25/04/2026
As the dust settles on 2026 , we want to take some time today to remember Shawn Spina, a dear friend of both YAC and Bring It On!
On 23 February 2026, videographer filmmaker, writer, artist, mentor, actor, cat-lover and kind & caring human being Shawn Spina passed away. He has been a big part of getting us to where we are now, and was in our hearts as we put together this year’s event.
Spina, as friends knew him, was an ever-present and admired figure in the local arts community. He first came to Bring It On! in 2012 as a student with a love for filmmaking. He joined the Bring It On! Film Crew that year, being mentored by and became a long serving YAC member not long after.
He went on to establish himself as a respected artist and creative worker, working on feature films, community projects, short films, a telenovella, and productions as a contractor with both Curiousworks and
In 2019, Spina wrote and star in Prone to the Drone, his short film selected for the Sydney Film Festival.
He remained grounded in community arts, leading workshops at Miller, mentoring the kids’ reporters at the WOW Festival at , joining PYT Fairfield’s Ensemble and was a regular of the Curiously West Film Club.
Friends and former YAC members remember him as the most generous person, with a wicked sense of humour, a lover of Star Wars, games and cats. He was known to many in the arts industry as a selfless and hard working artist, and he was also one of the most deep and skilled storytellers of his generation.
As an accomplished artist, he returned to Bring It On! as a workshop facilitator in the early 2020’s to mentor the same Film Crew and Media Crews which he had once been a part of. He put his heart into it - he cared so deeply about helping other young artists find their tribe, like he had once found his.
Spina, you would have been so proud of the Media Crews this year.
We will miss you. You will always be part of the crew 🤍This one was for you bambino, and for all the young artists who you’ve helped believe in themselves 🤍
