Film

Tom Caulfield

Buckley Park College, Essendon
Wurundjeri Country

A cassette tape lying on the floor.
TAPE 108 by Tom Caulfield, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Animated person wearing a suit, standing amongst trees and bushes.
Agony by Vicky Chen, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Photograph of two people standing together, holding a dog. Their faces are obscured by scribbles, with text around them reading 'and his mother and father never kissed. Or even talked'.
Reminisce: A Poem by Jesseca Daly, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

A person wearing all white, suspended mid-air holding aerial straps.
L'ecole de Cirque by Matilda Deeble, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Black and white image of a person moving through a bush landscape with a bucket in hand.
The Nitpicker by Ryan Harrison, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

A person stares directly at the camera with an apprehensive look on their face.
Cat by Gabe Hartshorne, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Close-up of a hand writing with a sharpie onto a blue sticky note.
Sticky Notes by Jorja Kavellaris, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Vibrantly coloured animation depicts two circus characters smiling and hugging each other.
LORENZO? by Jasmine Lui, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Animated chicken with eyes obscured by black scribbles.
BAD CHICKEN by Rebecca Murphy, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Animated person peering into a puddle and looking at their reflection distorted by the water.
Puddles by Henry Qiu, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

A crate full of mussels with the ocean visible in the background. The side of the crate says 'Sydney Fish Market'.
Open Dining by James Rushbrook-Stock, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Silver toaster with cartoonish eyes.
Don't Burn the Toast by Lucas A. Taylor, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Animated character with a camera for a head stands in a cafe setting.
Magpie Mocha by Dylan Wijesekera, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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

Blue toned image of a young person looking directly at the camera, holding up their hands.
I Know What They're Thinking by Fynn Williams, Top Designs 2024. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

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.

View more Media works

Join the mailing list and get the latest from our Museums direct to your inbox.

Sign up now

Share your thoughts to WIN

We'd love to hear about your experience with our website. Our survey takes less than 10 minutes and entries go in a draw to win a $100 gift voucher at our online store!