Starting off a little more disorganized then I would have preferred, I arrived at the Astor 5 minutes before the 6pm and had just enough time to hand out a few of the flyers. Thankfully there weren't too many people for the following session so that afterwards, it was much easier for me to go around and speak with people about the flyers.
I realized the other day that I should explain what it is exactly that I'm doing at SKFF. Contrary to popular belief (you would not believe how many people ask me where the bathrooms are), I'm not working for the Astor theatre of the festival itself. I'm volunteering for the Inside Film Awards, the people's choice awards run by Inside Film, Australia's most comprehensive guideline to television, film and online production. Inside Film comprises of both magazines and online platforms such as social media and their website. As a subscriber to their newsletter, I have been fortunate over the years to be exposed to the most up and coming news surrounding Australian film and TV production and it's how I got the volunteer job at SKFF last year. My role during the festival is really easy - each Top 100 session features all the short films that are eligible for the Inside Film Short Film Award which is announced in October each year. The awards ceremony draws hundreds of film professionals from various backgrounds and is an exciting event for the industry for this reason. The awards are voted by the Australian public. This means that they not only garner and interest within the Australian public to become aware of these films, but it also gives producers and filmmakers a greater understanding of the types of films Australians want to see. Shorts, docos, animations and features alike are all eligible for various roles and the ceremony is a great time to celebrate our diverse industry. At SKFF, its my job, along with the other volunteers, to hand out the ratings forms which the audience use to give their opinion of the films in the session they just viewed.
So there's the "brief" rundown of what I do and hopefully a better explanation of how it can all turn to merde quite quickly. Luckily, after my initial headless-chook impression, things calmed down enough for me to get everything organized for collection after the session and I managed to sneak into the screening. Of the films shown, here are my thoughts on the ones I got to see:
2. Muscles - I have been DYING to see this film for so long now as the DOP was an RMIT student in my course last year. The film also went on to Cannes which is inspiring in itself. In saying that, I have to admit I had higher expectations. The film was beautifully shot so all kudos to Ariel. What I felt it lacked though was that sense of drama. The film ultimately didn't really go anywhere and even though there was a pseudo-climax with the lead committing a heinous criminal act, the film left us with too many open questions for my liking. On a more positive note, the character development was spot on (something which I'm sure you're sick of hearing about from me) The dynamics set up within the family aren't selective to this particular narrative - they can be identified in many families around Australia and I think its for this reason that many people were able to relate.
3. Heirlooms - I'm not a massive fan of paint-under-camera style and cutout animation which was featured heavily in this animated doco. However, I think it was appropriate for the subject matter and well-balanced. There were times when you felt like you were reading a children's story book but that was countered with the real photographs which separated the stories which were the pinnacle of the film.
4. The Waterhole - This movie frustrated me in that first of all, the completely disregarded the advantage of using a better camera but more importantly, had some really lame supporting actors. The lead, played by Animal Kingdom's James Frecheville, was brilliant in depicting his character but the other guys just didn't cut the mustard. I think for what this film was about, the camera work and supporting cast just didn't evoke the right emotion from me and all in all, it could have just been made a lot better.
5. The Wendy-Lady - I didn't know until after the film that this movie was based on the Peter Pan character of Wendy. At the time, I found it quite difficult to connect with the watercolor animation (which was exquisitely made by the way) but after knowing the subcontext to the film in retrospect, the film has become even more beautiful for me. It was a very tender, innocent film which made you feel something, which is more than can be said for other films.
6. Everything is Super - I had been waiting for this film all season purely for the fact that it featured Underbelly's Gyton Grantley and Neighbours Pippa Black. Also because the film's tagline went "In a world full of Superheroes however, finding someone heroic is strangely difficult." It was an interesting concept which surprised me when the film didn't really seem to focus as much as I thought it would on the idea outlined in their blurb. I think if it had focused more on Black's character and created a solution which was more appropriate to her problems, it would have worked better. I am a person who enjoys closure however so it may have just been me. In saying that, the actors were brilliant and getting the chance to talk with Pippa after the screening, I learned that they shot in two days so a wonderful accomplishment all up.
I don't know why but I really wasn't in a great mood for the films tonight, hence my negative tone. I hope that I don't seem too put off by these films because I'm sure if was just the combination of their presentation that I didn't enjoy. As separate entities, I'm sure I would have enjoyed them a bit more. In saying that though, some of the ones I have written about I just was not a fan of but hey, we're all different.
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