Panel: The Future of Mobile Storytelling<\/i><\/a> \u2013 A roundtable exploring emerging trends in smartphone filmmaking,
\n from AI-assisted editing and vertical formats to AR experiences and
\n mobile-first narratives<\/p>\nThis roundtable stands out for its cross-sector mix of voices \u2013 from film
\nfestival founders to policymakers and educators \u2013 offering a rare conversation
\non how mobile filmmaking is reshaping the creative industries.<\/p>\n
Speakers include:<\/b><\/p>\n
Dorcas Maphakela (Moderator) \u2013 Creative producer and curatorAngela Blake \u2013 Co-founder, SF3 (Australia\u2019s flagship smartphone film
\n festival)Andrew Robb \u2013 Former Trade Minister and Asia-Pacific advisorMax Schleser \u2013 MINA co-founder and mobile cinema researcherDarcy Yuille \u2013 Award-winning filmmaker and educatorAdrian Jeffs, Patrick Kelly and others from academia and creative
\n mediaDanLi \u2013 Guests from SmallRig Shuai Li \u2013 Co-producer, MINA<\/p>\n
Australian presence on an international stage<\/b><\/p>\n
While the festival spans 21 countries, it also includes contributions from emerging Australian
\nvoices \u2013 including Eric Perriard<\/b>, an Adelaide-based filmmaker whose
\nshort Stations<\/i> screens on 24 Oct, and student works presented in the
\n\u201cNew Voices\u201d program through Swinburne University of Technology<\/b>, MINA\u2019s
\n2025 education partner.<\/p>\n
Why it matters<\/b><\/p>\n
Founded in 2011, MINA is the longest-running smartphone film festival in
\nthe Southern Hemisphere. The 2025 edition saw a 97% increase in submissions<\/b>,
\nreflecting growing momentum in mobile-first creative work.<\/p>\n
SmallRig joins as
\nco-presenter this year, bringing its expertise in mobile filming rigs and
\nglobal creator support. As part of this collaboration, SmallRig is launching
\nthe Mobile Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative<\/b> \u2013 a global platform
\ninviting creators to contribute to tool development, promote standout
\nmobile-shot films, and collaborate on original projects. The initiative aims to
\nexpand access to equipment, exposure, and creative partnerships across more
\nthan 160 countries.<\/p>\n
“Smartphone
\nfilmmaking’s accessibility enables more great stories to be told in a lighter,
\nmore personal way,” said Zhou Yang, Founder of SmallRig. “We’ve seen
\nmobile shooting grow into an integral part of everyday creation.SmallRig
\ncontinues to innovate lightweight, integrated mobile shooting solutions that
\nempower creators, making filmmaking more personal and universal.” Zhou
\ncontinued.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmartphone filmmaking is no longer a novelty \u2013 it\u2019s a global creative
\nmovement,\u201d said Max Schleser, co-founder of MINA. \u201cThis year\u2019s program
\ncelebrates bold ideas, emerging formats, and the power of accessible
\nstorytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
53 smartphone films and 4 Mobile Cinematic VR projects from 21 countries, a global panel on mobile storytelling, and the launch of SmallRig\u2019s international co-creation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32521,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32520,"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32519\/revisions\/32520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seasiaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}