Budding director's win at US film festival

Former Marist College Penshurst (2007) student Nick Bartlett was part of a 30-minute short film called The Boy Who Was Afraid of Everything, which nabbed three awards for the Independent Pilot Competition at SeriesFest 2024 in Denver, Colorado in the US.

This year was the 10^th season of the competition that is run by a non-profit organisation that champions independent artists through educational and professional development opportunities.

After receiving festival travel funding from ScreenNSW, the film premiered at the event, competing against 45 selected entries.

The Boy Who Was Afraid of Everything, which was also part of the official selection for Sydney Web Festival 2023, won Best Director in a Comedy, Best Actor in a Comedy and Audience Voted Best Comedy.

Described as a fresh and authentically Australian coming-of-age story, the film follows Ali, 20, as he navigates his biggest fear - other people. He's trying to make friends while avoiding social interaction at all cost. He's also figuring out how to fall in love for the first time.

Set in Sydney's western suburbs, the film, which also carries the talents of Lugarno cinematographer Jake Blackman, showcases the creators' version of Sydney life.

Judges including a senior writer for Shondaland, said the film's directing stood out for its use of "sharp comedic beats to create many laugh out loud moments."

Nick, who also plays one of the characters in the film, produced by Lukas Radovich, said the project was "trial by fire". "Making films is all about relationships, collaboration, and balancing hectic shoot days on a minimal budget," he said. "I decided to start small, make some sketches. A few of them went well, and a couple went quite viral on Facebook with one million views. I thought 'woah, I could be onto something here.'"

The moment of realisation wasn't a far cry from his time in Year 9 - making his classmates chuckle at random comments (mostly distracting them he says), and then at 14, trying a short-course at Shopfront Theatre Carlton, where he wrote a script for the first time.

Nick later studied acting at the Queensland University of Technology, graduating in 2014. He's dabbled in stand-up, as a voice artist, host, and a children's book author. But after repeated cycles of "making it the final two in auditions", he wanted more - to sustain a career.

In 2016 when Nick's father suddenly died, age 63, the desire to chase the creative streak strengthened. "He loved photography," Nick said. "He didn't have much, but he left me his Hasselblad camera." It was the start of looking through the lens and telling stories for an audience.

It was during an acting class in 2019 when Nick met Haris Mirza, the lead character (Ali) of the film. They bonded over two things - a desire to create, and a desire to have an outlet to express their anxieties.

"In the past five years, the industry has started welcoming more stories that enables comedy and pathos to exist side by side," Nick said. "Conversations about mental health and male mental health have also started to take place more and more. From the moment I met Haris I knew the way he hilariously handled anxiety would form the basis for a fantastic character. What I didn't know was how much we would all relate to Ali as we brought his story to life."

But he didn't expect American audiences - or Australian for that matter, to resonate with the film.

With influences including Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Entourage, Girls, Colin from Accounts, and Chris Lilley's original series, Summer Heights High, Nick has also launched a production company called Potential Pictures.

"It's named after several exchanges with my Year 9 PE teacher from Marist Penshurst, Miss Winchester," Nick said. "She told me all the time I had so much potential but that I waste time in class."

That's about to change. Nick is in talks to develop the series with several production companies worldwide. His next film is called The Building Manager.