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Bryan Brown and Gregor Jordan announce Open Road Film Festival

A new short film competition created by a prominent Australian director is asking film-makers to create the beginning of a film which already has an ending.

The Open Road Film Festival, sponsored, with naming rights, by Harley Davidson, was created by Two Hands and Ned Kelly director, Gregor Jordan.


Jordan, who shot the final moments of the film called The Queen of Hearts which is billed as a film-noir, likens the competition model to Tropfest.

Jordan told Encore: “We’re hoping it will be an annual event. Tropfest has its prop each year to make sure all films are made exclusively for Tropfest, and ours is probably taking this one step further.

“My dream is to have another film-maker make the ending one year, maybe David Michod,” added Jordan.

With two ways of entering, film-makers can submit a script until July 13 in which five recipients will be awarded $1000 production grant and mentoring by Jordan and Bryan Brown, or they can submit a finished film by September 7 under six minutes long, including the end sequence.

With a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the final scene, and as a major part of the winner’s prize, competing film-makers can access a Harley through the company’s 24 Hour test ride to include in their picture.

However, Jordan, who is also in the director’s stable of TVC production company Finch, said calling the event branded content is ‘cynical’, as the motorcycle company was involved after the competition’s inception.

Jordan told Encore: “This is a legitimate film festival with an interesting premise from the start and we got sponsors which fitted in.”

Other sponsors include Canon, contributing cameras as prizes and the Audio Network supplying free access and clearance to films that need music.

Top Ten films will be screened at an Open Road Film Festival event, similar to a Tropfest, with celebrity judges and screened to an audience and announced on the night.

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