A quest to catch Santa Claus

9 December 2024
Producers Natalie Rose Lloyd-Smith and her partner Richard.

We all have those signature festive movies we watch during the silly season to get into the Christmas spirit, but here is another one to add to your list.

Santa Hunters is an Australian mockumentary following 3 hunters as they each try to catch the jolly man himself, Santa Claus!

Produced by University of Queensland Bachelor of Arts alum (2019) Natalie Rose Lloyd-Smith and her partner Richard from Valencia Street Pictures, Santa Hunters marks Natalie’s first feature film debut at age 28.

“We wanted to make a film about the point at which passion turns into obsession. And Santa Claus is a perfect device to explore that theme,” Natalie said.

Producing the movie themselves as independent filmmakers on a self-financed shoe-string budget, this dynamic duo also shot and edited it solo, and even briefly appear in the film – what rock stars!

Santa Hunters launched on 12 December, distributed by Radioactive Pictures.

Natalie said it was her UQ education and the quality of their drama and creative writing courses that set her on the path for success.

“I actually worked on Santa Hunters as part of my third-year playwriting assignment which was a fantastic course!” Natalie said.

Santa Hunters was then chosen to be performed as part of the semester 2 directing assignment.”

Tutored by Associate Professor Stephen Carleton from UQ’s School of Communication and Arts at the time, Natalie remembers telling him that she planned to make it into a film – and she did!

“I can’t wait to show him what became of our 10-minute play.”

Natalie was a huge fan of films growing up, but it wasn’t until she met Richard, her partner of 12 years, who is contagiously passionate about films, that she realised she wanted to delve deeper into the process. 

“My time at UQ opened up so many interests that I never would have realised otherwise.

“It was the perfect environment to grow and develop my creative process,” she said. 

Two weeks after wrapping up Santa Hunters, Natalie and Richard were back on set producing and directing their second movie "How Quickly Clouds Move" with Armin Dzafic.

The film boasts powerful performances from Armin Dzafic, Karlo Bilic, Milijana Cancar, Slobodan Dane Andonoski and is currently in post-production.

With no signs of slowing down, Natalie and Richard are in pre-production on a factual premium limited series and their next 2 features.

Her success just proves that a UQ Bachelor of Arts can turn your passion into your profession.

It Starts with Arts
Santa Hunters is available to rent or buy now on Amazon Prime.

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