Actor and Filmmaker Josh Henry’s Short Film Wins at Sydney Indie Film Festival

Actor and filmmaker Josh Henry recently returned from the Sydney Indie Film Festival (SIFF) in Australia, where his short film, “Poker Face,” was nominated for multiple awards.

The festival was held Oct. 17-25, 2015, and featured award-winning independent films from around the world, as well as outstanding emerging talent in the film industry.

“Poker Face” was nominated and won the Extra Mile Award. This award is given by SIFF to honor a filmmaker who went to great lengths to see his/her vision become a reality. In Josh’s case, this meant raising the money to fund the film, then writing, producing, directing, editing and acting in the film. All, save acting, were first-time attempts. Additionally, it meant traveling half-way around the world to be present at the film’s world premiere.

Henry, whose acting career has included numerous commercials, a guest-star spot in the TV series, The Haves and The Have Nots, as well as roles on Drop Dead Diva, Halt and Catch Fire, and Banshee, to name a few, was nominated for “Best Male Leadin a Short Film” for his performance in “Poker Face.” Dustin Strong was nominated for Best Male in a Supporting Role.

“I had an incredible week in Sydney! I saw some really great films and was fortunate to meet some amazing people and talented filmmakers, such as Ren Thackham and Danny Bolt,” recalled Henry. “I also had the pleasure of getting to know the festival director/fellow actor-filmmaker Shailla Quadra, who is this incredible ball of positive energy! She’s a wonderful person and I’m grateful to her and her staff for choosing to include my film in the festival. It’s all been such an amazing adventure: getting to visit Australia, being nominated and, ultimately, winning an award for my first short film! As you can imagine, it’s been a very encouraging experience and I look forward to getting started on my next film soon. I’ve just got to decide which one of the dozen or so ideas I want to pursue next!”

SIFF is the first festival to accept “Poker Face” since its completion in August. The short film, roughly 11 minutes in length, is described by its creator as: a story about marriage, friendship and very high-stakes poker! The film was shot over a weekend in Spring of 2014, but was hung up in post-production for various reasons until late summer of this year. Due to the eligibility rules imposed by most festivals, the film is not yet available to the public. However, a teaser trailer for the film can be viewed here (https://vimeo.com/136065482).

Henry is a native of North Georgia and currently resides in Atlanta. He fell in love with acting in high school and, by the end of his junior year, his career path was chosen. Henry earned an Associate of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from Young Harris College, graduating magna cum laude, followed by a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama from the University of Georgia. Since then, he has split his time between Los Angeles and Atlanta, working in film, TV, commercials, theatre, pilots, print ads, plays and music videos. His roles have included working with such recognized professionals as Michael Keaton, Burt Reynolds, Alicia Silverstone, Jeff Foxworthy, Vernon Wells and NFL linebacker Luke Kuechly.

So what’s next for Josh Henry? “Well this is just the beginning of the festival circuit for ‘Poker Face,’” he explained. “Hopefully, I’ll be attending several more festivals across the country and internationally. In between those…I’ll start putting together my next film and, of course, auditioning for more acting work. Filmmaking is a new and exciting love of mine and I don’t think that passion will be going away any time soon, but acting is my first love and will always be a primary pursuit of mine.”

Look for Josh Henry in the upcoming feature film, “The Founder” (a biopic on McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc) and new PBS Civil War drama, “Mercy Street.”

He is represented for acting work by Patrick Ryan of Aligned Stars Agency in Atlanta and managed by Anita Haeggstrom of The Haeggstrom Office in L.A. To learn more about Josh Henry, visit www.JoshHenry.com, where you can also connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. For more details about “Poker Face”, visit PokerFaceFilm.com, and be on the lookout for a screening of the film at a festival near you!