ANDREW Pearce shoots everything he sees.

"I started from a really young age," he says, laughing at his obsession with photos and video cameras.

"I am always looking for film sets or interesting lighting."

Growing up on a family beef farm in Kergunyah, south of Wodonga, meant Andrew, 20, often had to entertain himself.

At the age of 14, Andrew began directing horror movies with a friend, throwing books around the house for special effects and convincing his parents to act.

Six years on, he is now pursuing his dream as a budding director.

Andrew says if it wasn't for the Border Regional Film Festival (BARFF), showing on October 1, he's not sure what he would have chosen for a career.

"It made me make films," Andrew says.

"It was the first film festival in the region and I had started making films so I thought, why not?"

Since submitting his first film in 2004 Andrew, who is now studying at Sydney Film School, has entered every year and this year he will have a documentary and a drama on display.

"It is a very personal documentary," says Andrew, of the eight-minute film exposing a family's pain, which is still raw two years after a tragic car accident.

His other film also looks at the aspect of family, focusing on the turmoil of a Japanese clan.

"It is a universal film, it can be any family," he says.

Co-founder of BARFF Tony Nott says Andrew is proof regional festivals can inspire youngsters into the arts.

"Andrew is one of our regular entrants and it is really good to see his progress," Tony says.

"He started out with basic skills and his images get better and better every year."

Tony says the film festival was started in 2003 when a group of creative thinkers got together and decided city people should not be the only ones with creative outlets.

He says locals love the festival and after seven years, it will continue to run as long as people volunteer for the organising committee and submit new films.

"We receive new entries every year," Tony says. "We get a really mixed bag. The kids always want to make gory, horror-type movies, but we get right through to professional films."

The reputation of BARFF is continuing to grow, with some entries this year coming from international film-makers.

Andrew can understand why BARFF is becoming more successful but believes its unique name has helped.

"Some festival names don't make any sense but BARFF works," he says. "It's weird but works."

  • BARFF, The Border and Regional Film Festival, October 1, Albury Library Museum.