Sarah Cabanilla says she has always wanted to make people happy with her films.
That upbeat approach won her the two biggest awards at last week’s Sunshine Short Film Festival.
Ms Cabanilla, 23, won the judges and the people’s choice awards, walking away with $6000 in prizemoney for her film
Three for Five.
She said it was a shock to get such a winning response to her work.
“We actually made it very quickly, so we weren’t sure what the reception was going to be like, or if it would translate from the small screen to the big screen,” she said.
“It was really surprising to get the response we did. There were so many great films, many that were better made, technically speaking.”
Three for Five depicts an unsociable fruit stall vendor who must learn to co-exist with a customer whose car breaks down in front of her store.
“It’s all about acceptance and friendship,” Ms Cabanilla said. “I’ve always wanted to make films that make people happy and are heartwarming, keeping it simple with two characters and one location and exploring the relationship between opposite people.
“I was actually driving through the countryside one day and saw a fruit vendor and the inspiration for the film started from there.”
She said she planned to split the prizemoney with her crew and hopefully enter more films in festivals in the near future.
For a full list of winners go to www.sunshinefilmfestival.com.au
