Highlights on six more shorts from St Kilda Film Festival 2005
Below for your info is a brief run down on another six of the top 100 short films in this year’s festival.
IN THE CAN
Starring: Daniel Fredrickson (Stringers)
Director: Damian McLindon
Synopsis:
Featuring Daniel Frederikson (Stingers), radio personality Laura Milke and local grandpa Matthew Golgerth, In The Can is a hilarious take on everyone’s pet hate: waking up with a grumbling stomach in a house empty of all edible food.
Marty, a twenty something slacker, wakes up after a night on the town, fresh out of money, and with an unbearable hunger. His kitchen is bare – except for a mountain of unwashed dishes and empty beer bottles. After a desperate search he finds a lone and dusty can of baked beans, but he can’t get the damn thing open. He tries everything: a can opener, a knife, a rock, an axe grinder… but all to no avail.
Finally Marty takes to the stubborn can with a sledgehammer and it explodes, spraying beans across the back yard and even in the face of a curious neighbour. When he sits down to contemplate his victory, he notices something odd - the can has a ring pull on its bottom side.
Shot over two days on Super 16mm film, In The Can is the brain-child of director Damian McLindon and scriptwriter/novelist Ben O’Mara. It was written and produced on a shoe string budget with one aim in mind: to make a film about a can of baked beans funny. The film was the product of months of solid pre-production, a cracking script, a hardworking crew… and a hell of a lot of baked beans.
THE UMBRELLA MEN
* Starring: Damien Walsh Howling (Ned Kelly, Stingers, Blue Heelers, Secret Life of Us, He Died With a Falafel in his hand) & Benji McNair (Neighbours, All Saints, Secret Life of Us, Blue Heelers, Something in the Air)
* Director: Matt Norman
Set in 1915 Gallipoli, this is the moving story of two mates fighting to stay alive in a horrific environment during one of the most historical moments Australian soldiers have ever been a part of.
We closely examine what it is to be thrown into battle un-equipped and unprepared, with only mateship as your guide.
AMORATLITY TALE
Directed by: Mike Bullen
* Creator, writer: COLD FEET
BAFTA, 2001, Best Drama Series
WRITER OF THE YEAR, 2003, TV Comedy Awards (UK)
BEST COMEDY DRAMA, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, TV Comedy Awards (UK)
CAST: PAUL GLEESON (SOMERSAULT), RUSSELL DYKSTRA (LANTANA) JENNI BAIRD (ALL SAINTS), AMANDA BISHOP, KIRRILY WHITE, ELIZABETH FRIELS
BRIEF SYNOPSIS
At an interstate conference, two married men succumb to temptation and take women to their rooms. What happens behind closed doors will change their lives irrevocably, in ways neither could have begun to predict.
SAME PLACE, DIFFERENT FACE
Directors: Elizabeth Clancy, Kylie-Rose Douglas
(* This movie catched the essence of St Kilda perfectly and be will screen on opening night)
Running Time 10 minutes
Synopsis: ‘Same Place, Different Face’ is a documentary representation of the changing cultural face of St Kilda.
Combining still images, super 8 and DV footage with an interview soundtrack, it is a candid reflection on what was and continues to be a diverse and intriguing suburb – a suburb that seethes under the spotlight placed upon it by Victorians, Australians and international visitors.
Diirected by Elizabeth Clancy and Kylie-Rose Douglas, the film evokes St Kilda through photographs and interview material gleaned from over 30 local luminaries. Shot, researched and produced by Clancy, Douglas and Bindi Cole, `Same Place, Different Face’ delivers a thoughtful
and qualified celebration of community, character and change.
GIFTED
Director: Zoe Carides
(* this is Zoe’s first short film as a director)
Synopsis:
“A solitary man prepares for bed, and whilst sleeping, is visited by a force
of nature who wants a little give and take….”
MY SISTER
Writer/Director : ChiYen Ooi
Producer : Libby Porter
SYNOPSIS
A young Chinese Australian girl struggles with her cultural identity and traditions she doesn’t understand.
AWARDS/FESTIVALS
Melbourne International Film Festival (Australia)
Fitzroy Shorts (Australia)
Winner Best Australian Short Film Melbourne International Film Festival 2004.
Winner Best Actor Fitzroy Shorts 2004
Winner Best Cinematpgraphy Fitzroy Shorts 2004
Nominated Best Cinematography AFI Non Feature Category 2004
(Australian Film institute Awards)
Gold ASC Award (Australian Cinematographers Society) 2004
