Best Australian Short Film: Shortlister Radheya Jegatheva’s double nomination two good to be true
![Radheya Jegatheva is an Oscar-qualified and AACTA-nominated filmmaker from Perth, Western Australia.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-13405880/967be5d9377d58741337f9551274fee7ed562b1f-16x9-x0y106w4883h2747.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
Lovesick seagulls and colonialism. They’re hardly topics that go hand-in-hand.
But one man’s fascination with the two diverse subject matters has landed animator and short-film maker Radheya Jegatheva, not one, but two nominations in the Best Australian Short Film Competition.
The 24-year-old Perth filmmaker is already considered an industry rising star and his latest animations will no doubt continue to raise his profile.
One of the films, his solo-directed animated Bird Drone can really only be described as being about a seagull who falls in love with a drone.
Developing the idea with writer Clare Toonen and producer Hannah Ngo, Jegatheva said he had been fascinated with the idea of the lovelorn bird.
“Unrequited love is so universal and I just really thought it would be a great thing to explore in an animated format especially because so often human emotions can be told through non-human characters ... it’s able to reach so many different people,” he said.
“I guess part of the challenge as well was to try and make audiences sympathise with a seagull.
![Bird Drone](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-13405880/43eddb51338c1efa696e13c1d746ac4cf0eaa88e.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
“With animation, you’re able to do that and you can make it more appealing and cute, but while still staying true to the nature of seagulls and have them, you know, stealing chips and that kind of thing.
“I really wanted to put all that love, care and detail into an animation that I noticed in the films that I grew up watching — it feels like a love letter to Pixar and Studio Ghibli, the kind of studios that really saved me growing up.”
And while Jegatheva will no doubt get the lion’s share of the attention, he was quick to pay tribute to the teams on both films — including on Our Wellbeing, Our Way — a 7-minute film that explores intergenerational trauma for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The latter was animated and co-directed with Luisa Mitchell.
“I was blown away to have even one film to make the top 30 I was also appreciative of, but to have two films make it is absolutely a dream” he said.
“I want to absolutely highlight Luisa, my best friend — I was just so grateful to be able to co-direct an animate with her. She is such a wonder.
“Bird Drone just had a wonderful small crew and I was very grateful to have been able to collaborate with these super-experienced professionals in the industry.”
The winners of the Best Australian Short Film Competition, run by PerthNow in collaboration with major sponsor SAE Creative Media Institute, will be announced at a live-streamed awards night on Thursday, February 29.
To watch Bird Drone and all the short-listed films, visit PerthNow at www.perthnow.com.au/basf to Watch, Vote, Win, for your chance to win $1000.
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