The St Kilda Film Festival (SKFF) has today announced the full program along with Australia’s top short films, to be shown over 13 screening sessions at venues across St Kilda, as well as the famous opening night event at the Astor Theatre on Friday 27 May, presented by City of Port Phillip.
Drawn from a call for entries from hundreds of new short films from around the country, this year’s red-carpet opening night event features a diverse selection including a dynamic drama, a dash of horror, a sprinkle of comedy and beautiful animation and poetic documentary.
The line-up includes:
o Freedom Swimmer (director Olivia Martin McGuire) a hybrid, poetic documentary interweaving hand-drawn animation and film, which tells the story of a grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution.
o Hatchback (director Riley Sugars) a new black comedy about Vince (Stephen Curry) attempting to clean up a dead body for the mob, but when he enlists the help of his dim-witted brother-in-law Ted (Jackson Tozer), things don’t go to plan. (pictured above)
o Finding Jedda (director Tanith Glynn-Maloney) where two girls go head-to-head for the role of a lifetime, in a reimagining of the 1954 auditions for the iconic Australian film Jedda.
o There’s Someone Here (director Ryan de Rooy) about a young mother’s paranoia as she slowly discovers that a presence is looming.
o Nest (director James Hunter) where an isolated father haunted by his child’s cries of hunger takes up work as a timber feller only to be stopped by a mysterious alarm coming from deep in the woods.
o Ishmael (director Toby Morris)
o We’re Doing Well (director Andrew Mills), winner of Step Right Up Audience Choice at the 31st MQFF Awards 2021
o Thomas Rides in an Ambulance (director Jamieson Pearce)
Expect a jam-packed night of some of the best short form works to kick off 10 days of physical and online screenings of cinematic delights with filmmakers and guests from around the country. Additional SKFF programming includes:
Victorian Pride Centre hosts the LGBTQIA+ program Pride Without Prejudice, containing beautiful cinematic lines, moving relationships, social comment, an inspirational and moving personal documentary and a festival favourite comedy.
Australian Animation Showcase pops at the seams with an astonishing diversity of styles and themes. This sparkling program features beautiful personal diaries, lyrical anti-war comment, social justice, inexplicable and absurd comedy, and startling futuristic imaginings.
Australian Documentary Showcase is filled with real surprises with several of the works pushing the form to the very limit in anyone’s terms as they explore visual style, personal relationships, narrative structures and those tiny moments that resonate as profound statements.
Under the Radar is a SKFF competition showcasing the 10 best short films from young filmmakers across Australia, assessed, judged and organised by the City of Port Phillip FReeZA committee who themselves are talented young creatives. The winner will walk away with $1,000 prize money and the encouragement to keep creating and honing their craft. Under the Radar aims to support and elevate young people interested in pursuing careers in the arts.
Tales of Mystery and Imagination is a selection of sci-fi and fantasy films exploring other worlds, other times and other states of mind. With these fantastically realised films, filmmakers go for broke with wild ambition that take us to the past, present and a few of the endless possible futures.
Dark Matters presents horror and the darker side of cinematic life, exploring spaces and places on the edge of experience with the paranormal and the just plain nail-biting.
International Family Animation Explosion is presented by the team behind the Melbourne International Animation Festival, showing the way in which wonderful animations dissolve language, cultural and age barriers with nothing more than brilliant ideas and simply-told stories.
Australian Drama Showcase reveals personal stories, close relationships and nuanced relationships. The creative sector has seen a movement back to authentic storytelling from the 70s and 80s.
Shifting the Gaze is a collaboration with Women in Film & TV, presenting an outstanding program of films directed by women drawn from around the country, filled with creativity and unique perspectives that sit behind the extraordinary works which include wonderful animations, poetic portraiture, First Nations stories, family dramas and richly textured experimental observations.
Made in Victoria #1 and #2 features a program packed with local films that push boundaries, toy with expectation, and demand attention. This program reflects the ambition, creative vision and uncompromising approach from Victorian filmmakers that take the short form in new, unexpected and always surprising directions.
In Conversation with Kelton Pell & First Impressions First Nations Music Showcase presents a special afternoon of talk, music, film, drinks and projections in St Kilda’s legendary Gershwin Room at the equally legendary Esplanade Hotel. Hear and meet with one of Australia’s most esteemed and well-known First Nations actors, singers and performers, Kelton Pell (The Circuit, Blackfellas, Red Dog and the forthcoming feature, The Crossing). This
special “in conversation with” event will include a rare screening of Rachel Perkins’ unique and ground-breaking work One Night the Moon and other secret snippets. The night also features a curated showcase of First Impressions performances. First Impressions is a career development and mentoring program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians that City of Port Phillip and Creative Victoria have jointly funded. The artists will each perform work they’ve chosen to represent their connection to the film and the themes explored.
stkildafilmfestival.com.au
Now in its 39th year St Kilda Film Festival (SKFF) returns to the big screen across Friday 27 May – Sunday 5 June 2022. SKFF is Australia’s longest-running short film festival, recognising the genre of short film, including music videos, gaming and immersive forms, celebrating some of Australia’s best local short filmmakers and screen artists.
SKFF is supported by major government partners Screen Australia and VicScreen.
For more information on screenings and bookings, visit: www.stkildafilmfestival.com.au
112 Days
Director: Alice Stephens
A Tough Gig
Director: Cath Murphy
Producer: Cath Murphy, Anabelle Murphy
Acts for the Invisible
Director: Kate Vinen
Producer: Kate Vinen
Alba
Director: Senie Priti
Producer: Senie Priti, Adrian Ortega, Patrick Jennings
Amissa Anima
Director: Tatiana Doroshenko
Producer: Katrina Mathers, Bernie Clifford
Ascenders
Director: Matthew Robert Saville
Producer: Matthew Robert Saville
Are You Still Watching?
Director: Tali Polichtuk, Kitty Chrystal
Producer: Alexandra George, Tali Polichtuk
Beautiful They
Director: Cloudy Rhodes
Producer: Ella Millard
Baltasar
Director: Brietta Hague
Producer: Estela Rasal, Gala Gracia
Bleue’s Breath
Director: Michael J Lutman
Producer: Victoria Heywood-Smith
Blind Body
Director: Allison Chhorn
Producer: Allison Chhorn, Chris Luscri
Betty and Bushy
Director: Madeleine Mytkowski
Producer: Madeleine Mytkowski
Blvck Gold
Director: EZ Eldin Deng
Producer: Geskava Komba
Bunker: The Last Fleet
Director: Rowan Pullen, Stephen Potter
Producer: Rowan Pullen, Stephen Potter, Jessica Giacco, Natasha Wanganeen
Cél
Director: Marc Agosta
Producer: Steven Victor, Celene Eddie Amin
Container
Director: Jacintho Muiños
Producer: Hayley Surgenor, Jacintho Muiños
Cloudhead Visits Grandma
Director: Lachlan Plain
Endlessnessism
Director: Liam Clark
Producer: Amelia Crawford
Farmers
Director: Tim Calier
Producer: Tim Calier, Tim Hodgson
Finding Jedda
Director: Tanith Glynn-Maloney
Producer: Tanith Glynn-Maloney
Forgotten
Director: Mawrgan Shaw
For Creation
Director: Deborah Louise Kelly
Producer: Deborah Louise Kelly
Freedom Swimwear
Director: Olivia Martin McGuire
Producer: Brooke Silcox, Ron Dyens
Friends of Mine
Director: Ross Alexander Dwyer
Producer: Ross Alexander Dwyer, Isabella Perversi
Fruity
Director: Caitlin Royston
Producer: Lisa Ho, Sharon Mani
Giants
Director: Eddy Bell
Producer: Nonny Klaile, Luke Mulquiney, Steven Rees
God in the Sky
Director: Daniel Fox, Sean Peter Fox
Producer: Daniel Fox, Sean Fox, Pat Fox, Rachel Khalaf
Hatchback
Director: Riley Sugars
Producer: Riley Sugars, Jon Grosland, Chloe Graham, Anthony Littlechild
Haze
Director: Meg Duncan
Producer: Gabrielle McLeod
Ishmael
Director: Toby Morris
Producer: Toby Morris
Inferno
Director: Samuel Rodwell
Producer: Samuel Rodwell
Learning the Curvature of the Earth
Director: Vivienne Mazey Smith
Producer: Chris Thompson, Charlie Hartsock
Jungle
Director: Kieran Wheeler
Producer: Olivia Cheung, Robin M Mackenzie
Living with Greg
Director: Indigo Mae Tait-Atkin
Producer: Thomas Molan
Last Meal
Director: Marcus McKenzie, Daniel Principe
Producer: Danielle Tinker, Marcus McKenzie, Daniel Principe
Mars
Director: Raymond J Evans
Producer: Janine Kaiser
Little Piece of Hair
Director: Chris Shapones
Producer: Chris Shapones
Mourning Country
Director: Andrew Kaineder
Producer: Andrew Kaineder
Lonis
Director: Jeremy Artis
Producer: Dominique Carr
My Mother is a Cricket Bat
Director: Benjamin Michael Sterne
Mellow
Director: John Tsiavis
Producer: John Tsiavis
OVERPOWER
Director: Tom Goodall
Producer:
Miss Underwater
Director: Megan Cullen
Producer: Meredith Riley Stewart
Pebble
Director: Anastasia James
Producer: Kate Diggins
My Ba
Director: Alice Xiaohua Yang
Producer: Alice Xiaohua Yang
Reptile
Director: Jordan Giusti
Producer: Chris Luscri, Hayley Surgenor
Nest
Director: James Hunter
Producer: Faith Guoga
Sams Party
Director: Isaac Elliot
Producer: Isaac Elliot
Phosphenes
Director: Sofie McClure
Shiny One
Director: Viviana Petyarre
Producer: Tanith Glynn-Maloney
Risen
Director: Tony Radevski
Producer: Pete Ireland
Sunset Country
Director: Petra Leslie
Producer: Georgina Wills
Seeds
Director: Simon McWilliam
Producer: Edward Foo, Alivia Phillips
The Better Angels
Director: Michael Cusack
Producer: Richard Chataway
Sisyphus
Director: Edward Mayo King
Producer: Edward Mayo King
The Do’s and Don’ts of Getting Married
Director: Karen Jackson
Producer: Velvet Eldred, Karen Jackson, Sheridan Lawton
Sweet Mary, Where Did You Go?
Director: Michael Anthony Kratochvil
Producer: Ryan O’Gorman
The Kicked Dog
Director: Max Hemmings
Producer: George Telfer
Teddy
Director: Brett D’Souza
Producer: Brett D’Souza
The Moths Will Eat Them Up
Director: Luisa Martiri, Tanya Modini
Producer: Luisa Martiri
The Hunt
Director: Rachel Tierney
Producer: Rachel Tierney
The Stranger
Director: Jenny Hicks
Producer: Nathaniel Heinz, Harriet Dixon-Smith
The Mirror
Director: Joel Kohn
Producer: Mike Horvath, Tom Davies, Joel Kohn
There’s Someone Here
Director: Ryan de Rooy
Producer: Eleni Trianta
The Sweetness
Director: Jessica Barclay Lawton
Producer:
Tooly
Director: Karla Hart
Producer: Cody Greenwood
Thomas Rides in an Ambulance
Director: Jamieson Pearce
Producer: Julia Flaster
Where it’s Warm
Director: Jesse Osinga
We’re Doing Well
Director: Andrew Mills
Producer: Andrew Mills
Upsodown
Director: Nathan Ceddia
You and Me Before and After
Director: Madeleine Gottlieb
Producer: Cyna Strachan, Liam Heyen
