MWFF2020: Freshly Squeezed Shorts 2

An eclectically fresh mix of short films traversing genres and styles that push the boundaries of gender, sexuality, culture, age, ability.

100 mins / Unclassified

Restricted to persons 15 years and over.

An eclectically fresh mix of short films traversing genres and styles that push the boundaries of gender, sexuality, culture, age, ability, and identity - exploring the many facets of Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand life and society.

Worth

Polly is frustrated. She would like people to take her seriously. Everywhere she turns, Polly is met with casual sexism and pitiful presumptions. So Polly does something to prove her value and to make a point. Polly becomes a serial killer.

Director & Writer: Lexie Gregory / Producer: Cat Hart / DOP: Penelope Paton

Australia / 2019 / 11 mins

Deluge

Set within a religious commune, on the brink of the ocean, one woman is held responsible for the rising waters and diminishing food sources. As she stands trial, accused of meddling with the devil’s darkness the community close in upon her. Three women must stand up and speak their truth before it’s too late. What they reveal is far more terrifying than any black magic.

Director: Cloudy Rhodes / Producer: Jessica Carrera / Writer: Llewellyn Michael Bates

Australia / 2019 / 12 mins

Dolphin

Alice's friends Jonathan and Tina are visiting Australia from the U.S. They're keen to be shown the ultimate Australian experience, complete with a trip to the beach to swim with dolphins. But Alice is distracted by an all-consuming crush on Tina, leading her to question the label she should give to her sexuality. How do you tell someone you like them when the default assumption is that you're straight? What do you do with your crushes on women when the world says you're not queer enough for them to matter? And why are we looking for dolphins at St Kilda beach?

Director & Writer: Em Baker / Producer: Lauren Rose Beck

Australia / 2019 / 11 mins

Lone Wolf

Determined to fit in at a sleepover, 15-year-old Sam ignores cruel taunts from mean girl Blair and her growing feelings for new friend Willow, but she can’t ignore the strange things happening to her body.

Director & Writer: January Jones / Producer: Mary Musolino

Australia / 2019 / 7 mins

Too Pretty To Be Aboriginal

Filmmaker Sasha Sarago examines Australia’s perception of Aboriginal beauty through the statement: "You're too pretty to be Aboriginal." To try and understand the origins of this phenomena, Sasha interviews four Aboriginal women to find the answers she is seeking. What surfaces are personal stories enmeshed in racial complexities – navigating through two worlds - a place where Aboriginality is questioned and Australia’s past still lingers. Dr Liz Conor helps Sasha uncover evidence of the statements’ history found deep within colonial white Australia. Left with uncomfortable truths, Sasha faces her own issues with identity and femininity to determine where she stands with ‘pretty’.

Director & Writer: Sasha Sarago / Producer: Lisa Albert

Australia / 2018 / 14 mins

The Taint

When Jill is tricked into starring in a horror film, she is forced to confront the source of her trauma; the man who tormented her. But how can she trust him after what he did?

Directors & Writers: Tessa Muskett, Chris Dunstan / Producers: Tessa Muskett, Chris Dunstan, Joel Bell

Australia / 2017 / 16 mins

Natalie

It is 2004. Natalie and Natalie are best friends, utterly inseparable and stuck in the awkward moment between high school and the rest of their lives. They are different in every way, though practically the same person. 'Natalie' is a story about coming-of-age, coming out and coming to terms with who you are.

Director & Writer: Tess Emmerson / Producer: Danica May Artner

Australia / 2019 / 13 mins

Butch

After a bad breakup, uptight accountant Tiff has taken to microwaved hot dogs and re-runs of the L Word, whereas the ever-emerging artist Gem is processing the break up in the arms of multiple sexual partners. As Gem and Tiff drift further apart, their dog Butch, must go to drastic measures to get them back in the same room... even if it means an emergency trip to the vet.

Director: Harry Lloyd / Writers & Producers: Holly Austin, Zoe McDonald

Australia / 2019 / 11 mins