About Flicker Theory

For all the pomp around the fancy name and branding, Flicker Theory is really just one guy. It represents the film and television portfolio of Vancouver-based media multi-hyphenate Austin Andrews.

View Film + TV Editing

An Emmy Award-winning editor, Austin’s portfolio includes theatrical feature films, TV spots for major international clients, and over thirty hours of series television.

His latest theatrical feature, the adventure/horror Summer of 84, premiered at Sundance 2018. Previously, his 3D fantasy adventure film The Games Maker, starring Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love), was released by Disney on 1200 screens internationally after premiering at Sundance 2015, scoring Austin a nomination for Best Film Editing from Argentina’s Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Other features include the coming-of-age drama Anthem of a Teenage Prophet starring Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers), which he also co-produced, and the IFC-released thriller In Their Skin with Selma Blair (Hellboy). Series TV he has edited includes Netflix’s Julie and the Phantoms, for which he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing; and the upcoming BRON Studios series Fables starring Ricky Gervais, Natasha Lyonne and Jemaine Clement.

View Directing

Austin’s second feature as writer/director, the supernatural mystery The Island Between Tides, is due to premiere in 2023. Adapted from a lost story by J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan), the film stars Donal Logue and Golden Globe nominee Adam Beach, and was produced with XYZ Films (MandyThe Raid) and Telefilm Canada.

His acclaimed shorts have screened to audiences of two million at festivals on every continent, including the Tribeca Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival and IFF Rome, winning over fifteen awards, including the prestigious Warner Roadshow Studios Queensland New Filmmaker of the Year award for Austin.

His first feature, the South African-Canadian co-production Lord Jones is Dead, was released to select theatres and on Super Channel in 2018. Set in the Johannesburg newspaper wars, it was called “the Office Space of print journalism” by Hollywood North Magazine and “fun and clever” by Toronto Film Scene.

Together with his directing partner Andrew Holmes, Austin has a slate of feature projects currently in development with support from Telefilm Canada.

View Photojournalism

Austin’s acclaimed photojournalism work includes spot news and feature reportage on six continents.

Based for a year in Johannesburg, Austin documented ethnic clashes, World Cup preparations and South Africa’s fourth democratic elections for The Times newspaper. He also undertook long-term projects for the governments of South Africa and the European Union, and NGOs including Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the International Organization for Migration. Covering the war in Afghanistan, Austin profiled Canada’s role in the NATO-led ISAF military campaign in Kabul and Kandahar. He also provided additional on-the-ground reporting and correspondence for BBC World News during the 2011 siege on Kabul, and covered Afghanistan’s first-ever rock music festival for ABC Radio.

Other notable stories include the rebuilding of Burma after Cyclone Nargis, the plight of Zimbabwean refugees fleeing political and economic turmoil, and a portrait of North Korea at the height of nuclear tensions for The Globe and Mail. His photography has appeared in magazines including TimeForeign Policy and Maclean’s, and in the online edition of National Geographic.

His debut photography book Shadow Hymns was released by UpRoute Books and is available in stores across Canada. His second photography book Red Star Utopia: Inside North Korea was lauded as “beautiful” and “eye-opening” by the National Post.

View VFX + Titling

Austin has designed title sequences for films including The Survivor (starring Ben Foster and Danny DeVito) for HBO Max, Needle in a Timestack (starring Orlando Bloom) for Lionsgate, and Americana (starring Sydney Sweeney) for BRON Studios.

His VFX work includes compositing on the feature films Final Destination 5 and Invictus, and as VFX supervisor on the theatrical feature Summer of 84 and TV movies Drink Slay Love and Perfect High.

A short list of clients for which Austin has designed branding and motion design includes Sony, LG, Flight Centre, Nescafé and HP, winning three Telly Awards.

Selected Interviews