Bio
Oshara Ardelean is an up and coming filmmaker based in Auckland, with an appetite for female and queer led stories. She has won awards for her cinematography and production design on Short films from festivals such as The Prodigy Film Awards, OTB Film Awards in Florida, and Monthly Indie Shorts. Her recent projects include directing music videos for NZ artists such as Kiki Rockwell for her single ‘Same Old Energy’ and “Cup Runneth Over’, along with co-directing pop artist Isla Noon’s “I Need To Go Home”.
What or who inspired you to study screen?
I think being introduced to the LOTR trilogy from a young age is what solidified my journey to eventually study screen. I fell in love with the world that Peter Jackson and his team built, and I think from the moment I watched those films, I knew I had to learn how I could do the same.
What did you enjoy most about your time at SAE?
What I enjoyed most about studying at SAE was the chance to collaborate with other creatives and build my own team of friends that I still work with professionally today. I really loved SAE’s open and friendly environment, and the way some modules were designed to encourage students from different year groups and disciplines to work together.
What have the highlights of your career been so far?
I think the highlights of my career so far has been directing the music video “Same Old Energy” for the fantastic artist Kiki Rockwell, and having it be so well received online. That was one of the first projects I really was able to express what my filmmaking style was like, so having 1.7M views and climbing on YouTube was definitely a confirmation for me that I might be doing something right. That project opened up opportunities for me, such as the most recent music video funded by NZ On Air for Kiki Rockwell’s ‘Cup Runneth Over’.
Who is someone you would love to collaborate with?
If I could choose anyone to collaborate with, it would have to be the filmmaker Mike Flanagan. His long one take shots and well written monologues are fantastic! I often like to jump between many different scenes and chop things up to tell my stories, so I think I could learn a lot from the way he approaches his films.
What are your future career goals?
This is often something that is always changing and evolving for me, but I think one of my biggest goals for the (hopefully near) future, would be to complete writing a feature film and be given the opportunity to direct it. I’ve only ever created short form stories whether that’s through Music Videos or short films, so completing a feature script would be a big accomplishment.
What advice would you give someone looking to get into a career in film and screen?
I would definitely say try things out, film things with other creatives and make mistakes on those projects. I’ve gained most of my practical skills by learning what NOT to do. I think having a positive, initiative lead attitude also goes a long way, as I know I personally like to pull people into my projects who might not necessarily have all the skills I need, but have an attitude where they’re willing to try things out and learn!