First Steps SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY’S 2018 GRADUATE SHORT FILMS
The applause was loud and rapturous when the final credits rolled. Proud students, parents and friends spilled out into the foyer of Melbourne’s Lido cinema, where they had gathered for Cinaesthesia, Swinburne University of Technology’s annual graduate screening. This event is where a cohort of some of Australia’s future filmmakers, screenwriters, editors and other technical practitioners get to enjoy the first significant public screening of their work.
Swinburne’s Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media – Film and Television is a one-year1 full-time course that offers aspiring filmmakers an alternative pathway to the academic route. The class of 2018 produced a diverse array of short works, encompassing narrative fiction, documentary, music video and animation. The standard of technical skill and storytelling confidence belied the students’ relatively short exposure to filmmaking practice, and demonstrated an impressive command of film language and style, resulting in assured debut efforts that dabbled in a range of genres and forms. There were, however, some broad thematic concerns that emerged from the films: the idea of minority or marginalised characters finding a connection, family dynamics (both toxic and harmonious) and identity politics were all prominent tropes.
Two of the most moving films selected for the screening, and , were directed by Maisy Sutcliffe.explores a personal story, set against the backdrop of the 2017 same-sex-marriage postal vote, of a young woman coming out to her mother; its animation, voiceover and sound are all poignantly aligned. The music video , meanwhile, gently subverts familiar heteronormative conventions to winning effect. It is structured around that enduring Australian rite of passage, the school disco – which, with its connotations of romantic exploration, makes for an effective set piece for a film that addresses notions of difference and identity.
