R/GA Sydney associate CD Neil Walshe takes out Best Short Drama in London Mobile Film Festival

Neil Walshe, associate creative director at R/GA Sydney has taken out Best Short Drama at Smart, London’s inaugural International Smartphone Film Festival, for his film Dawn Heist.

What started as a simple short movie filmed during COVID lockdown, has gone on to win Best Short Drama at Smart, London’s inaugural International Smartphone Film Festival. The category was tough. Due to a global lockdown submissions were higher than expected. And being in its first year it accepted a 3 year backlog of entries.

The short film Dawn Heist, directed by Walshe, stars two children under 5, and was filmed in the family home entirely on a phone. It has already aired at festivals in Sydney, San Diego, Hollywood and Hawaii, but not until London did it take out top place.

Says Walshe: “It was just a way to keep the kids busy during lockdown, instead of going crazy at home, we got creative. But after a few days of shooting I could tell it was turning into something with serious potential.”

The announcement happened over a Zoom call at 3am on June 21st.

Says Victoria Mapplebeck, co-founder and co-festival director, SMART: “I can’t believe how well the judges received Dawn Heist” and also questioned “Did shooting on a smartphone help with filming such young talent?”

As a prize, Walshe will receive mentoring from top London film industry professionals.