Dr Stuart McBratney

Dr Stuart McBratney’s creative projects prove that high-quality, Australian feature films need not break the bank.

Dr Stuart McBratney is a filmmaker with a global audience and a heart for local talent. He has worked with production companies in Newcastle, Los Angeles, and Oradea, Romania to produce multiple feature-length films at a fraction of the usual Hollywood price tag—an impressive feat that changes the game for aspiring filmmakers.

“When Hollywood movies often cost hundreds of millions of dollars, making a feature film can seem impossible,” says Dr McBratney.
“But by demonstrating that a movie can be made for the price of a discount Australian wedding, aspiring filmmakers can have their voices heard.”

Multiple times over, he has demonstrated how the process of making a full-length feature film—from conception, to production and distribution—can be achieved for a reasonable price, and this has given Australian actors and filmmakers the opportunity to work on feature films that might otherwise have remained out of reach.

Now, Dr McBratney is keen to share his encouraging results with other aspiring filmmakers, with the aim of making the craft more accessible and affordable, and helping more Australians tell their stories.

“I’m dedicated to democratising the filmmaking process, and to sharing my findings with aspiring filmmakers. I want the world to see that stories don’t require millions of dollars to be told.”

Learning through experience

Dr McBratney first started making movies when he was 11, and by age 14, he was determined to turn his passion into a career. Through his late teens and into his twenties, he worked multiple jobs to support his dreams, all while writing screenplays, making short films, and chasing his first big break. Like many aspiring Australian filmmakers, he faced his fair share of setbacks from an early age.

“I would send screenplays and proof-of-concept videos to production companies, and no-one ever responded, which was frustrating. Eventually I realised that if I kept waiting for someone else to produce my movies I’d go nowhere, so I had to create my own opportunities.”

This empowering realisation was a turning point in Dr McBratney’s career. Determined to find a way forward, he began to research alternative ways to make his films without relying on investors.

“I became obsessed with self-sufficiency. I bypassed the gatekeepers and developed methods for creating ‘bang for my buck’. Filmmaking is a highly complex craft, which requires time, money, people, equipment, and locations. To find ways to forge ahead with such productions despite a lack of funds remains a challenge, but I’m excited to embrace it.”

Enriching creativity in others

Dr McBratney’s resilience and determination in the face of numerous challenges has undeniably paid off. Since those early days of juggling part-time jobs and screenwriting, he is now a globally recognised filmmaker with an agent in Los Angeles and projects that are purchased internationally. To date, he has completed numerous music videos, 500 television commercials, a television series which was shot in Russia and Ukraine, and three feature films – two of which were filmed in multiple countries.

“I take it one project at a time, and each project takes three or four years. But rather than feeling daunted by such a long creative endeavour, I’m excited to tackle the challenges ahead, and I look forward to meeting incredible collaborators along the way.”

With Dr McBratney’s last movie Don’t Read This on a Plane being released in 15 countries in North America, Europe and Asia via streaming, broadcast, and DVD/Blu-ray, the hard-working creative has already started on a new production, Strangers in a Car Park, which has an expected release date of 2024. He completed its principal photography in mid-2023 alongside a small crew consisting primarily of Bachelor of Media & Communication students from the University of Newcastle.

“To film alongside such hard-working students was an absolute pleasure. They were the most committed crew I’ve ever worked with, and their ideas consistently surprised and inspired me. Their positivity on set and enthusiasm for the job transcended their relatively small number of years behind the camera. It’s been a delight to share some of my knowledge with them, and I look forward to seeing their own filmmaking progress during the years ahead.

Looking back, Dr McBratney is proud of his career achievements and excited to see where his next adventure will lead. Never one to shy away from a challenge, he is committed to forging a path for his fellow creatives—and devising a more democratic future for Australia’s filmmaking industry."

“Australian films continue to inspire the world, and the films I make contribute to our cultural output as a nation. I am no longer the kid wondering which gatekeepers will allow me to make a movie. Rather than letting a lack of financing stop me, I simply forged ahead and made movies anyway. I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned with the next generation of storytellers.”