
</description>

Welcome to the Cinema Australia Podcast.

In this episode, I’m joined by Under Streetlights writer, director and co-producer Danielle Loy to discuss this incredibly moving musical drama. 

This film is the exact reason why you shouldn’t sleep on independently-made Australian films. Quite often, they’re far better than a lot of the mainstream Australian films being made. Under Streetlights deserves all the attention it gets. 

Inspired by true events, Under Streetlights follows two young artists, Izak (played by Jacob Harvey) and Ella (played by Madison Hull) from vastly different worlds who collide through their shared passion for music, forging an unexpected bond that defies cultural barriers and fuels their fight to rise above their struggles. 

Danielle Loy is an award-winning filmmaker and lawyer from Alice Springs. Her documentary film Bush Law was awarded best documentary at the Melbourne International Film Festival by screen critic veteran Margaret Pomeranz. Danielle has spent her working life dedicated to bridging chasms of misunderstanding between indigenous and non-indigenous legal systems, and working in a plethora of roles in films and tv shows made in Central Australia. 

I can’t thank Danielle enough for sharing her personal stories that led to and inspired the making of Under Streetlights. This was an interview that I won’t forget anytime soon. 

Anyway… enjoy. 


Episode #117 | Danielle Loy

<description>Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast.

In this episode, I’m joined by Luke J.S. and Luke Wijayasinha-Gray to discuss Your Love is Mine, a moody and atmospheric relationship drama with a touch of horror. 

Your Love is Mine explores the depths of love and desperation and tells the story of a couple whose relationship is put to the ultimate test when a sudden tragedy strikes. As one partner goes to unimaginable lengths to preserve their union, the film delves into the emotional extremes that love can drive us to. Your Love is Mine stars Senie Priti, Lester Ellis Jr, and Maurial Spearim.

It’s always a thrill to speak with independent filmmakers who are starting out in their career. I really can’t wait to see what these two do next. 

Your Love is Mine is available to stream now via Bounty Films. 

Anyway… enjoy. </description>

Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Austr…

Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast.

In this episode, I’m joined by Luke J.S. and Luke Wijayasinha-Gray to discuss Your Love is Mine, a moody and atmospheric relationship drama with a touch of horror. 

Your Love is Mine explores the depths of love and desperation and tells the story of a couple whose relationship is put to the ultimate test when a sudden tragedy strikes. As one partner goes to unimaginable lengths to preserve their union, the film delves into the emotional extremes that love can drive us to. Your Love is Mine stars Senie Priti, Lester Ellis Jr, and Maurial Spearim.

It’s always a thrill to speak with independent filmmakers who are starting out in their career. I really can’t wait to see what these two do next. 

Your Love is Mine is available to stream now via Bounty Films. 

Anyway… enjoy. 

Episode #116 | Luke J.S. and Luke Wijayasinha-Gray

Collecting Australian filmmaking stories. Discover more at www.cinemaaustralia.com.au.

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