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Award winning filmmaker chooses TAFE again
Beau Eastman has combined his passion for filmmaking and his love of animals to create his dream career.
By TAFE Queensland
TAFE Queensland graduate and filmmaker Beau Eastman wants to be the next David Attenborough, and judging from his growing portfolio of work and expanding list of award wins, he may just get there.
As a first step in his plan Beau enrolled in a Certificate IV in Screen at TAFE Queensland, straight after finishing high school.
“I chose TAFE Queensland because I wanted to get hands-on skills from one of their screen and media courses that I could start using straight away, as well as more knowledge about filmmaking and producing, to work towards becoming a wildlife documentary filmmaker.”
After finishing his course, Beau got to work, and his new skills and natural talent paid dividends. He picked up three awards in quick succession, including Best Film and Best Director award at the Reelife Short Film Festival for the documentary he produced called Our Guru of Surfing.
On the back of his award wins, Beau was approached by the RSPCA to create some films to help raise awareness and support.
“As an animal lover, I was honoured to produce films that would ultimately be used to benefit the safety and welfare of animals in shelters.”
Beau’s own career in animal handling has also taken off. He started working at Underwater World on the Sunshine Coast as a retail assistant, but quickly moved into snake-handling and then as an aquarist working with sharks and crustaceans.
A few years later, Beau landed his dream job at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where he still works as an animal handler, presenting various shows to an enthralled audience. He also recently made a short video for the Currumbin Wildlife Animal Hospital.
To formalise the skills he learned on the job, Beau completed his Certificate III in Captive Animals at TAFE Queensland.
“I chose TAFE again because I really wanted to make great happen. I wanted to get more out of my current role with Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and from my previous experience, I knew that TAFE was where I needed to go again.”
In 2019 Beau was offered a job at Raptor Domain on Kangaroo Island, where he now lives and works.
Find out more about TAFE Queensland's screen and media or animal care courses, or call 1300 308 233.