Anna Barbara
Methodist Ladies' College, Kew
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country
Fish Soup
Surrealist comedy, 3 min 45 sec
Fish Soup follows the journey of a fish named Newton who becomes thirsty during class and tries to find ways to quench this. With a hand-drawn animation that illustrates the desperation thirst can bring, Fish Soup invites the audience to accompany Newton on his unique path of madness as he attempts to find water.
The depiction of Newton’s journey creates an emotional piece with unsettling absurdist comedy, encouraging audiences to relate to the character and recognise their own struggles in a desperate circumstance. Newton’s personal struggle is amplified through surrealism to hook the audience’s emotion so that they will identify with this character’s story.
Lillian Boyd
Notre Dame College, Shepparton
Yorta Yorta Country
Alley
Drama, 1 min 47 sec
Set in a modern-day city where class division is extremely prominent, Alley tells the story of a young woman's first night being homeless after being kicked out of her home. She is represented by a cat. Created to raise awareness about the rising number of homeless young people, the film focuses on body language and facial expression to highlight some of the struggles homeless people face in society today.
The filmmaker aims to raise awareness of the circumstances that may force someone onto the streets. Using a cat to represent the young woman in this film encourages audience members to feel sympathy for a person that they may not usually care about.
Zoe Bryant
Footscray High School, Footscray
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country
Connecting Materials
Surrealist comedy, 5 min 14 sec
An unlikely friendship is formed between two creatures when they are thrown into a bizarre journey through different realities. Each world brings a different shape, substance and scenario, creating a surreal yet endearing atmosphere with the dynamic technique of stop motion animation.
This surrealist, comedic, stop motion, animated short film uses a range of materials to tell a story about wordless communication and the value of experience. The filmmaker has created a narrative of protagonists moving from one reality to the next, encountering problems along the way, using absurd stylistic and narrative conventions.
Henry Ferguson
Bass Coast College, Wonthaggi
Boon Wurrung Bunurong Country
In the Trees
Horror, 3 min
When a young girl goes missing, a police officer is called into the forest to search for her. However, night has fallen, and the forest has no plans to let the officer go home. Beckoned forward, he is at the whim of a dark stalking presence, which is more than happy to play with its food.
The filmmaker’s intention was to create a stop motion, animated horror film that is both scary and thrilling, and to increase tension by keeping the audience in the dark and using horror techniques such as ominous music and low-key lighting.
