Film

Will Calleja

Footscray High School, Footscray
Wurundjeri Country

Someone sitting on the floor looking at a laptop. There head and face are not in shot — *The Trials and Tribulations of Being Jordan* by Will Calleja, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

The Trials and Tribulations of Being Jordan

Teen Drama, 6min 16sec

Jordan is a troubled teen making her way through high school. Resenting her current lifestyle, she starts to re-evaluate how she lives her life and deals with social anxiety.

Samantha Chim

East Doncaster Secondary College, Doncaster East
Wurundjeri Country

A woman putting on make-up in the mirror. — *Break the Mould* by Samantha Chim, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Break the Mould

Documentary, 4min 53sec

A documentary-style interview with 35-year-old transgender model and public figure, Rora Mac, about her struggles going through life and what she had to conquer to get to where she is now.

Luca Di Natale

St Michael's Grammar School, St Kilda
Bunurong Country

A row of human-like red robots in a warehouse — *Mechanical Dreams* by Luca Di Natale, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Mechanical Dreams

Science Fiction, 6min 41sec

A suspiciously advanced robot, RX-39, contemplates his purpose in a dystopian society in which humans overpower and control robots. As RX-39 struggles to comprehend his purpose, he questions the daunting reality faced by his kind… will he overcome the authority?

Emile Feik

University High School, Parkville
Wurundjeri Country

A person sat down at a desk wearing a suit and an oversized paper mache head. — *Earl Dreams of Apples* by Emile Feik, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Earl Dreams of Apples

Arthouse, 9min 59sec

An adolescent boy has a night of strange and vivid dreams involving a beach full of buried apples, a disappearing razor, a masked man and a highway at night. All these surreal images materialise a fear of the future and a desire to return to the comfort of childhood.

Ella Hennessy

Padua College, Mornington
Bunurong Country

A clay figurine of an elderly man holding two cupcakes. — *Bloom* by Ella Hennessy, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Bloom

Family, 3min 22sec

Bloom delves into feelings of grief and loneliness after losing someone close, proposing that there is always love and support from sometimes unexpected sources.

Henry Holmes

Wesley College, Melbourne
Bunurong Country

Two young boys lying on their front with a magazine in front of them. — *Bert* by Henry Holmes, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Bert

Coming of Age, 6min 33sec

A young boy finds an injured bird on his way to school and decides to take it home and care for it until its wing heals. Soon after, the bird dies. Placing it into a shoebox, the boy decides he will bury the bird and return it to the place he found it.

Lola Keddie

A reflection of a woman in the windscreen mirror of a car. — *Driven To Revenge* by Lola Keddie, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Driven To Revenge

Heist movie, 5min 33sec

In her old Kombi van, Sharon nervously drives Jane towards her destiny. Jane is hellbent on revenge for wages stolen by her pizzeria boss. This is heist movie set in suburbia where stolen wages are the prize.

Jasmine Lane

Casey Grammar School, Cranbourne East
Bunurong Country

A blonde cartoon superhero holding a sword. — *I'm a Background Character* by Jasmine Lane, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

I'm a Background Character

Action-Comedy, 3min 23sec

When, in a twist of fate, the main character of the story dies at the hands of a villain, an unremarkable college student decides to take on the mantle of saving the world, even though he’s supposed to be nothing more than a background character.

Tia McNeill

Virtual School Victoria, Thornbury
Wurundjeri Country

The Cleaners

Psychological thriller/Tragedy, 4min 54sec

The Cleaners is a stop-motion animation told through the point-of-view of a grandfather as he celebrates his 80th birthday with family. Peculiarities emerge as the night progresses and large gloved hands begin removing objects – symbolic of memories – cluttered throughout the protagonist’s home.

Han Nhi Ngo

Williamstown High School, Williamstown
Bunurong Country

A still of white flowers taken from a zoomed-out lens camera. — *Going Home - Về Nhà* by Han Nhi Ngo, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Going Home - Về Nhà

Family/Coming of Age, 7min 12sec

Going Home – Về Nhà follows the journey of a Vietnamese girl as she tries to find her home. The film explores the detachment of second-generation Vietnamese-Australians who struggle to connect with their culture and feel lost amid societal expectations.

Sequoia Pather

Swinburne Senior Secondary College, Hawthorn
Wurundjeri Country

A close up of a young girl at the beach covering her mouth with her forearm. — *Shift* by Sequoia Pather, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Shift

Drama, 5min 58sec

A young girl named Marlee runs away from home in the middle of the night to flee her abusive mother. She navigates homelessness with her dog while dealing with the emotional toll of her troubled past.

Jai Postma

Ashwood High School, Ashwood
Wurundjeri Country

A wide-angled render of a cat with leopard like spots on a residential street. — *Paws* by Jai Postma, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Paws

Science Fiction/Adventure, 4min 40sec

Paws is an animation that follows a cat traversing a post-apocalyptic city in search of food. The film is a technical exercise in realistic animation, focusing on survival amid destruction.

Adam Rudnicki

Ivanhoe Grammar School, Ivanhoe
Wurundjeri Country

A steam train blowing out smoke whilst passing under a bridge. — *Steam Alive* by Adam Rudnicki, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Steam Alive

Documentary, 8min 18sec

Steam Alive is a documentary that highlights the generational shift occurring in Victoria’s railway preservation sector, where many young volunteers are now joining railway organisations to continue the restoration and running of Victoria’s heritage trains.

Evie Taylor-Constable

Coburg High School, Coburg
Wurundjeri Country

A cartoon drawing of a white dog wearing a raincoat and holding a bucket. — *Beachcomber Blues* by Evie Taylor-Constable, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Beachcomber Blues

Romantic drama, 2min 53sec

In this animation, an old dog searches a beach to find a seashell to gift his husband. However, he is impeded by slowly worsening weather as a storm threatens to sabotage his search. Motivated by his memory and love for his husband, he carries on undeterred until he finally finds the perfect shell.

Xaviere Weis

Northcote High School, Northcote
Wurundjeri Country

Two young girls sitting at the end of a train stop, looking along the train tracks. — *Sensory Memory* by Xaviere Weis, Top Designs 2023. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Sensory Memory

Indie, 4min 15sec

This music video explores themes of self-expression, friendship, the pursuit of happiness and joy. It follows two young women adventuring through the city and countryside, celebrating the magic of female friendships.