Trading Cards Shuffles Time and Memory at World Premiere

Written, directed, animated and edited by Radheya Jang, this represents the 46th time a film by the young sandgroper – now based in the UK with London production house Blinkink – has been selected to an Academy Award-qualifying festival.

The film, which begins as a somewhat nostalgic journey transforms into a haunting meditation on memory, identity, and the long shadow of Obsessive-compulsive Disorder. In the director’s own words, the film grapples with “the horror of uncertainty, and yearning for the mind you once had as a child, so carefree, living in the moment with no worries,” situating its fantastical visuals in deeply personal terrain.

Radheya aimed to portray a different side of OCD that hasn’t found as much representation on screen. He wanted to create a film that shows how these compulsions are not always visible, and that mental compulsions such as rumination are a part of the disorder.

Stylistically, Trading Cards continues Radheya’s distinctive blend of abstraction and emotional precision. The trading cards function both as literal objects and symbolic anchors, linking childhood rituals, games and environments with adult anxiety. The film invites viewers to sit with discomfort and recognition rather than pure resolution.

The Flickerfest selection builds on a remarkable festival history. Radheya’s previous films Bird Drone (2023) and The Quiet (2019) have each enjoyed extensive international runs, achieving 15 and 11 Academy Award‑qualifying selections respectively. Together, these works have steadily established him as one of Western Australia’s most consistently recognised short-form filmmakers on the global film festival circuit.

Following its Bondi premiere, Trading Cards will also screen at Luna Leederville in Western Australia on the evening of the 19th of February as part of a Flickerfest celebration of WA filmmakers, bringing the film back to its creative roots.

Producer and narrator Jay Jay Jegathesan (who also narrated The Quiet) added that with Trading Cards, Radheya “transforms private fear and nostalgia into an animated space where memory, regret and longing quietly collide.” He added, “it is the most personal film he has made, and as a father it helps me understand some of the inner turmoil he has communicated to me and his mother over the years. On my part, it is absolutely wonderful to continue to be involved in my son’s works and to see it reach around the world. Parents always want their kids to succeed, and to be a direct part of it is even more joyous.”

As its festival journey begins, the film stands not only as a new chapter in Radheya’s career, but as further evidence of a body of work that continues to resonate well beyond Australian shores.