Yan finds her filmmaking voice through TAFE Queensland

After working in information technology and then stepping away from her career to become a full-time mother, Yan was ready to challenge herself again.

Newly settled in Australia and still building confidence in English, she enrolled in the Diploma of Screen and Media (Directing) (CUA51020) at TAFE Queensland’s Mt Gravatt campus with a simple goal – to improve her communication skills in an English-speaking learning environment and graduate with a diploma.

What she didn’t expect was that the course would help her discover a new creative voice and lead her to create Mask – an emotionally powerful short film now screening at the West End Film Festival.

“Originally, my goal was quite simple. I wanted to study in an English-speaking environment, improve my communication skills and complete the course. But as my confidence grew, so did my ambitions,” Yan said.

Inspired by Yan’s own experiences during the COVID lockdown in China, Mask explores the emotional distance and unspoken tensions that can exist within families, as well as the invisible masks people wear to protect themselves and each other.

Bringing that story to life required more than a good idea. It required the confidence to trust her instincts, to shape personal experience into something cinematic, and to lead a team through every stage of production.

At TAFE Queensland, Yan developed practical skills across all stages of filmmaking through hands-on, project-based learning that reflected the screen industry.

From script development and shot planning to directing, camera operation, lighting, sound, editing and post-production, she learned how every part of the production process contributes to storytelling.

“TAFE Queensland taught me not only the technical side of filmmaking, but how to transform emotions into cinematic language,” she said.

“That gave me the confidence to trust my own creative instincts and bring Mask to life.”

Access to TAFE Queensland’s professional studios and industry-standard equipment at Mt Gravatt also helped Yan refine her craft in an environment that closely reflected real-world production.

“Instead of simply learning theory, we were constantly creating,” she said.

“Learning with professional equipment helped me understand the visual standards expected in the film industry and gave Mask a strong cinematic foundation.”

Just as important were the teachers who helped shape her growth as a filmmaker.

Yan credits teacher Charles Mitchell as the person who first encouraged her to pursue filmmaking seriously, while Tom Francis helped lay the technical foundations of her film education.

She said award-winning filmmaker Sonia Bible inspired her to focus on the emotional core of storytelling, and teacher Brian Vining helped deepen her understanding of cinematography, lighting and post-production as storytelling tools.

“Watching my teachers build an entire world with passion, imagination and dedication made me realise what filmmaking really is,” she said.

“They didn’t simply teach filmmaking – they demonstrated the spirit of filmmaking.”

Studying in a second language was daunting at times, but Yan said the support she received from teachers and classmates gave her the confidence to keep going.

Her producer on Mask, Georgia Powell, encouraged her to make her own film when self-doubt crept in and supported the production from locations and casting to costumes and props.

Cinematographer Zander Bylo also helped shape the visual world of the film, bringing atmosphere and depth through his eye for composition and movement.

“Looking back, I realise filmmaking is built on collaboration. My classmates were not only people I studied with – they became creative partners, trusted friends and an important part of my journey,” she said.

For Yan, one of the most powerful lessons from her time at TAFE Queensland was that language is not a barrier to connection.

“The most important lesson I learned at TAFE Queensland was that communication is about much more than words,” she said.

“Through images, performances, emotions and collaboration, people can understand one another in ways that go far beyond language.”

It’s a lesson reflected in Mask itself – a Chinese-language film made in Australia by a multicultural team and now shared with audiences from different backgrounds and countries.

Seeing the film selected for the West End Film Festival has been a meaningful milestone, marking how far Yan has come since she first walked into TAFE Queensland hoping simply to improve her English.

Now, she leaves with much more than a diploma – she leaves with a film, a new career direction and the confidence to tell stories that matter.

“As someone who changed careers and began studying filmmaking in a new country and a second language, this journey was both exciting and challenging. Looking back, I realise I never walked it alone,” Yan said.

“Thank you, TAFE Queensland, for giving me not only the skills to make films, but also the confidence to believe that dreams can become reality.”