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Rory Pearson

@papapearson

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✨Director, Writer, Creative 🦍
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*PROFANITY WARNING* Now the dust’s settled, we’re still losing our minds over how wild this last month has been for our short film MATES. Two wins at the @sydfilmfest and an amazing response at the @stkildafilmfest to kick it off. More screenings to come. Here’s a taste.

Credits:

Director – @papapearson
Cast – @atmarcusat & @marvelouscrane
Writers – @papapearson & @atmarcusat
Produced by – @atmarcusat
Cinematographer – @leo_t_cine
Executive Producer – @oliverzidler
Camera Operators – @lamostrafx + @leo_t_cine
Gaffer – @jackgoldingphotography
Music – @decodoherty
Sound – @stuartmelvey
Editors – @papapearson + @atmarcusat
Colour - Scott Maclean
Titles – @sillysigridd #Mates #shortfilm #SFF taken in Sydney, Australia by @papapearson

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a year ago

It’s Mates Day! Woo! Our short film is a Dendy Award finalist at Sydney Film Festival and in official comp at St Kilda! Still can’t believe it. #Mates #SydneyFilmFestival #DendyAwards #StKildaFilmFestival #SFF #SKFF by @papapearson

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a year ago

Last weekend we were truly blown away because MATES took out ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Screenwriting’ at the Sydney Film Festival, Dendy Awards. And yeah… the gongs are going straight to the pool room. Thank you @sydfilmfest for realising a dream I’ve had since forever.

Starting with my mate @atmarcusat who starred, produced, co-edited and co-wrote the film. The ultimate creative. Mate, you scared a lot of people but also made them laugh and feel every bit of it. You showed the truth of mateship and what it means to be lonely. Making Prick Daniels has been a long journey, and I’m so happy I got to help bring him to life.

@marvelouscrane your raw performance was sublime. Also your improv, dress sense, overall schteeze. Roy Squad just got bigger. You loved this film and brought so many ideas. And your mind? Somehow sexier than your bod.

@leo_t_cine your imagery, vision and temperament helped wrangle what was at times pure madness. We went deep. Hyper real, honest, with just the right amount of style and Heat level 90s blue.

@decodoherty you got the score down pat. Safdie Bros, The Curse, Tangerine Dream… you understand me. Your beautiful score heart wrenching and ominous in the best way. @stuartmelvey THE best sound designer and mixer in town. Committed, invested, and world building like a boss. Awkwardness, hollowness, rage, lament, the world is yours.

@lamostrafx shot this beautifully while super pregnant (Luna was there!). @jackgoldingphotography lit the thing like a pro. Ladders, rain, food, making sure Marcus didn’t collapse. Legend. @oliverzidler, distro king, festival hero, belief machine. You never stop pushing us. Scott Maclean, thanks for killing it on the grade. And @sillysigridd, my love. Your design on titles and poster wrapped it all up in class. The opening title still gets me.

We wanted to make a film that talked about mateship in a really truthful way. To tell the story of those men that don’t make a fuss, that just slowly disappear. Capture how many find it hard to express themselves, understand or defend boundaries, or say how they feel negatively or positively, and I think we may have just pulled it off. Well done mates. I love you all. taken in Sydney Film Festival by @papapearson

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a year ago

So pumped for this weekend where @matesfilm has been nominated for 4 big awards including best short, best director, best lead actor and best cinematography at Birmimgham’s @forwardfilmfest in the UK. Shout out to @leo_t_cine on his nom and @atmarcusat for another nod for his character Prick. LFG! 🇬🇧 ❤️ taken in Birmingham, UK by @papapearson

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16 hours ago

Massive congratulations to our TRIO director and co-founder @papapearson whose short film MATES won the Best Short at CinefestOZ last week. CinefestOZ rounds out a great year for MATES which began back in 2025 with its premiere at the Sydney Film Festival as part of the Dendy Awards where it won Rory the Rouben Mamoulian award for Best Director, and also a shared EVENT cinemas Rising Talent Award for Best Screenwriting with Marcus Aldred-Traynor. @atmarcusat

The film also won Best Lead Actor for its pitch perfect lead performance from Marcus Aldred-Traynor at CinefestOZ.

After playing in major festivals in every state of Australia, MATES had its world premiere at the Dublin International film festival 2026 and received an honourable market pick mention at the Clermont-Ferrand film festival too. A huge achievement for its craft.

Well done @matesfilm - 🏆 🌟and thanks to @cinefestoz @sydfilmfest @dublinfilmfestival @shortfilmmarket @adlfilmfest @stkildafilmfest @byronbayfilmfestival for the selections and @dendy.au @event_cinemas for the prizes. by @papapearson

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24 days ago

Congratulations to our 2026 Short Film Competition Winners!

🏆 Best Short Film - MATES
🏆 Best Indigenous Short Film - MAŋUTJI (CATCHING EYES)
🏆 CineWest Best WA Short Film - THE LOVE NUB
🏆 Best Directors - Harrison Rook and Tea Van De Burgh, THE HAPPY PLACE
🏆 Best Performance - Marcus Aldred-Traynor, MATES
🏆 Best Screenplay - Damon Herriman, CANDY BAR
🏆 Best Animation - GOOD LUCK
🏆 Diversity & Inclusion Award - LIABILITY

Catch the winners this Sunday at our special screening! 🎟️🔗
🎬 1:45pm | @oranacinemas_busselton

📸 @abbymurrayphotography by @papapearson

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a month ago

Hot stuff coming through...

Keep an eye out for some new work soon. by @papapearson

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a month ago

Honoured to get the nod for Best Short, Best Director and Best Lead Actor at @cinefestoz. We’re playing tonight at 6pm and 6:30 at Orana and Reading Cinemas in Busselton WA. Thank you thank you 🌟 taken in CinefestOZ by @papapearson

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a month ago

MATES is playing @cinefestoz this August and September! Been dreaming of playing this festival in the beautiful WA. So happy to take it to the west coast and unleash Prick Daniels. If you’re going to the festival, reach out.

Thanks to all who worked on @matesfilm

@atmarcusat
@marvelouscrane
@leo_t_cine
@jackgoldingphotography
@sillysigridd
@lamostrafx
@stuartmelvey
@decodoherty
@oliverzidler

Bunch a legends xx taken in CinefestOZ by @papapearson

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2 months ago

We’re on tomorrow from 2:30 at The Town Halls Alive program. We’ll be screening ‘Lay Down and Rot’ by Sean Burns and ‘Mates’ by Rory Pearson, followed by an in depth discussion concerning filmmaking in the Inner West. Come along!

📍Leichhardt Town Hall
🗓️ Saturday 16th May
🕰️ 2:30pm

Speakers
@booo_urns
@papapearson
@nickpayneandthe

Moderator
@_charleswilliams taken in Leichhardt Town Hall by @papapearson

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5 months ago

MATES had its international premiere at Dublin International Film Festival ☘️ earlier this month and it was everything we could hope for. Big crowd, proper energy, and they absolutely loved the film! We met so many amazingly talented filmmakers and made friends for life.

It was the kind of festival that reminds you why you make film. The whole city was chockas for cinema, it was obsessed!… at the risk of a bit of hobnobbing, we were often pinching ourselves as we saw some of Ireland and the world’s biggest names all there for the love of film (and spice bags). I met Aiden Gillen which was fun (he had a film in our section), Paul Rudd collected the Volta and Im definitely guilty for fanboying over Colin Farrell when we saw him at the awards. It really was a special place.

A crazy experience and one we’ll never forget.

So proud of where this film’s gone and the places it’s taken us.

Sláinte mates 🍀 @dublinfilmfestival #diff2026 taken in Dublin International Film Festival by @papapearson

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7 months ago

Our film MATES storms Dublin this month and we’re absolutely giddy about it. Dublin International Film Festival! Our beautiful chaos heads overseas.

We can’t wait to explain to our Irish fam why Michael Bevan’s 4 against the West Indies in 1996 was one of the finest knocks in Australian cricket history.

“How you livin life like that bro?”

Last ball. Four runs needed. One wicket left. The entire Caribbean already celebrating. Bevan smacks it straight down the ground to the boundary for victory.

That refusal to fold. That beautiful defiance. That’s the spirit of the team behind MATES and their wonderful work getting us to our international prem!

Love you all.

#diff2026 #matesfilm #bevan @dublinfilmfestival @matesfilm taken in Dublin International Film Festival by @papapearson

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8 months ago