by FilmInk Staff
Australian short film Mothmama, produced by Undertow Content and Hard Copy Films, has been selected for the Orizzonti Short Films Official Competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it will have its world premiere this September.
Written and directed by Jessica Di Costa, Mothmama was selected from more than 2,500 submissions, with only 13 short films chosen to compete in this year’s prestigious Orizzonti Shorts Competition.
The selection places Mothmama alongside films from Italy, Hungary, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Greece, France, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, showcasing some of the most exciting emerging filmmakers from around the world.
Filmed in Sydney on the lands of the Guringai and Dharawal peoples, Mothmama is an intimate exploration of a mother and daughter whose close bond is gradually eroded by the gaze of others. The production, as with all films, was a labour of love and was only made possible through the generosity, talent and care of the community who came together to make it.
Director Jessica Di Costa said: “It’s strange creating in the world we’re living in. Sometimes making films feels like a small act of fantasy, but making Mothmama with my friends reminded me how important it is to keep making things together. At the end of the day, community is what makes it all possible.
“Having the film premiere in the Orizzonti Competition at Venice is an incredible honour. It only exists because of the generosity, talent and care of an extraordinary group of collaborators, and I’m so proud we get to share it with audiences in Venice.
“Here’s to play, community, and to cinema, and to bringing them together. Always.”
Undertow Content producers and co-founders Amanda Browne and Ashlee Russell said: “To be one of just 13 films selected from more than 2,500 submissions is an incredible honour and proves that Australian stories, in Australian accents, can reach and impact global audiences. We are very proud of Jess and the entire team and this is proof that supporting new voices to tell stories is worth it.”
Cinematographer Harleigh English said: “Mothmama was an incredibly intuitive collaboration with Jess. There were plenty of technical challenges in this short that we couldn’t have done without our amazing crew. I feel grateful to have been able to work on such an interesting short film and to be able to tell it in a unique and creative way.”
Composers Jess and Alex Meier from TKADM said: “It’s always a blessing to collaborate with Jess, she creates so much room for us to experiment and we’re always surprised where the process takes us. The score for Mothmama ended up sitting in the liminal space between music and sound design, created mostly with eurorack, it acts as a creative tool to warp our lead characters perception of reality.”
The film stars Gabriella Hirschson and Audley Anderson, with key creative collaborators including director of photography Harleigh English, production designer Eleni Thomas, costume designer Sharni-Lee Hope, casting director Daniel Berini (Wayward Casting), composers Jessica Meier and Alex Meier (TKADM), sound designer and mixer Jessica Meier, and colourist CJ Dobson CSI.
