FOREVER - WASA Short Film

Julian, a young, lonely lovesick musician is invited to the engagement party of his first broken love, Portia, Julian plans a romantic gesture to rekindle the past love between them. 

At the party, tension builds between Julian, Portia and her unsuspecting fiancé, David, as Julian struggles to control his increasingly intense feelings for Portia.

Julian pushes on with his plan, with tragic results...

WILL LONSDALE

- Julian - 

Will Lonsdale is an actor from Wagga Wagga, NSW, who fell in love with acting when his father took him to weekend drama classes when he was just 6 years old. Will is now completing his Bachelor of Acting at WAAPA, where he played the role of Edgar in Shakespeare’s, King Lear, and Scott Graham in Fatherland - a show generated by Scott Graham, Simon Stevens, and Karl Hyde. Will has also played multiple choral roles in works such as Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker and Samovilla, a devised work directed by Bagryana Popov.

Will is incredibly excited to collaborate with the WA Screen Academy film makers of Forever to bring this touching story of love and loss. 

EDYLL ISMAIL

- Portia -  

Edyll Ismail, originally from Perth, WA, is a Somali-Australian who is currently in the final stages of her Bachelor of Acting degree at WAAPA (Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts) after successfully completing the Diploma of Acting and Diploma of Screen programs. Edyll made her stage debut in the critically acclaimed Perth Festival Show called "Whistleblower," produced by the Last Great Hunt. 

Edyll is also founder of Tell Your Story, a remarkable performing arts initiative focused on helping migrant and refugee Australians connect with the arts industry. Eager to expand her artistic horizons, Edyll is excited to be a part of the upcoming short film, "Forever." 

 -

AIDA BERNHARDT

- Claire -

Aida is an Australian/Ukrainian in her final year of WAAPA in Bachelor of Arts (Acting), . Raised in an Ashkanazi Jewish family, she was exposed to music, dance and worldly influences. 

Aida began writing plays at age seven, performing to her dog and any audience she could bribe with snacks. She has has been performing and busking at festivals, on trains, buses and city squares since childhood. 

After taking acting lessons in Melbourne, Aida fell in love with theatre, screen and writing. 

Aida has developed a verbatim piece based on multiple interviews with women around Melbourne and will continue to bring such voices and stories into her developing career.

DONNE NGABO

- David -

Donne is a Rwandan-Australian actor, completing Bachelor of Arts - Acting at WAAPA.

Donne has been acting in independent films since 2019. After the creation of his independent, award-winning short film, Akebo, he has begun realising this goal. Donne continues to pursue creative endeavours, sharing the gift of theatre among his fellow Africans, most recently with "Bene Kwihangana", an original Rwandan Comedic play, dedicated to the Brisbane African Community.

With such a great story to tell, excitement is only a spec of Donne's attitude to this great project, "Forever." 

KELSEY JEANELL

- Ryann -

Kelsey is a Trinidadian born and raised Australian actor in her final year of Bachelor of Arts (Acting) at WAAPA, performing roles such as Don Pedro in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, and most recently, #14/Soccer Mom in Sarah DeLappes’ The Wolves. 

Kelsey fell in love with acting after performing in High School Musical at Roleystone Theatre. She then moved to Sydney, taking acting classes and appeared in television commercials,

In her time at WAAPA, Kelsey has developed a strong sense of play and freedom to her

passion for professional acting. She is now  excited to bring that energy to Forever.

JUAN  FELIPE SARMIENTO

- DIRECTOR -

Juan is a Colombian Filmmaker and Cinematographer who holds a degree in Marketing and Business Administration. Originally, Juan came to Australia to pursue an MBA, but after completing his master's degree, he decided to follow his passion for film. He quickly fell in love with filmmaking and changed his career path completely. Juan has written, directed, and self-produced a couple of short films, in addition to working on several independent shorts and features. He expresses that he has found the missing piece he was looking for in films.

"Forever" is a beautiful story that delves into the complexities of love and unrequited feelings. Juan believes that despite our desire for a movie-like love story, real life can sometimes fall short. But it is through these basic human emotions that we can create a compelling and elegant narrative.

GRAHAM SPILSTED

- Producer - 

After graduating from Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media at North Metropolitan TAFE, Graham joined the WA Screen Academy to complete a Bachelor of Media and Communications, Screen Studies Major, specialising in producing. He is passionate about working with creative people on creative projects. Graham loves problem solving, working with details and making sense of chaos.

With a life of music production and more recently film production, Graham is no stranger to managing creative projects and is dedicated to bringing this story to the screen with the highest standards that can be achieved by the team.

"Many films literallly romanticise love. Im interested in films that offer more realistic scenarios and outcomes" - Graham 

XAVIER JANSEN

- Writer -

Xavier Jansen is an up and coming filmmaker from Perth Western Australia. He went into filmmaking after graduating high school and quickly found an innate love and incessant passion for the medium that is propelling him through his Masters studies at The WA Screen Academy. 

He is drawn to stories that creatively use the medium of film to speak on failings within society and the issues that are prevalent within the western world.  His intention is to tell stories that have a propensity to spark social change, by using fiction to comment on our modern world.

Xavier was drawn to write Forever for its examination of masculinity and romance through its protagonist Julian. In his writing he attempted to leverage both traditional and modern interpretations of masculinity and romance to create a story that is as dramatic as it is topical.

EAMON ZUVICH

- Cinematographer -

 Eamon is an avid photographer and has always been interested in the creative arts. He is pursuing a career as a Director of Photography \ Camera Operator and is currently studying a Bachelors Degree specializing in cinematography at the WA Screen Academy (ECU). Eamon brings a wealth of practical experience and technical knowledge to the Forever team.

DAMON SUTTON

- Sound Recordist\Designer -  

Damon is an audio producer and sound engineer known for his work across multiple facets of the Western Australian audio industry: from radio and podcasting to live music and sound design. 

Since graduating from the Australian Film Television &Radio School in 2019, Damon is an in-demand audio producer, enjoying regular work at 882 6PR, Curtin FM and RTRFM and the nationally popular sports podcast BackChat. He  is currently completing a diploma of music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

ELISA VON PERGER

- Production Designer -

Elisa von Perger is a production designer for performance and film based in Perth, WA. Currently studying Production Design at WAAPA, she has most recently designed set for the Blue Room production of 'Where Water Once Was' and designed costume for the WAAPA Performance Making production of 'Orlando', directed by Park Younghee. 

ROBERT CRONIN

- Editor - 

Robert has been making and editing films for as long as he can remember and aims to continue improving his skills. Originally from Albany,  he now lives in Perth. He has a passion for editing and have been involved in many projects.  

Robert is drawn to  'Forever'  to explore new styles of working, and diversify his abilities as an editor.  

We're aiming to raise enough to cover a suitable location for a crew of 35 for 4 days, purchase key props, supplement catering for cast and crew and other costs of making a great short film. 

Our proposed budget is:

Location: $1,200

Production design/props: $200 

Catering: $400 

Other costs: $200

We hope you will join us in supporting this crew and help bring this story to life. You are supporting our creative futures.