microWAVE

microWAVE returns in 2026 with a series of microbudget filmmaking talks, panels and hands-on workshops. Join us for sessions on vertical content, creative AI and First Nations perspectives. Hear from international and Australian filmmakers, academics, journalists and industry insiders as they unravel new forms and models of microbudget production. 

Presented with:

microWAVE returns in 2026 as a collaboration between UTS Faculty of Design and Society and the Sydney Film Festival, bringing together microbudget filmmaking, creative practice research and industry conversations across UTS and the Festival Hub. The program centres on the forms, aesthetics and practices of microbudget filmmaking internationally and in Australia, and on its capacity to foster new and diverse cinematic voices.  

Across screenings, panels and filmmaker Q&As the program connects filmmakers and audiences in this innovative realm. microWAVE 2026 confronts the shifts in screen culture, from vertical formats to the use of creative AI. Sessions are held at UTS in Ultimo and at the Sydney Film Festival Hub in the Town Hall precinct.

Industry Session: Vertical Format Screen Stories

Date/time: Thursday 4 June 2026, 2.00 pm–5.00 pm

Venue: CB03.01.005
UTS Bon Marche Studio
755 Harris Street, Ultimo

Lead: Dr Gregory Ferris, UTS

A hands-on industry workshop exploring vertical-format storytelling and production using mobile devices. Designed for practitioners and students interested in new screen formats, the session is a practical workshop-based activity.

As vertical streaming platforms like DramaBox and iQIYI have pioneered dedicated vertical content, the cinematic frame has evolved. Once a social media construct, the vertical frame has evolved into a filmic language specific to the mobile experience. This workshop transforms smartphones into professional cine-studios. Designed for students and emerging filmmakers, the session introduces the technical and creative tropes of portrait storytelling using mobile devices, moving beyond auto settings while discussing their limitations. Participants will bridge the gap between traditional cinematic craft and the mobile-centric.

Workshop industry technology sponsor – RODE

Creative Practice Pedagogy, Faculty of Design & Society

Date/time: Friday 5 June 2026, 10.00 am–1.00 pm

Location: CB02 04A Foyer (Broadway Screen)

Keynote Address:
Professor Neil Fox
Sound/Image Cinema Lab, Falmouth University, UK

FDS special guests:

• Dean Professor James Bennett
• Associate Dean, Teaching & Learning, Professor Alexandra Crosby

FDS creative practices panel:

• Moderator: Dr Gregory Ferris
• Associate Professor Mohammed Makki (Architecture)
• Dr Cecilia Heffer (Fashion)
• Diamond Tat (Screen)
• Dr Andrew Pippos (Creative Writing)

A professional development and teaching-and-learning event focused on creative practice pedagogy. The session features an international keynote by Professor Neil Fox (Sound/Image Cinema Lab, Falmouth University), followed by a Q&A and a panel on the pedagogy of the diversity of creative practice teaching within the faculty. 

Program:

10.00am – Welcome & introductions (MC: Associate Professor Alex Munt). Introduction by Dean, Professor James Bennett

10.15am – Keynote: Professor Neil Fox (UK) ‘So many vibrations: Varda, Cassavetes and the communal spirit of the Sound/Image Cinema Lab’. The Sound/Image Cinema Lab is a multifaceted teaching, research and film practice lab that acts as a partner, resource and funder for Cornish and UK independent cinema across forms and genres.

11.00am – Q&A

11.15am – Morning tea

11.30am – Creative Practice Professional Development Panel | Creative Practice Pedagogy Panel, Faculty of Design and Society

12.30pm – Q&A

1.00pm – Lunch

Creative Screen: Through a First Nation Lens

Date/time: Friday 5 June 2026, 2.00pm–3.00 pm

Location: CB02 04A Foyer (Broadway Screen)

• Moderator: Professor Rachel Landers

• Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research

• Filmmaker Pauline Clague

• Professor Jason De Santolo, Associate Dean (Indigenous Research)

A panel on filmmaking and moving image production through the lens of creative and industry screen practice at UTS.  

Microbudget Now!

Date/time: Friday 5 June 2026, 3.00 pm–4.00 pm

Location: CB02 04A Foyer (Broadway Screen)

UTS Guests:
Dr Gregory Ferris
Associate Professor Alex Munt

This session traces the pioneering microWAVE symposia’s influence and relevance to today’s microbudget screenscape. We revisit 2011 and 2013, when mumblecore filmmakers, like Joe Swanberg and Andrew Bujalski, combined DIY energy with DSLRs and crowdfunding models of production. Join us to share your experiences and spark ideas in a conversation about microbudget, DIY, indie, and emerging cinema forms.

microWAVE 2026: Social Mixer

Date/time: Friday 5 June 2026, 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm
Abercrombie Hotel
100 Broadway, Chippendale NSW 2008

The final series of sessions will take place at the Sydney Film Festival Hub, at Lower Sydney Town Hall, on Sat 6 June from 10.30am. For more information or to register, visit the event pages below.