Lionel Seah has become the first AFTRS international student to have their work selected for Cannes, with his Masters film Withered Blossoms to premiere in this year’s La Cinef section.
Written and directed by Seah, an international student from Singapore when it was made, the Cantonese and English-language film follows a young woman who, after attempting to conceal her separation from a long-term partner, finally visits her grandma, who is grappling with age.
The creative team includes producer Miki Clarke, cinematographer T. Oxford, production designer Jordan Taylor, editor Jack Needle, and sound designer Kevin Chan, all of whom are completing their second year of the Master of Arts Screen program at AFTRS.
Withered Blossoms is the third Masters film to be selected for La Cinef since the reboot of the AFTRS Masters program in 2016 after Eryk Lenartowicz’s Dots in 2018 and Ruby Challenger’s MumLife in 2022.
Seah, whose previous short Holding On, Letting Go screened at the Singapore International Film Festival and Brussels Film Festival, described the film as a meditation and reflection on the conversations he wishes he could have had with his grandmother, as well as an exploration of a relationship through time.
“I am absolutely thrilled and honoured for Withered Blossoms to be a part of the Official Selection of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival,” he said.
“Withered Blossoms was undertaken over the summer holidays by a small group of dedicated, passionate individuals whom I met at AFTRS. With only 10 people on set and crew members taking on multiple roles, we found ourselves compelled to concentrate on elements that didn’t rely heavily on resources: the story that we wanted to tell, the performance of the cast, and the vision of the film—essentially, the essence of filmmaking. This experience proved to be both beautiful and instructive, serving as a powerful lesson learned alongside my collaborators on this project.”
Withered Blossoms will be one of three Australian titles to have its world premiere at next month’s festival, alongside Lorcan Finnegan’s psychological thriller The Surfer, selected for the Midnight Screenings section, and George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which will premiere Out of Competition with a gala screening.
Screen Australia CEO Deirdre Brennan said the inclusion of the films was a testament to the strength of the country’s screen industry.
“We are thrilled by the selection of such a diverse range of films for Cannes 2024,” she said.
“From the highly-anticipated feature Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga by George Miller — one of Australia’s most successful filmmakers; Robert Connolly’s The Surfer, an Irish/Australian co-production filmed in Western Australia; and Withered Blossoms, a compelling short film crafted from our emerging filmmakers.
“Our sincere congratulations to the creative teams involved, we can’t wait for global audiences to engage with these brilliant films.”
The 77th Festival de Cannes will be held from May 14 to 25, 2024.