Two years in development from what started out as a thought in class with my colleague - now Producer - Milena Canto, ‘Delinquent’ enters the unforgiving world of Jordan and Lee Miller, two brothers in a broken home with the chance for the youngest to escape. This film delves into themes of trauma, substance abuse and domestic violence, serving as a mirror to the complexities of real-life relationships shaped by the relentless cycle of addiction. At its core, this project is an intrinsic examination of the human condition, emphasising that even in the darkest moments, there is a possibility for healing and redemption.

Milena Canto and I conceived of the character of ‘Jordan Miller’ during a 2nd year class at QUT, in which we explored the underlying issues and struggles of a stereotypical ‘eshay’. We found the concept increasingly intriguing, discovering the vast levels within such a character and the widely different world they perceive and live in. We developed this into a 3-minute Proof of Concept and presented it to a QUT panel at the end of 2023, with hopes of being green-lit to further produce the story.

‘Delinquent’ was green-lit at the start of 2024, and development for a 12-minute short script. Over the course of half a year, the script was constructed, changed, updated several times before eventually reaching a shooting script. In the meantime, Milena and I networked with our fellow cohort to enlist a small crew to shoot the short-film as well as audition and cast five main characters, with a handful of extras. We additionally enrolled a further three individuals to be apart of our post-production team and see the vision reach it’s destination.