The work of several UTS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences students, staff and alumni feature in the 65th Sydney Film Festival.
Screenability Shorts- Thursday 14 June, 18:30-17:00; Saturday 16 June, 12:30-13:00; Sunday 17 June, 16:00-16:30
The World Premiere of the Screenability Short: Intimate Encounters 20 Years On is being held at Sydney Film Festival. The short films in this section feature films by emerging filmmakers with a disability. 20 years ago, a photographic exhibition depicted models with a disability proudly displayed their sexuality, which caused shockwaves due to the controversial nature of the content. UTS Media Arts and Production alumni, Dieter Knierim, has directed an intimate documentary that revisits these models to talk about the social and political shift in the perceptions of people with disability.
Still from the film, On Hold. Source: Sydney Film Festival
Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films- Saturday 16 June 15:45-17:45; Sunday 17 June 15:15-17:15
A UTS student-led team was at the helm of the creation of On Hold, an original musical film about a low-level call centre employee named Gabby Stencil. Filmed at UTS, Gabby receives an opportunity and a rejection all in one day and must decide where her true happiness lies. On Hold won Best Australian Short Film at Flickerfest earlier in 2018 and is now competing for The Dendy Live Action Short Award.
VR Experiences
Immersive 360-degree film, Storm Riders, is having its World Premiere at the festival. It is a powerful and uplifting film about the creative and cultural exchange between Australian artist, Shaun Gladwell, and two female Muslim skateboarders at Bondi Beach. The post-production was completed by Greg Ferris who is a Media Arts and Production lecturer at UTS and was the first ever VR documentary to secure production finance from Screen Australia. Storm Riders will be screening as part of the VR 3-6 section of the festival.
Sydney Film Festival runs from Wednesday 6 June through to Sunday 17 June and will screen across a variety of inner-city and suburban venues. UTS is an Education Partner of Sydney Film Festival and is offering a Uni Pass, where students can see 6 films for a discounted price of $66.
Full details and ticketing for the 2018 Sydney Film Festival are available at the festival’s website.