The sixth SmartFone Flick Fest received 300 entries from across the world this year - and an Inverell based filmmaker was the only one to have two films selected to be shown in the finalist showcase.
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Michèle Jedlicka's work 'Closed for Christmas' will screen along with another 15 finalist films from the US, Italy, France, Nigeria, Russia, El Salvador, Bulgaria and Australia.
The short 16-minute film tells a story about a couple in Delungra with a mission to give animals a chance for a better life.
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Ms Jedlicka also has a finalist film in the Isolation/Lockdown category where each film is three minutes or less and shot within local lockdown laws.
'And So It Went' depicts a woman who seeks to recover a picture of who she was when distance, time and isolation interfere with memories of her past.
It is one of twelve finalists selected from 44 films to be seen online.
Both Ms Jedlicka's films were shot on a Samsung S10 5G.
Storytelling is a gift and it's one you either have been given, or you haven't, and it would appear Ms Jedlicka was given it.
As she's from a family of journalists you can assume it is probably a genetic inheritance.
Born in the United States of America, and raised in Chicago, Jedlicka has lived in Australia since 2003 - first in Melbourne, and then for the last eight years in Delungra training horses, during which time she edited the Inverell Times for a while.
Most recently she has been making films on her phone, which she says is a growing trend.
Filmmaking is a culmination of Ms Jedlicka's history of writing, art and photography. Her first film, 'It's Still Happening' (2018) won the 2018 North West Film Festival Documentary Section and Best Film awards which encouraged her to keep making films.
Her director statement for the festival is "I love a good story" and her admiration for the couple who feature in 'Closed for Christmas' ,and the work they do, is a great example of that.
"I was really happy that 'Closed for Christmas' was chosen to screen in the official selected film section of the festival because it tells the story of the Gwydir Park Animal Refuge and I'm really thrilled for the couple who run it (Geoff Johnson and Pat Carmody) because I've known them since I moved here," Ms Jedlicka said.
"They are friends and over the years I've been fascinated by them - it's an extraordinary story.
"These are two people who have a long history with dogs and a real passion for them. The film as as much about that passion as it is about the dogs.
"I'm pleased as I want them to get some attention because they're rare, they are really rare people.
"They've been together for decades and are probably one of the most simpatico couples I've ever met.
"They deal in a very emotionally difficult business because they see a lot of horrible things.
"I think they can deal with this stuff because of the way they support each other. I have a lot of respect for them."
SmartFone Flick Fest is Australia's international smartphone film festival for filmmakers of all ages and is open to anyone with a smartphone or tablet and a great idea for a short film.
For the first time, the full SmartFone Flick Fest program will be streamed online in a day-long feast of film on Saturday October 10.