MWFF - Next Gen Shorts

From how to grow prize-winning onions to rekindling connections with family, these diverse films show that the future of women’s and gender-diverse filmmaking looks bright!

Films

Peanut Dir. Taihra Swaine | 2021 | 13 mins

Odette struggles with her identity and relationship after deciding to terminate her pregnancy, she seeks comfort in the pool, trying to find a way forward.

Before We’re Gone Dir. Lilli Corrias-Smith | 2021 | 16 mins

Befriending a resilient older woman, an ambitious young girl tries to save the planet from climate crisis, until her brother forces her to choose between saving the world and helping her own struggling family.

Onions Dir. Emmy Clifton | 2021 | 11 mins

Over the course of the onion growing season of 2020 in a small town in regional Victoria, a daughter returns home to visit her parents and film her father growing his annual prized crop of onions. She learns many things about onions during these visits. From planting to harvest, as the seasons unfold, the filmmaker explores the many differences between herself and her father whilst also unearthing some unexpected similarities. Exploring the contrasting worlds of country and city life, the filmmaker realises there was more to learn from home than she had first thought. This visually striking film which is rich with metaphor explores what it is to grow onions and to grow up.

Through Fault Dir. Emily Brown | 2022 | 15 mins

Set in Melbourne, Australia in 1990. Jo, a young Catholic woman, volunteers as a HIV hotline counsellor expecting to answer calls from the ill-informed public. However, when her first caller is a young man suffering from AIDS-associated dementia, Jo is finally forced to confront the realities of the epidemic she’s been ignoring; all in the span of a single conversation

Crave Dir. Vivian Tang | 2021 | 5 mins

Exploring feelings of disconnect, ‘Crave’ aims to uncover how cultural differences can have a profound effect on your inner psyche and the way you see yourself in the world…and it all starts with a Vegemite scroll.

Bubble Dir. Gwendolyn Lin | 2019 | 12 mins

A story of bonding, culture and connection through food. A lonely immigrant mother and her Chinese-Australian daughter reconnect through the ceremony of sharing a meal to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The Holy Whore Dir. Theresa Angela, Hamza Shahid | 2022 | 11 mins

Lilli is a 33-year-old sex worker at Metropolis, Melbourne’s most exclusive 6-star brothel. Branded as the Exotic Oriental Princess, Lilli is the top-performing girl and has a long waiting list of regular clients with an Asian Fetish. On a busy Friday night, Lilli services a; too-cool hipster hungry for validation, a narcissistic submissive ready to blow off some steam and a lonely old white man desperate for some company. The Holy Whore explores the private personas of brothel patrons and what lurks beneath the appearance of toxic masculinity.

Bustard Head Dir. Lucy Lakshman | 2022 | 10 mins

Bustard Head recounts the tragic life story of Nils Gibson during his station at Australia’s most gruesome lighthouse. Shining a light on the harsh realities of life at the light-station in the 1800s, this documentary delves into the devastating effects of the extreme isolation on the mental and physical health of its inhabitants.

Queernation Dir. Jhaz Bullen-Williams | 2021 | 6 mins

In the midst of a COVID world, LGBTQIA+ community peer Christian Kurt Mendoza battles to keep himself and his community connected and alive.

Finding the Lighthouse Dir. Annie Wykes, Michael Cox | 2021 | 10 mins

Two estranged sisters meet at a rural car park with one objective… to take their recently deceased mother’s ashes to the lighthouse they once went to as kids. On the journey, they each battle with the awkwardness of the situation while re-discovering their relationship. Emilia reveals something to Charlie that changes the dynamic of their relationship completely. The walk started as duty but ended as re-connection and finally, aroha as a result of the shared experience.