I make films built around story.
I’m Donny Dong — a filmmaker in Adelaide, South Australia. I work with people and brands who want more than footage: a film with cinematic depth and a reason to exist.
I came to film the long way — through still photography, then editing other people’s footage, then realising the films I admired all had the same thing in common. They weren’t the most expensive or the most polished. They were the ones that knew exactly what they were about.
So that’s the work I make now. Short films and documentary, occasionally a brand piece when the brief has a real story in it. I write, direct, and shoot, and I keep the crew small enough that everyone in the room knows why we’re there.
Adelaide is home, and a lot of the work is rooted here — the coast, the river country, the quiet streets that don’t usually get a camera pointed at them. I’ll travel for the right story. I just won’t pretend a story is there when it isn’t.
Three things that don't change.
Story before camera
We figure out what the film is actually about before we talk about gear, locations, or a single shot. Everything after that is in service of the answer.
Small and deliberate
A tight crew, real locations, available light where it serves the story. Fewer moving parts means more attention on the things that matter.
Made to last
I’d rather make something you can watch in five years than something that performs for a week. Restraint is how a film keeps its weight.
Adelaide Film Festival — Official Selection
Melbourne Documentary Film Festival
Flickerfest, Bondi — Shortlist
St Kilda Film Festival
Antenna Documentary Festival
Heart of Gold Short Film Festival