Article

A seagull falling in love with a drone, documentaries exploring the heart of Australia and tense dramas delving into mental health — Australia’s richest short film competition has seen the undiscovered talent of the country’s movie production scene step behind the camera in creative ways.

The competition, being run by PerthNow in collaboration with major sponsor SAE Creative Media Institute, attracted more than 750 films from across Australia, including dramas, comedies, documentaries and animations. Now, the final shortlist has been revealed, with the top 30 short films available to watch on PerthNow, where viewers will have a chance to vote for their favourite and a shot at winning $1000.

The shortlist includes nine Western Australian entries, eight documentaries, four animations and six films by directors under the age of 18. NSW was home to 11 entrants, while the burgeoning film scene in Queensland has inspired five movies. Among the best films is Mia Charleson’s “Crimson Sands” — an uneasy eight-minute film that centres on a psychologically broken man, Trevor, on a remote property, battling disturbing hallucinations of a former love. The NSW 20-year-old said the inspiration for the film came from spending hours as a child travelling through Outback Australia.

“The outback lets you stop and think because it’s just so quiet and it’s just a whole other world,” she said. “It’s the isolating feeling of the outback that I wanted to bring it into my film — it makes people feel a bit uneasy because you can’t get help.” Under time pressures, the film was shot over just three days, Charleson said.

“I pushed everything aside in my life and me, my producer and my director of photography, we were constantly living the life of this film,” she said. “To get that psychological impact in that time, I had a lot of help from a lot of people. I find making films is a huge team effort, and it’s not just the director. I couldn’t have done it without my crew.” Charleson said she was ecstatic to have made the final shortlist.

“I‘ve been constantly thinking about the nomination. I got the call on my way to something and I just wanted to jump up and down and cry — it’s just a huge thing even being considered,” she said. “I know there’s potential with it, but as a filmmaker, you always know what stuff you can improve on. I’m so grateful for the opportunity even to be considered.”

To watch Crimson Sands and all the short-listed films,

visit PerthNow at www.perthnow.com.au/basf

Credit: Adam Taylor/ Adam Taylor