At just 16 years old, Ziva Taylor has already demonstrated what can happen when a young person is given the freedom, trust, and opportunity to pursue meaningful work. After being homeschooled for much of her education, Ziva joined IDEAcademy in 2024 as part of the Intern cohort (year 11 alternative). Like many IDEA learners, she arrived with creativity, curiosity, and ambition but was still exploring exactly where her passion would lead.

During her first few months at IDEA, Ziva immersed herself in experimentation. She explored different project ideas, tested creative directions, and used the flexibility of the program to better understand herself and her strengths. It quickly became clear that storytelling and visual communication came naturally to her. An exceptional presenter with a deep emotional intelligence, Ziva realised her calling was filmmaking.

In her Intern year, Ziva undertook an ambitious project that reflected both her courage and creative vision, writing, directing, filming, and editing her own feature length film, Are We Okay? Inspired by her personal experiences of female friendship breakdowns and social bullying, the film explored the emotional complexity of teenage relationships and the isolation many young people experience.

What made the achievement even more extraordinary was the scale of the undertaking. Ziva independently led nearly every aspect of production, dedicating not only her project time at IDEA, but countless hours outside program hours and across the entire 2024/2025 summer holidays to bring the film to life. She taught herself advanced editing software, coordinated actors, managed shoots, and refined the film with an intensity and professionalism well beyond her years.

Then came the breakthrough moment.

Ziva submitted Are We Okay? to the Vancouver International Youth Film Festival, never expecting what would happen next. She received a call informing her that the film had been selected to screen on opening night and that she had been shortlisted for an award. Excited and overwhelmed, she shared the news with IDEA staff but initially believed attending the festival in Canada was financially impossible due to the cost of flights and accommodation.

Encouraged by the IDEA community to back herself, Ziva launched a crowdfunding campaign. What happened next perfectly reflected the power of community and the belief people had in her vision. Through the support of the IDEA community and her wider network, nearly $10,000 was raised in just over 48 hours.

Ziva travelled to Vancouver with her mother and described the experience as life defining. Standing in an international cinema watching her work on the big screen was already surreal, but the moment became unforgettable when Are We Okay? won Best International Short Film.

Rather than slowing down after such a major achievement, Ziva used her Grad year (year 12 equivalent) to continue intentionally building her future in film. On her Flex days, she undertook a Certificate III in Screen and Media (Film), while simultaneously developing and shooting another original film project as part of her Grad Project and IDEA portfolio. In 2026, Ziva successfully transitioned into further film studies with a clear sense of direction, purpose, and ambition for the future.

Ziva epitomises what an IDEA learner is.

She embraced every opportunity available to her, pushed herself outside her comfort zone, and actively contributed to the strong community culture that defines IDEA. Despite being younger than everyone else in her cohort, she consistently demonstrated maturity, leadership, and an extraordinary work ethic. Her journey is a powerful example of what happens when young people are trusted to pursue authentic, meaningful work connected to their passions.

Ziva also perfectly reflects IDEA’s “Ambitious Overachiever” learner persona, young people seeking more from education than traditional schooling can offer. Students like Ziva want real world opportunities, meaningful industry connections, flexibility to explore their potential, and pathways that extend far beyond academic achievement alone. They are often deeply capable young people whose needs have not been fully met in mainstream systems, despite having enormous potential.

For Ziva, IDEA became the environment where those raw ingredients could be transformed into something extraordinary. Today, she is not just graduating with a certificate, she is graduating as an emerging filmmaker, award winner, storyteller, and young professional with a compelling vision for her future. undertaking. Ziva independently led nearly every aspect of production, dedicating not only her project time at IDEA, but countless hours outside program hours and across the entire 2024/2025 summer holidays to bring the film to life. She taught herself advanced editing software, coordinated actors, managed shoots, and refined the film with an intensity and professionalism well beyond her years. At just 16 years old, Ziva Taylor has already demonstrated what can happen when a young person is given the freedom, trust, and opportunity to pursue meaningful work. After being homeschooled for much of her education, Ziva joined IDEAcademy in 2024 as part of the Intern cohort. Like many IDEA learners, she arrived with creativity, curiosity, and ambition but was still exploring exactly where her passion would lead.

During her first few months at IDEA, Ziva immersed herself in experimentation. She explored different project ideas, tested creative directions, and used the flexibility of the program to better understand herself and her strengths. It quickly became clear that storytelling and visual communication came naturally to her. An exceptional presenter with a deep emotional intelligence, Ziva realised her calling was filmmaking.

In her Intern year, Ziva undertook an ambitious project that reflected both her courage and creative vision, writing, directing, filming, and editing her own feature length film, Are We Okay? Inspired by her personal experiences of female friendship breakdowns and social bullying, the film explored the emotional complexity of teenage relationships and the isolation many young people experience.

What made the achievement even more extraordinary was the scale of the undertaking. Ziva independently led nearly every aspect of production, dedicating not only her project time at IDEA, but countless hours outside program hours and across the entire 2024/2025 summer holidays to bring the film to life. She taught herself advanced editing software, coordinated actors, managed shoots, and refined the film with an intensity and professionalism well beyond her years.

Then came the breakthrough moment.

Ziva submitted Are We Okay? to the Vancouver International Youth Film Festival, never expecting what would happen next. She received a call informing her that the film had been selected to screen on opening night and that she had been shortlisted for an award. Excited and overwhelmed, she shared the news with IDEA staff, but initially believed attending the festival in Canada was financially impossible due to the cost of flights and accommodation.

Encouraged by the IDEA community to back herself, Ziva launched a crowdfunding campaign. What happened next perfectly reflected the power of community and the belief people had in her vision. Through the support of the IDEA community and her wider network, nearly $10,000 was raised in just over 48 hours.

Ziva travelled to Vancouver with her mother and described the experience as life defining. Standing in an international cinema watching her work on the big screen was already surreal, but the moment became unforgettable when Are We Okay? won Best International Short Film.

Rather than slowing down after such a major achievement, Ziva used her Grad year to continue intentionally building her future in film. On her Flex days, she undertook a Certificate III in Screen and Media (Film), while simultaneously developing and shooting another original film project as part of her Grad Project and IDEA portfolio. In 2026, Ziva successfully transitioned into further film studies with a clear sense of direction, purpose, and ambition for the future.

Ziva epitomises what an IDEA learner is.

She embraced every opportunity available to her, pushed herself outside her comfort zone, and actively contributed to the strong community culture that defines IDEA. Despite being younger than everyone else in her cohort, she consistently demonstrated maturity, leadership, and an extraordinary work ethic. Her journey is a powerful example of what happens when young people are trusted to pursue authentic, meaningful work connected to their passions.

Ziva also perfectly reflects IDEA’s “Ambitious Overachiever” learner persona, young people seeking more from education than traditional schooling can offer. Students like Ziva want real world opportunities, meaningful industry connections, flexibility to explore their potential, and pathways that extend far beyond academic achievement alone. They are often deeply capable young people whose needs have not been fully met in mainstream systems, despite having enormous potential.

For Ziva, IDEA became the environment where those raw ingredients could be transformed into something extraordinary. Today, she is not just graduating with a certificate, she is graduating as an emerging filmmaker, award winner, storyteller, and young professional with a compelling vision for her future.

Then came the breakthrough moment.

Ziva submitted Are We Okay? to the Vancouver International Youth Film Festival, never expecting what would happen next. She received a call informing her that the film had been selected to screen on opening night and that she had been shortlisted for an award. Excited and overwhelmed, she shared the news with IDEA staff, but initially believed attending the festival in Canada was financially impossible due to the cost of flights and accommodation.

Encouraged by the IDEA community to back herself, Ziva launched a crowdfunding campaign. What happened next perfectly reflected the power of community and the belief people had in her vision. Through the support of the IDEA community and her wider network, nearly $10,000 was raised in just over 48 hours.

Ziva travelled to Vancouver with her mother and described the experience as life defining. Standing in an international cinema watching her work on the big screen was already surreal, but the moment became unforgettable when Are We Okay? won Best International Short Film.

Rather than slowing down after such a major achievement, Ziva used her Grad year to continue intentionally building her future in film. On her Flex days, she undertook a Certificate III in Screen and Media (Film), while simultaneously developing and shooting another original film project as part of her Grad Project and IDEA portfolio. In 2026, Ziva successfully transitioned into further film studies with a clear sense of direction, purpose, and ambition for the future.

Ziva epitomises what an IDEA learner is.

She embraced every opportunity available to her, pushed herself outside her comfort zone, and actively contributed to the strong community culture that defines IDEA. Despite being younger than everyone else in her cohort, she consistently demonstrated maturity, leadership, and an extraordinary work ethic. Her journey is a powerful example of what happens when young people are trusted to pursue authentic, meaningful work connected to their passions.

Ziva also perfectly reflects IDEA’s “Ambitious Overachiever” learner persona, young people seeking more from education than traditional schooling can offer. Students like Ziva want real world opportunities, meaningful industry connections, flexibility to explore their potential, and pathways that extend far beyond academic achievement alone. They are often deeply capable young people whose needs have not been fully met in mainstream systems, despite having enormous potential.

For Ziva, IDEA became the environment where those raw ingredients could be transformed into something extraordinary. Today, she is not just graduating with a certificate, she is graduating as an emerging filmmaker, award winner, storyteller, and young professional with a compelling vision for her future.