Bunbury filmmaker Caitlin Lomax part of WA’s finalist team in Unreal Engine Short Film Challenge

A Bunbury filmmaker is part of a production trio to become the State finalist in a trans-Tasman short film competition and receive a $50,000 production grant from Screenwest and Epic Games. Caitlin Lomax, Ben Matei and Jennie Tkaz have been named as WA’s entry in the 2022 Unreal Engine Short Film Challenge. They now have eight weeks to produce their animated short film, The Bolt. Ms Lomax is the founder of Bunbury-based INTR Studio and said the next round of the Unreal Engine Short Film Challenge was a great opportunity push the team’s skills to the limit using specialist 3D creation tool Unreal Engine 5. “I’m thrilled to team up with Ben and Jennie to bring Ben’s story to life,” she said. “This presents us with an awesome opportunity to really push the tools of the engine and our collective skills. “We’re excited to be utilizing mocap, animation, virtual cameras and making use of lumen, the new dynamic lighting system. “We’ve got an awesome group of talented West Australian artists on our team and we’re up for the challenge of creating something unreal.” The film explores the themes of mental health and coping strategies to encourage men to open up more about their personal struggles and hopefully reduce male suicide rates. The Bolt follows Jack, a tradie having a really bad day. With his emotions threatening to overwhelm him, Jack becomes fixated on undoing a bolt that refuses to come undone. Screenwest talent development manager Eva Di Blasio said the trio brought a different mix to the competition and she couldn’t wait to see what they produced. “Caitlin, Ben and Jennie are all bringing unique skillsets and experiences to the project,” Ms Di Blasio said. The 2022 finalists’ films from around Australia and New Zealand will be released online later this year.