Free international short film festival to be held

Oct 12, 2004

A free public International Short Film Festival will be held on Monday 25 October as part of the 2004 Viva La Gong Festival.

The Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies and the School of English Literatures, Philosophy and Language will present the festival to be staged at the University Hall, University of Wollongong, from 7.30pm to 10.30pm on 25 October.

The festival will screen a selection of short films from Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each film explores the challenges of identity formation in the midst of a complex and rapidly changing world.

Moviegoers will have the opportunity to hear from Aboriginal Director, Anita Heiss, who will introduce her film and speak briefly about the different facets of its production and reception.

Film Synopsis:

If the Weather Permits

(2003, 28 mins.) CANADA; Director: Elisapie Isaac (Inuit); National Film Board of Canada

A young, Montreal-based Inuit filmmaker returns to her roots to explore the relationship between the Inuit past and its future in today's modern world. Through interviews with the elders and with the young people of the Salluit community, she searches for answers to her hopes and fears, but unearths, instead, only more questions.

Checkerboard Love

(2004, 5 mins.) AUSTRALIA; Director: Anita Heiss/Nicole Timbery; Lestor Bostock Mentorship

Annie and Geoff met on the Walk for Reconciliation in 2001. They now live together in Sydney. Annie is from Golden Grove Mission, the daughter of a politically active mother and football playing father, who are also native title claimants in country NSW. Geoff has just dropped engineering to follow his dream of being an interpretative poetic dancer. This is enough for Annie to worry about without also dealing with him being the son of cockies who also live in rural NSW. 'Checkerboard Love' is a film that demonstrates the tension between an interracial couple, who consciously de-Aboriginalise their flat in preparation for the dreaded meeting of both sets of parents.

Loup!

(2001, 20 mins.) FRANCE; Director: Zoe Galeron; Balthazar Productions

Ferdinand is a photographer. He goes to a small seaside resort to take photos of Lucie's marriage. The pair is rapidly attracted to each other. Each of them harbours a secret.

Chrono Logic

(2001, 16 mins.) JAPAN; Director: Naoki Tsukushi

Chrono Logic explores the relationship of a couple on a train. One character is haunted by her past and can't quite break free from a previous relationship. As the train moves towards its destination, the lovers move towards better understanding each other and breaking free from the past.

Eight filmmakers were given the same 10-minute film script and were asked to create their own film of which Chrono Logic is the end result. Each filmmaker had to adhere to a strict set of rules. These different movies were then compiled into a single film anthology.

Turtle Island (Dortoka uhartea)

(2002, 15 mins.) SPAIN; Director: Maru Solores; Sebastopoleko Titiriteroak, Deutsche Film-und Fernsehakademie

A creature from outer space comes to earth, landing next to an island that looks something like a petrified tortoise. Her name is Ainhoa, a nine-year-old girl who suffers from chronic asthma and who challenges herself to spend a night alone on the island, pretending she is an extraterrestrial who has discovered it for the first time.

This is Maru Solores' sensitive exploration of the power of the imagination, and the determination of a child to combat the stigma of illness.

Caro Diario: Le Isole;

(1994, 32 minutes) ITALY; Director: Nanni Moretti

In this, the second of three episodes, Nanni Moretti directs himself playing himself in this wry look at life. He cruises with his friend around a set of remote Sicilian islands in search of a sense of peace, so that he might finish his new film. As part of this search, Moretti explores various aspects of Italian culture, with each island representing one different type. Through comedy, Moretti challenges himself and his viewers to contemplate the meaning of these different lifestyles.

Guest Speaker: Australian Director Anita Heiss - biographical details

Dr Anita Heiss is a member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales and is of Australia's most prolific and well-known Indigenous authors.

Her published works include the historical novel Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937, the poetry collection Token Koori, satirical social commentary Sacred Cows, non-fiction text Dhuuluu-Yala (To Talk Straight) - Publishing Aboriginal Literature, and a children's book entitled Me and My Mum. Anita has also edited editions of Southerly, Five Bells and the anthology Life in Gadigal Country.

Anita is currently Associate Professor and writer in residence at Macquarie University. She has recently completed a novella "Not Meeting Mr Right", and written and directed her first short-film "Checkerboard Love" as part of the Lester Bostock mentorship program through Metro Screen, Sydney.

Anita has performed her works nationally (Sydney Writers' Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, Message Sticks, Brisbane Writers Festival to name a few festivals) and internationally in Spain, Austria, the USA, Canada, and New Caledonia. This year she will appear in Germany and Indonesia. She has also been published widely in journals, anthologies, and on-line.

Anita chaired the literacy organisation Indij Readers Ltd, from 2003-2004 and was a member of the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) Committee of Management from 1998-2004.

In 2003 in recognition of her literary achievements Anita was awarded the ASA Medal for Under 35s for her contribution to Australian community and public life. In 2004 Anita was awarded the NSW Indigenous Arts Fellowship and was listed in The Bulletin magazine's "Smart 100."

Media please note: The Convener of the Festival, Associate Professor Gerry Turcotte, will be available for interview, in the lead-up to this festival. He can be contacted on 4221 4140.

For further details about the event, also contact Meagan Dallimore, Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies, on (02) 4221 3737.

For more information, contact:

media@uow.edu.au
University of Wollongong
Ph: (02) 4221 5942; fax (02) 4221 3128