Talisha making it big

It always excites me to see a true local Ipswichian, born and educated in our great city making it big and getting a name for themselves not only in Australia but overseas.

This is the case for Talisha Elger, who lived her entire life in Ipswich and went to West Moreton Anglican College.

Ever since I first met Talisha she always had a love and dream of becoming a Filmmaker with a focus on directing.

Even though Filmmaking was always her passion, she found herself having to always write her own movies, and as movies always start with a script,

Talisha felt it was more useful for her to really dig further into writing and I think we can all be grateful for that. Talisha is now an award winning film director and writer from Ipswich.

Her first independent short film ‘The Fears of Young Caroline’ gained success on the festival circuit and was chosen as a Coup de Coeur favourite at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film won many awards including Best Drama at the Queensland New Filmmakers Awards, Best Foreign Film at Indre Fest USA, Best Foreign Film at Los ANGELES International Underground Film Festival, and 3rd Place at the Sunset International Film Festival.

In 2017, Talisha completed her Bachelor of Arts graduating with distinction, at the University of Queensland, Australia.

In 2016, she completed an academic quarter at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a concentration in the art and technique of filmmaking, television studies, and entertainment economics.

During her time at UCLA, Talisha gained a position on the Dean’s Honour’s List. She completed her first feature screenplay There’s Something About Finch under the mentorship of her UCLA Professor.

From 2019, There’s Something About Finch was an Official Selection at the Gold Coast Film Festival, a Finalist at the Australian Film Industry Night International Film Festival, and a Semi-Finalist (Top 10) at the Australian International Screenwriting Awards.

When asked who or what has been her biggest supporter, mentor and motivator Talisha believes growing up with her parents in Ipswich and taking her to the cinemas to see everything they wanted to see, and they went almost every week.

In primary school, she would write little stories in a book she carried around with her.

She feels that cinema and writing just stuck with her so it always made sense to write and make movies.

She is now studying for her masters Master’s Degree at the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles and it still blows her mind a little.

Talisha still feels a little lost when it comes to breaking in and navigating the film industry.

Coming from this small town, it always felt so daunting for her, however the support she received gave her the determination to make her dreams come true. I think we will see Talisha’s name on the big screen one day and I wish her all the success for whatever the future holds for her.