The Creatives
Taysha McFarland
Producer/Director/Writer/Actor and Founder of Toprock Productions.
Taysha is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of Toprock Productions. Her latest film, Zarephath, which she wrote, produced and directed has won over 15 awards internationally and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video US & UK. Taysha has also received awards for Best Director and Best Writer.
Recently, she has been a producer on the 2021 AACTA Pitch: Focus' winning project, "Jia" directed by Vee Shi and the Multicultural Arts Victoria-supported film, "Eating the Other" directed by Jazba Singh. Both were official selections in Flickerfest, 2023 with “Jia” winning two awards.
Other recent credits include director and producer on “Casual Frenemies” which received an Honourable Mention in the 2022 TikTok GotAMinute Competition and "Hudson and Grantely", a 2021 Peninsula Film Festival finalist.
Although completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Science, Taysha has always been driven to pursue a career in the film industry. She has previously gained over 20 years’ experience training as an actor in Meisner, Strasburg and Chekhov techniques and has performed within Australia as well as the renowned Walt Disney World in the United States. Taysha has also undertaken a full-time dance performance course, hosted a radio program and currently plays orchestral percussion and timpani for various local orchestras.
This year, Taysha is a recipient of the Berry Family Fellowship at the State Library Victoria and the AIDC Leading Lights program to develop her first documentary, “Unheard Memoirs from the Japanese Occupation of Malaya”. She is also producing and co-directing alongside prominent online creator, Lyanna Kea on the Screen Australia and YouTube Australia-funded comedy series, “Life of Kea” as part of the Skip Ahead 8 program.
Tristan Braines
Producer/Director/Writer/Actor
From a young age, Tristan became fascinated with film and cinema. His passion has lead him to posses a great deal of knowledge when it comes to filmmaking.
After having had a taste of making films in High School, Tristan took a gap year studying a Foundation Course at the VCA, completing several short films. Soon after that he studied for three years at Swinburne Faculty of Design, undergoing the Bachelor of Film and Television Production, where he worked on numerous projects and productions, in a variety of genres and creative roles.
He has since gone on to become an award winning producer, having his films, "If Only", "A Song for You" and "Shop Your Values" taking home awards for best film and audience choice awards.
Cindy Pritchard
Producer/Singer/Actor
With over 35 years professional experience, Mornington Peninsula local, Cindy Pritchard was an original cast member of many Australian musical theatre productions, including 1200 performances of “Les Miserables”, and 60 performances as Mrs Potts alongside Hugh Jackman in Disney’s “Beauty & the Beast”.
With extensive television credits in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Cindy has recently broken into the film industry. She not only been recently credited as an actor, but has also stepped into the producer role. Her recent film credits include associate producer on AACTA nominated feature film, “Book Week”, which is also currently streaming on Stan, and executive producer on up and coming film, “Zarephath”, produced by Toprock Productions.
Other professional credits include “The Sound of Music” alongside Lisa McCune, “Showboat” directed by the legendary Hal Prince, “Me & My Girl”, “Sweet Charity”, “Oliver!” and the role of Fruma-Sarah with Topol in “Fiddler on the Roof”. She has also toured all over the country playing Earth Mother in “Menopause the Musical”. Just to name a few.
Cindy is looking forward to working on the hilarious comedy series, “Galactic Circus” alongside the creative team.
Nicholson Ren
Producer/Director of Photography/Colour Grader
Nicholson is an experienced and in-demand cinematographer who specialises in narrative, fictional filmmaking. Through his films, he aims to create a very natural look with a preference to a low key lighting style to create the most appealing images. He believes in making the best out of what is available.
With each shot, he takes pride in working out the finer details to enhance the overall story of the production. He has a vast knowledge on cinematic production.
With many years of experience in colour grading films around the world, Nichoslon is always ready for the next steps and challenges in the film industry.
For updates on his new projects follow his page on Instagram.
Samuel Vella
Cinematographer
Samuel is a cinematographer with an extensive background in the camera & lighting department; having worked on a variety of projects ranging from music videos, corporate branding & feature films.
Samuel graduated from RMIT, where he studied Screen & Media and contributed to over 15 different projects, where he worked on various styles including documentary & short film narratives.
Since graduation Samuel has continued to expand his knowledge of film & cinema by working with veteran members of the Melbourne film community, where he met & worked with Toprock Productions on several projects.
Samuel’s style is contemporary, eclectic & emotionally-driven. Drawing on a wide range of inspirations; old and new, Samuel can adapt to fit the needs of any story or project.
You can view some of Samuel’s previous work on his Instagram.
Chris Tuazon
Sound Design/Composer/Musician
Chris has a great ear for music and sounds and is a key member of the garage, grunge, psychedelic band, Mojo Pin. Being with the band for over 8 years, Chris wanted to learn more about recording to help the band.
He studied Studio Engineering where he learned about the possibilities and other avenues for creativity in the field of audio. This is where he also found a passion for film and live events. He sees this as a new medium for his musical expression, broadening his sights.
Between gigs, Chris enjoys working on set and perfecting the audio in post production.