Meet the Creators of THE ROOSTER
Featuring Director Mark Leonard Winter, Producer MahVeen Shahraki and Costume Designer Ellen Stanistreet
Friday 9 February
5pm AEST
As the feature directorial debut of Mark Leonard Winter, The Rooster explores what it feels like to be caught in the frightening, surreal, quiet fog of depression, whilst also finding the humour and absurdity in those feelings. Featuring Phoenix Raei (Clickbait, Stateless) and Hugo Weaving (Love Me, Lord Of The Rings).
When the body of his oldest friend is found buried in a shallow grave, Dan, a small-town cop, seeks answers from a volatile Hermit who may have been the last person to see his friend alive.
Hear from cast & crew about how they brought this emotional script to life.
Ruari Elkington - Moderator
Dr Ruari Elkington’s industry engagement and academic research has been driven by questions about how screen content connects with discrete audiences in markets increasingly under pressure through creative and commercial tensions. His screen industry experience centred on the acquisition, marketing and distribution of documentary, feature film and innovative digital content to theatrical and online audiences. In 2018 Dr Elkington was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to investigate new initiatives connecting Creative Industries students and online video creators in collaborative work. His real-world engagement is evidenced in his 2019 peer reviewed appointment to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Expert Network (Future of Information and Entertainment) building on his AMP “Tomorrow Maker” award and funding. In 2023 he was awarded a Queensland Smithsonian Fellowship to work with social video creators to communicate cultural heritage collections to new audiences.
He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Creative Industries at the Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice Faculty and a Chief Investigator within QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC). In 2022, alongside his Resilient Screen research colleague Dr Tess Van Hemert, Dr Elkington co-designed and led the largest recent national audience survey of Australian cinemagoing in partnership with Palace Cinemas.
The Rooster is a VicScreen supported production