Elissa Down is an Australian filmmaker, who in 1999 and 2000, was nominated for Young Film-maker of the year at the WA Screen Awards. Her major works are a number of award-winning short films, ''Summer Angst'', ''The Cherry Orchard'', ''Her Outback'', ''The Bathers'', ''Pink Pyjamas'', ''HMAS Unicorn'' and ''Samantha Stewart, aged fourteen''. They have been screened at numerous festivals including Tampere, Locarno Aix-en-Provence, Montecatini, Milan, San Francisco Indie, St Kilda, Brisbane, Revelation, Women on Women, POV and Tropfest. These shorts have also been screened in theatres and broadcast nationally and overseas. Down was one of Australia's upcoming artists featured in the In Progress spread in Vogue (2005). Down's first feature film, the semi-autobiographical, '' The Black Balloon'' was released in Australian cinemas 6 March 2008. It stars Rhys Wakefield, Gemma Ward,

Luke Ford Luke Ford (born 26 March 1981) is a Canadian-Australian actor. His career began in television in 2000 and his first film role was in 2006 before being cast in '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' in 2008. Ford's regular television roles ...

Erik Thomson Erik Thomson is a Scottish-born New Zealand-Australian actor. He is known for playing Hades in the television series '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', '' Xena Warrior Princess'' and '' Young Hercules'', Dr. Mitch Stevens in '' All Saints' ...

and Academy Award Nominee

Toni Collette Toni Collette (born Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television, blockbusters and independent films, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, wit ...

. The film was partially based on herself and family. It was produced by Tristram Miall and co-written by Jimmy The Exploder. The world premiere was at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

in Germany in February 2008, where the film received a Crystal Bear as the best feature-length film in the ''Generation 14plus'' category. On 6 December 2008 Down was awarded the AFI Best Direction in Film Award and AFI Best Original Screenplay Award (along with Jimmy The Exploder) for the Black Balloon. The film also won the L'Oreal Paris AFI Award for Best Film. Down's other feature film directing credits include '' The Honor List'' (2018), starring Meghan Rienks and

Sasha Pieterse Sasha Pieterse Sheaffer (; born February 17, 1996) is a South African and American actress and singer. She is known for portraying Alison DiLaurentis in the Freeform (TV channel), Freeform series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017), and its sp ...

and '' Feel the Beat'' (2020) starring Sofia Carson.

Awards

* ''The Black Balloon'' Winner Best Feature Film – Berlin International Film Festival, Generation 14+ section, 2008 * ''Summer Angst'' Winner Best Actor Female – Tropfest, 2004 * ''The Bathers'' Winner Grand Prix Split International Festival of New Film, 2003 * ''The Bathers'' Winner Best Fiction Montecatini International Short Film Festival, 2003 * ''The Bathers'' Special Mention Youth Jury – Locarno International Film Festival, 2002 * ''Her Outback'' Winner – State ACS Award (Gold) for Cinematography in a short documentary, 2002 * ''Her Outback'' Winner Best Director and Best Cinematographer – Kaleidoscope Short Film Festival, 2002 * ''Samantha Stewart, aged fourteen Winner'' Best Drama and Best Editing – WA Screen Awards, 2001 * ''Samantha Stewart, aged fourteen'' Commended at the DENDY Awards for the under 15 minutes fiction category, 2001

References

External links

* *
FFC letter of intent reaches WA filmmakers

FTO news about The Black Balloon

ICON Entertainment page about The Black Balloon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Down, Elissa Australian film directors Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Australian women film directors Living people Curtin University alumni Australian women screenwriters 20th-century Australian screenwriters 20th-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian screenwriters 21st-century Australian women writers