Alice Springs film student Ronja Moss (pictured) and her lecturer Ronny Reinhard have been nominated for the 25th 2007 Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) awards, recognising talent in the production and teaching of film.
ATOM is considered one of the most prestigious awards for future stars of the industry.
Ronja, 19, was nominated for her gutsy short film The Beast, exposing the repressed horrors of sexual abuse through the eyes of a victim’s sister, Kierra.
It’s a gripping film, initially misleading Kierra (and the audience) that depression, not abuse, was destroying her sister mentally.
Ronja completed vocational media studies while studying at Centralian Senior Secondary College last year.
The film won the respect of audiences at public showings last year in Alice Springs.
Her teacher, CDU media lecturer Ronny Reinhard, also was nominated.
‘I thought it was a typo error when they contacted me,’ he said, ‘I didn’t even nominate.’
He said his motivation came from providing the right environment for students such as Ronja to tell an engaging story.
Ronja’s love of film started at an early age. She dabbled in acting at school and completed work experience on various movie sets across Australia.
She discovered the joys of script writing in year 11 and has since eyed off a career in directing, her original role in the film.
‘But the girl acting my character dropped out of school so I ended up doing that too,’ she said.
A childhood growing up around Australia and overseas fed her creative mind.
‘I had to rely on my intuition and imagination adapting to new schools and environments,’ she said.
Ronja and Ronny will attend the awards ceremony on Friday, 19 October, at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne. For more information on the ATOM awards, visit www.atomawards.org.