SXSW returns to Sydney from 14 to 20 October, featuring screen as part of their conference and festival program with stories by filmmakers worldwide, including films by creators from Japan, New Zealand, Canada, and the US.
From industry-focused conference sessions to live commentary from screen leaders and networking opportunities to bolster industry connections, SXSW brings together intersectional creative industries, inviting inspiration and cross-pollination between crafts. Why? Because, in the words of SXSW, “The future belongs to the curious.”
The Screen Student Showcase program features 3 AFTRS productions, including 2 world premieres and a fourth production from AFTRS Talent Camp 2023. The festival screen line-up showcases a curated selection of NSW’s Top Talent Short Film Showcase featuring 8 AFTRS productions. AFTRS alumni are joining the celebration, with Warwick Thornton presenting a live commentary panel, and the short film Salt Along the Tongue is also joining NSW’s Top Talent Short Film Showcase.
From a flavoursome rule breaker to an existential love for life and finding shared experiences within differences, the program is calling.
Here’s the roundup of AFTRS’s presence at SXSW; let’s get excited!
AFTRS STUDENT FILMS
Bőr will have its NSW premiere at the Screen Student Showcase program after having its world premiere at the Accelerator Shorts Program at MIFF, where director Dylan Ferenc Nyerges has been awarded ‘Emerging Australian Filmmaker’. Bőr is a period Gothic-Horror set after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. It is the culmination of two years of dedicated work inspired by Dylan’s heritage and experiences growing up in Thailand. It tells the story of Anna, an isolated Hungarian mother who has re-settled in rural Australia with a defeated husband and alienated son.
Set Menu and Get On With It will have their world premieres at the Screen Student Showcase program spotlighting young and emerging talent.
Set Menu takes the audience on a journey incorporating purely visual and absurd moments through unique performances.
The film tells the story of Frances, who is denied the coveted set menu for dining alone at a famously exclusive restaurant and strikes an unexpected deal with a stranger to access both the menu and a night of peace and solitude. Produced by Master of Arts Screen students and embodying two years of commitment to craft, director Lindsay McDonald said about the film:
“Our protagonist, Frances, has found herself in a predicament defined by one rule; a minimum of two people are required to order the set menu. As this single rule is affirmed and adhered to, the world grows increasingly curious and off-beat,”
He explains:
“Growing up I would always question the rules set up around me. A brother of three, I was the sibling that, and I quote, ‘changed the way we had to parent’. My curiosity in the establishment of convention and structure later birthed a love for the comic and absurd.”
Get On With It tells the story of a little kid named Frankie who discovers that death is real for the first time at her Grandfather’s 73rd birthday party.
The graduation project was produced by Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production students, culminating three years of learning, commitment to story and honing the craft, with crew collaboration at the center of the process. Director Grace Rodgers said about the film:
“Every single person had a 1 in 400 trillion chance of being born, and because of it, we get to experience soooo many brilliant things; The smell of toast, a really good sneeze, being cooked for, squeezing someone’s hand, opening your eyes under a wave, being able to reach the itchy spot on your back, and giving it a scratch. To me, that’s the stuff of life, and it’s the stuff I would choose a hundred times over, before giving into fear.”
On the AFTRS On Set series, Grace Rodgers shares insights about her unique approach to auditioning and working with children on set when shooting Get On With It.
Finding Jia tells the story of Mei, a young immigrant who yearns for the type of Western way of living she sees on TV. Mei feels she is caught between two worlds and doesn’t know where she belongs. Frustrated by her family’s situation, she decides to take matters into her own hands, only to realise she has had everything she needed all along.
Director Alice Yang was part of AFTRS Talent Camp, and the AFTRS production fund supported the short film Finding Jia. Alice said about the film:
“Mei’s story resembles my own in many ways – growing up in Australia with freshly immigrated parents, living at the back-office room of the family store, feeling alienated from the world outside and ashamed of the world inside.”
She recalls sharing stories about growing up with immigrant parents and how empowering it was to recognise herself with her friend’s stories and reconnect with their identity. Alice explains:
“Finding Jia was written with the belief that something personal can be experienced universally. Although the context of the story is one that is culturally specific, it is not what the core of the story is about. It is a story about family, belonging and connection- what makes a place home.”
Finding Jia was co-funded by AFTRS, South Australian Film Corporation, and Screen Australia as a part of the 2022 AFTRS Talent Camp. Talent Camp has been running since 2017 and is a national skills development program for underrepresented film practitioners which provided opportunities for emerging storytellers to create new content and be employment ready for the screen sector.
From Tuesday 15 to Wednesday 16 October, AFTRS graduate films will be exhibited at the NSW House, with an incredible roundup of films representing the School’s emerging talent.
Directly after successful festival runs, including a world premiere at Cannes La Cinef and screenings in the major Australian and International Film Festivals, the films representing AFTRS are MumLife, Call It Anything, To Be Silent, Quiet Night Thought, Enemy Alien, Mud Crab, Acts For The Invisible and Sunnies.
Acts For The Invisible
A philosophical fashion designer loses his life partner and is propelled towards an entirely new life … far away from the fashion world. But can we ever really leave our old life behind?
Call It Anything
Unable to find the words that are in his heart, a son enlists three musicians to translate into music the letters he wishes to write to his mother, hoping to give himself a peace of mind. A personal journey that examines the complexity of emotions by capturing the ecstasy of music performance.
Enemy Alien
A poetic retelling of the experiences of Joseph Murakami, a fourteen-year-old boy from Darwin, who is summarily rounded up and interned by his government on the basis of his ethnicity. Enemy Alien explores his memory and the loss this traumatic event imprinted upon him.
Mud Crab
Reflecting on her culpability, a woman recounts the traumatising assault she witnessed of a young man in a small Australian coastal town.
MumLife
Sarah, a first-time mother struggles to connect with her newborn baby and is pushed to her limits when she discovers her insta famous bestie has thrown her a surprise birthday party.
Quiet Night Thought
Paired together by a matchmaker, a peasant girl and a loyal soldier ponder love, marriage and longing through the letters they write to each other from afar.
Sunnies
After roaming the streets of his neighbourhood one morning, Malcolm, a troubled and somewhat delinquent teen, decides to steal a pair of sunglasses from the local shops – an act that is later revealed to be part of a much bigger plan.
To Be Silent
Noongar and Spinifex woman Tace Stevens explores the impact of code-switching on her identity, before revealing what led her to embrace the power of standing firm in who she is, no matter where she is.
ALUMNI
Another world premiere at SXSW Sydney comes from a production that has joined AFTRS students, alumni, and long-time creative collaborators. Written and directed by Parish Malfitano and produced by Kristen Settinelli, Salt Along the Tongue joins AFTRS productions at the NSW’s Top Talent Short Film Showcase.
With an entirely female cast, Salt Along the Tongue follows Mattia, who finds herself thrust into the care of her estranged aunt and her mother’s identical twin after her mother’s unexpected passing.
AFTRS alumni and community are part of the program, with AFTRS Alum and acclaimed filmmaker Warwick Thornton presenting a Screen Commentary, delving into his creative process, behind-the-scenes and unique insights into his storytelling and filmmaking career. AFTRS lecturer Iris Huizinga is moderating the’ AI: New Era of Animation, Filmmaking and Moral Compass‘ panel, exploring AI’s impact on creative processes and its implications for ethical filmmaking.
Let’s celebrate with the AFTRS community, which continually brings skills, craft and commitment to the screen stories and the stories we share.
Bőr
Director – Dylan Ferenc Nyerges
Producer – Emily Bull, Farabee Kabir
Screenwriter – Dylan Ferenc Nyerges
Cinematographer – Tommy Thoms
Composer – Madeleine Mallis
Editor – Elita Guo
Production Designer – Craig Bornstein
Costume Designer – Nicola Burns, Craig Bornstein
Key Cast – Nora Goldbach, Akos Armont, Kai Pakinga
Set Menu
Director – Lindsay McDonald
Story by/Producer – Neisha Dallamora
Screenwriter – Lindsay McDonald and Roslyn Zhang
Cinematographer – Sam Bader
Composer – Carla Dobbie
Editor – Harrison Finch
Production and Costume Designer – Sheree Tam
Sound Designer – Luke O’Loughlin
Key Cast – Kathryn Hartman, Stephen Madsen, Emma Kew, Jonathan Lagudi and Bryn Chapman Parish
Get On With It
Writer/Director – Grace Rodgers
Producer – Mia Tikellis
Cinematographer – Mia Schirmer
1st AD – Hugo Kent
Production Designer – Jake Smith
Editor – Hugo Bittar
VFX – Adam Chesher
Music – Grace Rodgers
Sound – Chloe Russell-Alexander
