Tom Caulfield
Buckley Park College, Essendon
Wurundjeri Country
TAPE 108
Crime, 9 min
An obsessive audio surveillance expert accepts a deadly mission to infiltrate and record a meeting at the infamous Cobra Club. When he crosses paths with a mysterious assassin, he must question the nature of his mission and confront the impending danger that awaits.
Vicky Chen
Balwyn High School, Balwyn North
Wurundjeri Country
Agony
Action Fantasy, 3 min 21 sec
In this animated music video set in a fantasy world, a Duke and Duchess suddenly pass away from suspicious circumstances, leaving the protagonist Solomon to protect his parents’ fortune from greedy relatives keen on taking it for themselves. However, Solomon meets someone who could save him from this fate.
Jesseca Daly
Mirboo North Secondary College, Mirboo North
Gunaikurnai Country
Reminisce: A Poem
Mixed Media, 2 min 49 sec
This short film, based on Dr. Earl Reum’s poem Reminisce, defines the various phases of a young boy’s life. Through three chronological sections, it captures the gradual loss of his innocence during the transition from childhood to adolescence. More abstractly, Reminisce is about the isolation commonly felt by young people.
Matilda Deeble
Wurun Senior Campus, Fitzroy North / Collingwood College, Collingwood
Wurundjeri Country
L'ecole de Cirque
Documentary, 9 min 59 sec
This documentary is based in and around the National Institute for the Performing Arts (NICA), the only institute that offers tertiary level study for the circus arts in Australia. Through interviews with NICA students and staff, the film explores why maintaining the magic of circus is socially and culturally important, which is especially relevant with Swinburne’s recent pausing of NICA’s Bachelor program.
Ryan Harrison
Mullauna College, Mitcham
Wurundjeri Country
The Nitpicker
Comedy, 7 min
A pedantic neat freak throws himself into a psychotic, lice-ridden panic quest in an absurd effort to get rid of his nits. Using a range of genre-stereotypical visual and musical styles, The Nitpicker spins an irritating intrusion into a slapstick calamity.
Gabe Hartshorne
Northcote High School, Northcote
Wurundjeri Country
Cat
Psychological Horror, 10 min
A boy delves into a mystery surrounding his beloved Cat after he has an inexplicable paranormal experience while looking into the Cat’s eyes. As the boy desperately attempts to figure out what happened, he begins to lose his grasp of reality, becoming crazed with trying to understand his household pet.
Jorja Kavellaris
Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak
Wurundjeri Country
Sticky Notes
Coming of Age Drama, 5 min
Sticky Notes follows the friendship of two young women, Florence and Anisa, as they pursue their dream of opening a hairdressing salon together. Their picture-perfect life suddenly comes to a halt when Anisa is in a tragic accident, leaving Florence to face a tough decision regarding a promise made in the past.
Jasmine Lui
Ringwood Secondary College, Ringwood
Wurundjeri Country
LORENZO?
Adventure/ Low Fantasy, 2 min 25 sec
A young lion tamer within a colourful circus troupe has lost their star lion before a nearing performance. With the aid of a clown companion, the duo search for the lion across the bizarre carnival grounds before the curtains are drawn. With its bright and engaging animated style, LORENZO? considers life’s unpredictability, drawing on values of friendship and empathy.
Rebecca Murphy
Santa Maria College, Northcote
Wurundjeri Country
BAD CHICKEN
Comedy, 7 min
Following a typical school day, Darcy and Evie go to their local chicken shop for an after-school snack. However, upon receiving their food, they notice there might be something wrong with their chicken. Something very, very wrong. BAD CHICKEN aims to represent teenage friendships and show the often nonsensical situations they may find themselves in.
Henry Qiu
Brighton Secondary College, Brighton East
Bunurong Boonwurrung Country
Puddles
Drama, 2 min
Struggling with their sense of self and identity, a young child in a gloomy suburb escapes their own reflection by stomping on puddles. Eventually, they build the courage to peer into the water and confront their image.
James Rushbrook-Stock
St Kevin's College, Toorak
Wurundjeri Country
Open Dining
Food Documentary, 7 min 37 sec
The backdrop of Portarlington’s bustling mussel trade provides the setting for this documentary about the industry’s inner workings. Open Dining’s host follows the journey of Victorian mussels from sea to plate. This journey is captured through insightful conversations with Peter and Tracy Bold, two of the nation’s most accomplished mussel farmers.
Lucas A. Taylor
Alice Miller School, Macedon
Wurundjeri Country
Don't Burn the Toast
Absurdist /Comedy/ Fantasy, 4 min 4 sec
In order to make breakfast, a teenager must confront the absurd fantasies of the kitchen. ‘Boy’ sees visions when preparing toast in a battle against his own imagination. Inspired by Edgar Wright’s dramatically paced montages, Don’t Burn the Toast uses hyper tense moments and an absurdist, comedic lens to investigate young people’s relationships with their imaginary inner-worlds.
Dylan Wijesekera
Balwyn High School, Balwyn North
Wurundjeri Country
Magpie Mocha
Absurdist Comedy, 5 min 30 sec
In a dystopic vacuum of space, where humanoid robots are assigned to tedious labour, a barista's habitual work shift is interrupted by the hijinks of an erratic magpie. By incorporating both 2D and 3D palettes into its animation, Magpie Mocha aims to utilise the creative liberties of its medium to accentuate the film's surrealist humor.
Fynn Williams
Dromana Secondary College, Dromana
Bunurong Boonwurrung Country
I Know What They're Thinking
Music Video, 4 min 3 sec
This music video delves into the world of a teenager who is grappling with her own mental health struggles. Through a surrealist, non-linear approach, the film explores issues around depression, anxiety and dissociation, challenging the stigmas surrounding mental health and highlighting the hardships faced by teenagers.
