[Press release by ScreenWest]
Perth audiences will again be captivated by the local screen industry with four Western Australian short films selected to screen at the 2008/09 Lotterywest Festival Films season at the Perth International Arts Festival.
ScreenWest Chief Executive Ian Booth said that he was delighted to be continuing the partnership with the Perth Festival to showcase WA short films in their home state.
"Western Australian-made documentaries, short films and dramas are regularly shown around the world but it is always a great pleasure to have a screening in your home State, especially at such a respected event," Mr Booth said.
"The Somerville audience will not be disappointed with this year’s crop of short films.
"The films selected reflect the wide ranging creativity and sensibilities of WA filmmakers. From the uniquely Western Australian tale of how fire came to the Noongar’s, as told in Karla, to the comic story of two strangers brought together by a photocopier in Edgar and Elizabeth, these short films are sure to entertain."
The filmmakers represent the State’s rising talent of professional filmmakers. Clouds writer/director Will Faulkner spent several years fine tuning the script – his first non-tertiary professional short film – and first time director Karrie-Anne Kearing (Karla) cut her teeth as the writer of the Indigenous short film, Weewar.
Edgar and Elizabeth writer/director Renee Webster has several film and television credits to her name and Legacy director Grant Sputore and producers Poppy Dowle and David Smith are establishing strong track records in the commercial and independent scene.
The short films will each screen for one week before a feature film at the Somerville Theatre. Perth Festival has also selected the Western Australian Indigenous short film Karla to screen at select family events.
Western Australian short films screening at the 2009 Perth International Arts Festival:
Karla
Short drama
Screening: at select family events TBC
Director / writer: Karrie-Anne Kearing
Producer: Naomi Ashcroft (North Fremantle)
Synopsis: A dreamtime story of how fire came to the Noongar’s of the Pinjarra (Bindjareb) region told through painting, dance and visual storytelling.
Clouds
Short drama
Screening: 8.30pm February 23 to March 1 before the feature film You the Living
Director / writer: Will Faulkner
Producer: Annabelle Fouchard
Synopsis: A young boy becomes lost in the bush and uses his vivid imagination to get back home to safety.
Legacy
Short drama
Screening: 8.30pm March 2 to 8 before the feature film Buddha Collapsed out of Shame
Director: Grant Sputore
Producer: Poppy Dowle and David Smith
Writer: Ron Elliott
Synopsis: 1943. On leave from the front, Donald makes one last attempt to save his brother from the life their father has unwittingly prepared for him.
Edgar and Elizabeth
Short comedy
Screening: 8.30pm March 9 to 15 before the feature film A Pain in the Ass
Director / writer: Renee Webster
Producer: Melissa Kelly
Synopsis: A short film about lust, loneliness and finding love in the workplace.
These films were all funded by ScreenWest, Lotterywest and/or the Film & Television Institute (FTI).