Lost Contact

Aldo has always felt like a being from another planet, stranded on Earth. His autism and long struggle to speak either English or his native Italian fluently meant he was perpetually alienated. Often overwhelmed by paranoia, he started to search for meaning and truth in the esoteric. Now, he is determined to connect with others and to find a place where he belongs.

Jaina Kalifa

Jaina Kalifa is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who is passionate about working on character-led stories and projects that make a positive social or environmental impact. His documentaries have screened in film festivals around Australia and overseas and have been broadcast internationally. His film Strudel Sisters was the winner of the 2016 Devour Golden Tine Award for Best Short Documentary and in Official Selection for Hot Docs 2016 and Sydney Film Festival. Jaina recently produced Land Art, a four-part documentary series for broadcast on ABC News 24 and ABC iview, and he has a number of documentary projects in development. Filmography: Lost Contact (2021) Documentary short - director Happy Android (2019) Documentary short - director Donna (2017) Documentary short - director Struddel Sisters (2016) Documentary short - director

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Amelia Paxman

Director. Since 2008 Amelia has worked in documentary research and development across a range of productions. In late 2014 Amelia completed her directional debut, Crack Up for ABC2 with Wildbear Entertainment which won the 2015 United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace Award for Promotion of Disability Rights and Issues. In 2019, Amelia travelled to Latvia and Hungary with a team of students under Griffith senior lecturer and filmmaker Dr Peter Hegedus to create a suite of films about the holocaust. Amelia has continued to develop projects, create short films for passion and money, and has also worked as a sessional tutor at Griffith Film School. Filmography: Lost Contact (2021) Short Film - director Crack Up (2014) Documentary - director

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– St Kilda Film Festival 2021 – Official Selection / Best Documentary (Australia)
– The Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival 2021 – Official Selection (Australia)
– Melbourne Documentary Film Festival 2021 – Australian Documentary Selection (Australia)