WEEK 2 | AUSTRALIAN FILMS
SATURDAY 1 DECEMBER
Megan Spencer’s choice of the best shorts around; including the muscular Panacea, by Ben Broso - a dramatic punch in the face; the world premiere of Rose, a 5 minute wonder by Davey Sams; the Sydney premiere of black-comedy musical Songs in the Key of Death; the Sydney premiere of The Interrogation of Bryan, a tough response to the Port Arthur massacre; the Sydney premiere of Sian Davies’ The Dance, a moving study of teen loneliness; and action classic Loaded by the Edgerton brothers, currently in production on their first feature.
PANACEA
Australia | 2006 | Drama | 19 mins | Writer/Director: Benjamin Samuel Broso | Cast: Patrick Dickson, Nadia Townsend, Elizabeth Maywald
Panacea is a taut psychological thriller of domestic proportions: psychiatrist Rawson (actor Patrick Dickson in a career-defining performance) comes home to his perfect family, his perfect house and perfect life, only to reveal all is not as it seems. What unfolds is a desperate state of affairs; a descent into psychological hell, with Rawson pushed all the way by his patient, the equally unhinged Sam (Nadia Townsend). Panacea is mature dramatic filmmaking that takes risks and delivers. It will have you on the edge of your seat.
Sydney Premiere | Australia | 2006 | Drama | 22 mins | Writer/Director: Tom Salisbury Cast: Miles O’Neil, John Jacobs
The Interrogation of Bryan is one tough movie - a response to the Port Arthur Massacre and the man responsible for one of the most devastating, violent moments in Australia’s recent history. Drawing on his theatre background and the crazy conspiracy theories surrounding the massacre, Salisbury imagines the enigma of the killer through “Bryan”, a delusional psychopath locked in a mind-battle with a detective in a suffocating interrogation room. The results are a brave, claustrophobic and uncompromising contemporary film.
THE DANCE
Sydney Premiere | Australia | 2006 | Drama | 10 mins | Writer/Director: Sian Davies | Cast: Kiri Smith
Born out of ‘Big Art’ – a collaborative arts initiative set up to assist homeless young people in regional Australia – The Dance is a searing piece that fuses real life with film drama. Hanging out with friends can be lonely and potentially dangerous, especially if you’re a teenage girl living in an isolated town struggling to find a place her place in the world. Davies flexes her substantial directorial muscles in this superbly wrought film about social isolation and the precarious nature of staying alive. This is great social realist, collaborative filmmaking.
ALIAS
Australia | 1998 | Documentary | 11 mins | Director: Kim Farrant | Cast: ‘Jae’
According to director Farrant, “Alias takes us into the daily life of a male sex-worker and introduces us to ‘Jae’, ‘Todd’, ‘Toby’ and ‘Craig’ - the four sides of his world.” Jae is a charismatic, fascinating Sydneysider who defies easy description. Farrant’s film explores the performative side of human nature by taking us into Jae’s world and work. This is an open, honest and intimate dialogue about the complexities of sexuality, family and human relationships. Playful and poetic it’s a timely reminder of how distinctive the documentary form can be.
HANDS HYLAND
Winner 2006 Insight 300 Seconds Film Festival | Australia | 2006 | Comedy | 5 mins | Directors: Nathan Lewis, Aaron Kiernan, Jeremy Hyland | Cast: Jeremy Hyland, Tara Morgan
Young slackers in love! Hands Hyland (Jeremy Hyland) wanders the streets of Newtown dreaming away his days, having fun, drinking with buddies and thinking about his girlfriend Mary-Mary (Tara Morgan)… Only Mary-Mary’s about to leave town - will Hands make it to her in time to declare his undying love? Either way, it’s excellent fun watching him try… Partly shot on a mobile phone, this is one cool little short that oozes pop, slack and a love of the medium. Two thumbs up for Hands.
SONGS IN THE KEY OF DEATH
Sydney Premiere | Australia | 2006 | Musical | 14 mins | Writer/Director: Aleks Bryant | Cast: Thomas Bryant, John Francis Howard, Janita Foley
Songs in the Key of Death might just single-handedly revive the musical in Australian cinema… Animation, black comedy, music video and design collide in this superb, ambitious short, to tell the life – and death - story of a young man who’s just found out he’s only got a short time to left to live. In addition to directing this gem Bryant animates and composes the gorgeous pop-melancholy score. Set in the urban climes of rental properties and old pubs, this is short film at its contemporary best.
ROSE
World Premiere | Australia | Drama | 2006 | 5 mins | Writer/Director/DOP: Davey Sams | Cast: Rose Irene, Ben Bryan
Rose (Rose Irene) is on her way home and away with the fairies listening to her favorite song on her iPod. Picked up by a stranger she jumps in the back of his car and continues listening, oblivious to the fact that Ben (Ben Bryan) is chasing after her, desperately trying to get her attention. His plight becomes increasingly urgent, and hilarious. Having wanted to make films since he was 12 years old, director Sams is well on his way with this driven, curiously sweet piece.
‘LITTLE GIRL’ ALIEN CHRIST MUSIC VIDEO
Festival Premiere | Australia | Experimental | 2006 | 2 mins | Director: Tony Lawrence
‘Trash and Treasure’… Sydney Shorts TV show founder Tony Lawrence has been going hell-for-leather for the last 5 years, pioneering his own unique brand of ‘found footage’ shorts from Standard 8 reels scoured from all over. Here he marries 50’s burlesque reels, ‘club films’ and 60’s American Mid-West home movies with the raw fuzz rock of Alien Christ’s track, ‘Little Girl’. The effect is an eerie and entertaining music video that won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
DISAPPOINTMENT
Australia | Experimental | 2006 | 16 mins | Directors: Jason Sweeney, Harry Whizkid, Martin Potter
The title says it all really… Co-director of Disappointment Jason Sweeney likes to describe the film as a kind of “poison love letter” to his former-home town Adelaide… Commissioned as part of the I Can See Queerly Now program at SA’s Feast Lesbian & Gay Festival, it is a great example of ‘queer aesthetic’. Pulpy narration is torn straight from the pages of real life; it’s draped over dark gleaming images which in turn hover over a dramatic soundscape. Disappointment reveals the dark side of Adelaide, and moreover, artists at work in short film.
LOADED
Australia | Crime-Drama Action | 1996 | 8.5 mins | Directors: Nash Edgerton, Kieran Darcy-Smith | Cast: Joel Edgerton, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Nash Edgerton, Tony Lynch
Brothers Nash and Joel Edgerton are household names in Australian film – Nash as a writer/director/stuntman/music video maker, and Joel as an actor in ‘little’ productions like Star Wars (Eps. II & III), King Arthur and Kinky Boots. Both spent a decade cutting their teeth on short films, refining their skills behind of and in front of the camera. Making their first feature together right now, DestFest thought it timely to screen their first movie, the award-winning Loaded. This is one short film that’s BIG on impact - a gritty, realistic and a decidedly Australian take on crime action cinema. Smash and grab.
HEATHER LOCKLEAR CHOCOLATE
Australia | Comedy | 2000 | 7 mins | Director: Stuart Vauvert | Cast: Einar Johansen, Emily Holt, Dita Duarte
Is it for real? Or is it fake? Doco or “Mocko”? Who cares?! While Heather Locklear Chocolate continues to defy definition one thing’s for sure, it’s one of the strangest and funniest shorts you’re likely to see, falling into the crack between oddball doco and queer comedy… Predating the You Tube’s ‘Lonely Girl’ 15 by donkey’s, a teenage boy (Johansen) sits in his bedroom contemplating the politics of nail polish, straight-to-camera. The results aren’t contrived, they’re just plain weird and hilarious! This award-winning short proves why director Vauvert has well-earned his reputation as the ‘John Waters’ of Australian shorts… Crowd-pleaser.
Heather Locklear Chocolate will screen at the beginning of the panel discussion.