This year's SXSW Sydney Screen Festival is all about highlighting the exceptional talent from this region, and what better way to do that than to spotlight the next generation of filmmakers?
As part of the Shorts: Student Showcase, SXSW Sydney will put 11 projects from students and recent grads on the silver screen. We've rounded up three short films from UTS students you need to see.
Bong Xi Fa Cai
Directed by UTS student Johnathan Lo, this comedy/drama follows Mary Chang, a 22-year-old slacker who accidentally eats her housemate's weed cookie right before a family Chinese New Year celebration.
Johnathan says this film was inspired by classic stoner comedies like Dude Where's My Car and Smiley Face, but he wanted to add a little seasoning of family love inspired by films like Eat Drink Man Woman and Saving Face.
Presenting his film at SXSW Sydney is a chance for him to share his love of cinema with others.
"I'm excited to share my film at SXSW Sydney because I hope that somebody will see that film and feel inspired to make better films and there will be good movies in the world for the future," he says.
Period Party
Period Party centres on Bee, who, with the help of her family, puts on a party to celebrate the return of her period after a battle with anorexia. But when you have a family like Bee's (neurotic mum, embarrassing dad, confused grandma, weirdo – and a bit scarred – little sibling), things are never straightforward. While the vagina cake melts and the uterus piñata awaits a beating, Bee comes to terms with the messiness of family and womanhood.
The film is directed by UTS student Georgia Brogan, who drew inspiration from her own struggles with an eating disorder and the support and love she received from her "motley crew of a family" during this difficult time in her life.
"I was inspired to make a film that explores eating disorders through a comedic lense in an effort to make the subject matter more accessible to an audience," she says.
"I also wanted to subvert the idea of 'period parties' or 'first moon parties', which are typically associated with a young girl getting her first period. It was so much fun to bring this party to life in the film, and I'm so lucky to have dreamt up the set design alongside our amazing production designer and my peer at UTS at the time, Sarah J. Moore."
Georgia is excited to share this film at SXSW Sydney, and she hopes it sparks a conversation about this often misunderstood – but very insidious and critically underfunded – condition ... as well as give people a few laughs along the way.
Dust
For their entry into the film festival, UTS students Andres Mosqueira Lazarte, Emily Li, Neil Saini and Angel Zhang adapted the poem Dust by Anna Spargo-Ryan into an animated historical drama.
In the late 19th century, South Australia was in the grip of a major drought. Farmers' wives had almost no agency – they were chattel, like the land itself, which had in turn been stolen. It was the women who carried the mercilessness of the men's rage against the land.
"Dust had incredibly strong themes, which instantly gripped us," they said about their choice to adapt the poem.
"Inspiration came easily to us as there were a variety of ways to depict Anna's striking words. The real challenge was choosing the best way to depict her words and ensure that the same important themes were present in our animated film."
The team settled on a style inspired by the works of William Kentridge, as they felt his high-contrast and grim illustrations matched the tone of the film.
All four students said they felt honoured to present their work at SXSW Sydney this year and to share the screen with their peers.
"We hope to do the poem justice and encourage conversation surrounding issues of violence against women through our adaptation," they said.
Check out these three short films and more during the Shorts: Student Showcase at SXSW Sydney 2024.
Date: 15 October starting at 3:30pm
Location: Palace Central Cinemas, Cinema 2
You can view the full lineup here.