Following the Home Brewed 2006 screening at Hoyts EQ Fox Studios on Saturday 21 October, the winning films as selected by our judging panels, were announced. Stills from the films appear at the right, and the details are as follows:

    • Winner, Best Short Film <10 minutes (A$5,000), Heads Up (Director: Dean Ganter, Producer: Garrett Russell)
    • Runner Up, Best Short Film <10 min (A$500), Domestic (Director: Katie Hides, Producer: Brett Snelgrove)
    • Winner, Best Short Film 10-30 minutes (A$5,000), Retruc (Spain) (Director: Francesc Talavera, Producer: Sergi Casamitjana)
    • Runner Up, Best Short Film 10-30 min (A$500), Hombre Kabuki (USA) (Director: Leo Age, Producer: Cary Becker)
    • Winner, Best Illawarra Short Film (A$500), Urban Surfer (Director: Caitlin Stanton, Producer: Alan Mitchell)
    • Runner Up, Best Illawarra Short Film, Just Like Me (Director: Michael Pignataro, Producer: Bruno Politano)
    • Winner, Granny's Choice Award (Hamper of Granny Doilies, Sweets and wine from our Granny judging panel), Alex's Party (Director: Rebel Penfold-Russell, Producer: Adam Bayliss)

  • The Feature Film selected as Best of Home Brewed for 2006 was Last Stop for Paul, an amazing travel film shot in over 20 countries with no crew and an array of incredibly talented actors who were literally picked up along the way. Congratulations to Director and Producer Neil Mandt and keep an eye out for additional screenings of the film if we can arrange them with Neil, during the coming year.

Our Winning Films - 2006
Congratulations to all our finalists - the judges this year had an incredibly hard time selecting our winners and runners up. But here they are in all their glory!!


Heads Up - Best Short Film (<10 min)


Domestic - Runner Up (<10 min)


Retruc - Best Short Film (10-30 min)


Hombre Kabuki - Runner Up (10-30 min)


Urban Surfer - Illawarra Winner


Just Like Me - Illawarra Runner Up


Alex's Party - Granny's Choice Winner
Geoffrey Burton
Award winning director
and cinematagropher,
including The Year My
Voice Broke and The
Sum of Us.
Peter Templeman
Former Home Brewed
winner, has won the last
2 US Slamdance
festivals in the
narrative short
category.
Kerry Rock
Producer with Potoroo
Films, including the
Cannes-selected
Australian feature
Watermark.
Margie Hartley
Former Director and
GM of the Melbourne
Comedy Festival, with
a wealth of advertising
and TV experience.
Andy Anderson
Well known Australian
and New Zealand actor
and singer/songwriter,
Home Brewed judge
since 2003.
Steve Anderton
Highly successful
voice artist, singer and
actor, including cult
Australian film The
Castle.
Sharn Hammond
Producer and actor with
a large swag of short
and feature film roles
already under her belt
at a young age.
Jackson Pellow
Promoter with Film
Australia's National
Interest program,
director and formerly
with AFC and as an
editor with Inside Film
Magazine.

Set out below are details of our short films selected in 2006. The films were divided into 4 screening programs and our Illawarra filmmaker category, then sent before our Judging Panel (right) for decisions on the $11,000 in cash prizes.

SCREENING PROGRAM A
(Australian Shorts, 2 hours, screens with intermission)

Urban Surfer
6min, 30sec
Director: Caitlin Stanton
Producer: Alan Mitchell

Yellow Tail
9min
Director: Kya Blondin
Producer: Leonie Mansfield

Wally
6min, 38sec
Tonnette Stanford
Robert Miller

Two For The Show
8min, 51sec
Director: Mark Priems
Producer: Mark Priems and Damon Hunter

Small Boxes
15min
Director: Rene Hernandez
Producer: Kristina Ceyton

After Dolly
3min, 45sec
Director: Mick Elliott
Producer: Mick Elliott

Atonement Tonight
4min, 30sec
Director: Anny Slater
Producer: Anny Slater

Silent
7min
Director: Jamie Lewis
Producer: Glenn Cogan

Wobbegong
14min, 35sec
Director: Owen Trevor
Producer: Lucas Jenner

Alex's Party
11min, 12sec
Director: Rebel Penfold-Russell
Producer: Adam Bayliss

Ten Feet Tall
12min, 44sec
Director: Aaron Wilson
Producer: Anthony Woodcock

Domestic
7min, 42sec
Director: Katie Hides
Producer: Brett Snelgrove

Final Call
8min, 45sec
Director: Gary Eck
Producer: Phil Wade

The Story of Bubbleboy
6min, 5sec
Director: Sean Ascroft
Producer: Kristy Fransen

  

SCREENING PROGRAM B
(International Shorts, 2 hours, screens with intermission)

Binta Y La Gran Idea (Spain)
30min
Director: Javier Fesser
Producer: Luis Manso, Manuel García

Minaret (USA)
11min, 12sec
Director: Matthew Cibelli
Producer: Matthew Cibelli

Hombre Kabuki (USA)
10min
Director: Leo Age
Producer: Cary Becker

A Public Service Announcement (USA)
7min, 58sec
Director: Pamela Samuelson
Producer: Pamela Samuelson

Pitch (USA)
20min
Director: Ian Gelfand
Producer: Kristopher Walter, Ian Gelfand, Jason Fuchs

Lyra Lezama (USA)
17min, 38sec
Director: Clayton Haskell
Producer: Clayton Haskell

The Rhythm of Youth (Canada)
7min
Director: Brendon Foster-Algoo
Producer: Brendon Foster-Algoo

Chrysanthemums the Word (England)
15sec
Director: Toby Roberts
Producer: Toby Roberts

Photomateurs (France)
18min, 48sec
Director: Pascal Tosi
Producer: Pascal Tosi, Aton Soumache

SCREENING PROGRAM C
(Australian Shorts, 1 hour 40 minutes)

N for Nelly
6min, 42sec
Director: Katrina Mathers
Producer: Chris Manson, Nathan Kay, Katrina Mathers

Best Kept Secret
5min, 25sec
Director: Serena Ryan and Tracey Spark
Producer: Serena Ryan

Heads Up
7min
Director: Dean Ganter
Producer: Garrett Russell

Snow
15min
Director: Dustin Feneley
Producer: Kate Beverley

Chill Bit
7min
Director: Zane Roach
Producer: Zane Roach, Lee Cowan

Hole in the Wall
11min
Director: Peter Hegedus
Producer: Vickie Gest

Guy in a Field
14min, 51sec
Director: Jonathan Stanley
Producer: Miranda Edmonds

Breathe
15min
Director: Juliet Porter
Producer: Kylie Bryant

SCREENING PROGRAM D
(International Shorts, 1 hour 40 minutes)

Dammi il La (Italy)
20min, 20 sec
Director: Matteo Servente
Producer: Matteo Servente

The Sparkle Lite Motel (Canada)
15min, 25sec
Director: Cory Kinney
Producer: Cory Kinney, Mel Weisbaum

Linear Progression (USA)
4min, 20sec
Director: Kat Kosmala
Producer: Kat Kosmala

Retruc (Spain)
22min, 25sec
Director: Francesc Talavera
Producer: Sergi Casamitjana

Project Huxley (England)
11min, 32sec
Director: Simon Brown
Producer: Rowan Athale

Valour (Ireland)
17min, 30sec
Director: John Vaughan
Producer: John Vaughan, Loretta Kerins

Musi Byt Ma (USA)
10min
Director: Maxwell Hoffman, Brian Emery
Producer: Alejandro Franqui, Maxwell Hoffman, Brian Emery

Detached
2min, 53sec
Director: David Wade
Producer: David Wade

Crooked Mick of the Speewah
10min, 40 sec
Director: Philip Smith
Producer: Luke Eve

ILLAWARRA FINALISTS
(Total Run Time, 1 hour 10 minutes)

Slain … When Fiction Becomes Reality
8min
Director: Matt and Bert Hardman
Producer: Matt and Bert Hardman

Sacred Site
9min, 50sec
Director: Nick McLaren
Producer: Nick McLaren, Anne Howell

Just Like Me
7min
Director: Michael Pignataro
Producer: Bruno Politano

Hey, Wiseguy
10min
Director: Bryan Pike
Producer: Bryan Pike

Zombie Love
7min
Director: Ben Kumanovski
Producer: Brett Morris

Writers
6min, 48sec
Director: Craig Bottrell
Producer: Craig Bottrell

Keywords…That's All I Need!
4min, 30sec
Director: Michael Pignataro
Producer: Michael Pignataro

Path of Life
2min, 30sec
Director: Michael Pignataro
Producer: Bruno Politano

Click in the thumbnails below (displayed in order from Page 1 through to Page 16) to view the official program pages from the 2006 festival program.
The feature films officially selected for screening in 2006 are set out below in brief. Congratulations to our selected films and "Last Stop for Paul" which was selected as the Home Brewed 2006 Feature Film.

WALLY (77 min)
Directed and Produced by Bob Fink
Gala Cinemas Warrawong, 7.00PM THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER
Cost: $11 / $8.50

Wally is a documentary film named after a middle-aged man, who in spite of a mental disability since birth, has made a life on the land he loves surrounded by neighbours and family who care for him and help to support him. Wally is an extremely engaging character, and we learn about his history, his interests and struggles as the film unfolds. It is also the story of his sister, Cassie, who when crisis strikes is forced to try to resolve difficult decisions concerning the future of her brother as she tries to manage pressures from other relatives, while still doing her best for her brother. This story also shows us the vicissitudes of family, common to everyone: about divided loyalties, fear and courage, dependency and autonomy--the dilemmas from which none of us can escape.

Cassie’s and Wally’s story is told from a viewpoint that is both compassionate and generous. Perhaps, more than anything, this is a film that invites all of us to reflect upon our own humanity and capacities for finding our way in situations that offer no “good solutions”, those times in a life when we feel forced to choose the way “of least suffering”. It is a film about the implications and ramifications of those terrible choices we all eventually must face.

LAST STOP FOR PAUL (80 min)
Directed and Produced by Neil Mandt
Gala Cinemas Warrawong, 7.00PM SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER
Cost: $11 / $8.50

Cliff and Charlie work together selling bathroom supplies. Charlie’s the seasoned traveller, having been to over 50 countries before his 30th birthday. Cliff dreams of travelling but always finds an excuse not to go. When Charlie asks Cliff to go to the Full Moon Party in Thailand, it is no surprise to anyone when Charlie is rejected.

Things suddenly change when Cliff gets a phone call informing him that one of his childhood friends died unexpectedly. At the funeral, Cliff learns his buddy had been planning a trip around the world. Cliff decides to make sure his friend still makes that trip, even if it means carrying his ashes in a thermos to do it. Short on cash, the only way they can afford to pull off the trip is by posing as travel writers so they can get free food and hotel rooms. Together they embark on a trip of a lifetime as they travel to the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia. Shot in over 20 countries, Cliff and Charlie have unbelievable adventures in every location and their lives are changed forever.

MOJAVE PHONE BOOTH (88 min)
Directed by John Putch
Produced by John Putch, Jerry P. Jacobs, Jerry Rapp
Hoyts EQ, Fox Studios, 7.00PM WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER
Cost: $15 / $12.50

In the middle of the Mojave desert rests an abandoned phone booth, riddled with bullet holes, graffiti, its windows broken, but otherwise functioning. Its identity was born on the internet and for years, travellers would make the trek down a lonely dirt road and camp next to the booth, in the hopes that it might suddenly ring, and they could connect with a stranger (often from another country) on the other end of the line. This is the story of four disparate people whose lives intersect with this mystical outpost, and the comfort they seek from a stranger’s voice: There is Beth, a troubled woman facing dillemmas with her love-life and a recurring, baffling crime; Mary, a young South African, who is contemplating selling her body for the funds to escape her dreadful existence; Alex, a woman who is losing her lover, Glory, to the belief she is plagued by aliens, and Richard, driven into desperation by a separation from his wife, who happens upon the booth after his suicide attempt.

Exploring themes of love, death, the mystery of the universe, and the phenomenon of inter-connectivity, Mojave Phone Booth pitches us deep into the lives and psyches of these working class characters in Las Vegas.

BACHELORMAN (90 min)
Directed by John Putch
Produced by Karen Bailey, Helen Woo, Rodney Lee Conover
Hoyts EQ, Fox Studios, 9.00PM FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER
Cost: $15 / $12.50

BachelorMan has everything a moviegoer is looking for: Big laughs, social commentary, a sweet story and tons of surprises. In these times of enlightened sexual politics, Ted Davis is a scoring machine. But when the woman of his dreams, “Heather” moves in next door, Ted’s ordeal begins. She’s beautiful, long-legged and LOUD.

Ted must have her…But when he realizes he’s been tricked into turning his life upside-down, Ted breaks it off with Heather to again pursue his destiny as “BachelorMan” and to win back the respect of his ardent male fans. He’s lost his bachelor super-powers, because - gasp - he’s STILL IN LOVE.

He must get her back - but how? It will take all of BachelorMan’s skill and cunning to get his Lois Lane back…And Ted Davis knows the perfect scam.

OUT OF COMPETITION

GAMERS (86 min)
Directed by Christopher Follino
Produced by Jennifer Stechman and Manuel Silva
Hoyts EQ, Fox Studios, 7.00PM MONDAY 23 OCTOBER
Cost: $15 / $12.50

For the last 23 years, a group of friends have lived life to the fullest...in the fantasy world. Obsessed with a role-playing game called Demons Nymphs and Dragons, these gamers are the subject of this hilarious comedy, which chronicles their journey to make it through their horrendous lives while attempting to break the world record for role playing over 74,568 hours.

They must face a gauntlet of tribulations including Gordon's porn-watching parents (John Heard, Home Alone and Beverly D'Angelo, The National Lampoon Vacation Movies), Reese's Video Game Football-Loving Boss (William Katt, The Greatest American Hero), Angela, the girl who broke Gordon's heart (Meredith Zealy, The Notebook), Angela's hot mum (Kelly Lebrock, Weird Science and Woman in Red), clowns, swingers, an angry midget, and their own naivety. You may know them, you may even be them, but one thing is certain...you're going to love them!