Beau Ritchie films his father and muse Jaye Ritchie at Killalea National Park for his short film BAIT. Photo: Supplied.
A short film by a young Mount Warrigal filmmaker has been accepted to screen in an Academy and BAFTA recognised short film festival for both international and Australian filmmakers.
Beau Ritchie’s BAIT will show at the Academy® Qualifying FlickerUp Shorts Competition program at the Flickerfest 34th International Short Film Festival, held from 17 – 26 January 2025, Bondi Beach, Sydney.
One of Australia’s top short film festivals, Flickerfest is held annually in January at Bondi Beach, showcasing the finalists of the national competition for primary and secondary school aged students or individuals aged 18 and under.
The FlickerUp screenings will be on the final day of the event – 26 January.
This is Beau’s second time as a finalist in FlickerUp, his short film The Diet having earned “highly commended for film editing” in the 2021 festival.
Beau, who completed Year 12 at Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts and cut his acting teeth at Roo Theatre, created BAIT for the Wollongong Short Film Festival 2024, an initiative of Creative Wollongong and Wollongong City Council.
He was awarded first prize in the last two Wollongong Short Films Festival prizes in his category and came third this year.
Filmed in and around his local hometown of Shellharbour, primarily on Lake Illawarra and Killalea National Park, BAIT is an original story based on true events inspired by Beau’s main actor and film muse, his dad Jaye Ritchie.
“He’s such a character my father, that he allows for these great comedic performances to come through. He’s a carpenter by trade but he has this big personality that makes him perfect for the screen. A lot of actual screen actors don’t have the screen presence he does,” Beau says.
“It allows for a lot of improvisation to come through, which is inspiring to me. In fact, a lot of stuff that happens in those parts of the film is very much on his part.”
BAIT is almost without dialogue, instead building emotion with a musical score written, composed and performed by Beau.
“I first got into acting through Roo Theatre at Shellharbour in primary school, but then quickly got into filmmaking as I entered high school,” he says.
“COVID and isolation helped me focus and fine-tune my filmmaking skills.
“After attending WHSPA for a few years, I became interested in music, especially composing music for film. I love being able to put all my skills into something completely original.”
BAIT also saw success recently when it was awarded first place in the prestigious Blue Heeler Film Festival in Muswellbrook, NSW for “Best Secondary School Film”.
Beau was recently accepted into the Australian Film, Television and Radio School for 2025.
“I’d like to be a high-profile film director one day, perhaps in America, to have the complete creative freedom to work on whichever projects I like and really build a name for myself.”
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