GLENDYN Ivin, a former Oxley High School student, yesterday took out one of the most prestigious international film awards at Cannes in France, the world's premier film festival.
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Mr Ivin, the son of Verna Ivin of North Tamworth and brother of Leigh, well known to Tamworth audiences as a pedal steel player with The Re-mains, took out the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) award for best short film at the glitzy annual event in the French Riviera town, before a star studded audience.
The film, Cracker Bag, set in Melbourne in the 1980s, was claimed by critics to be "a reflection of the disenchanting prelude to the coming of age".
It was one of only 10 chosen from hundreds of entries around the world and Mr Ivin learned early yesterday morning Australian time that he and his producer, Jane Liscombe, had snared the award for Australia for the first time.
He rang his mother at about 2.15am from backstage after receiving the award and when The Leader spoke to him at about 9.30am, he was "on the Cannes beach partying with about 500 film people".
A delighted Mr Ivin said he had had "a few beers, a couple of champagnes", but added: "I have a very low hangover threshold, so I'm taking it pretty easy".
Accompanied by wife Natalie (nee Poole, also formerly of Tamworth) and baby son Ollie, Mr Ivin said he had already been spoken to by many people high up in the film industry . . . "people have already said to us 'what do you want to do next, because we want to help you if we can'."
Asked if he could be tempted to Hollywood, he said that would be "most unlikely because we love Australia and we think we can do whatever we want to do in Australia".
As well, the crew he and Ms Liscombe worked with were "all very close, we'd like to stick together".
The next step?
"Well, we'll certainly be starting on a new film soon after we return, but this time it'll be a full-length one, not a short," he said.
Production designer on the film, Jo Ford, who did not travel to Cannes for the festival, said the win was an impressive achievement because Glendyn and Ms Liscombe had funded the film themselves.
Not only that, but all the technical crew worked on the film without pay "as we do on a good script".