TAC call out for young filmmakers

VICTORIAN filmmakers have been invited by the Transport Accident Commission to take part in its third annual Split Second competition.

The competition aims to expose the problems with distracted driving while offering aspiring young filmmakers the chance to bring their ideas to life on the big screen.

Partnering with Village Cinemas, the state wide competition requires creators to develop their own 45-second film idea to highlight the importance of careful driving and minimising road distractions.

According to TAC’s Road Safety Monitor, younger drivers aged 18 to 25 years are 14 per cent more likely than older drivers to be distracted while driving.

The Split Second campaign hopes to directly engage with this demographic to confront and change this on-road behaviour.

A panel of industry professional from the TAC and the Victorian film and advertising industry will be involved in judging the applications and selecting a winner.

The winner will receive a $50,000 production budget to make their film, with the help of a professional production company, $5,000 in prizemoney and their film will feature during Village Cinema screenings across Victoria.

For this year’s initiative, Australia actor and Logie winner Firass Dirani is joining TAC to support the campaign and as part of the brief, entrants are required to write him into their script.

The winning submission will not only have their have their idea brought to life but will feature Dirani in the production.

The Split Second competition is now open for entries until Wednesday 23 September at tac.vic.gov.au, with the winner announced Friday 16 October.