Showcasing Australian short films internationally
PARIS
The Mother Situation, directed by well known Australian actor, Matt Day; this still shows (from left) Harriet Dyer, Matt Day and Sacha Horler
Stephen Brady
AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILM TODAY had its premiere in Paris on 29 June 2017.
The Australian Ambassador to France, Stephen Brady, hosted Australian Short Film Today in the Australian Embassy's theatre at 4, rue Jean Rey.
In introducing the program he said:
"We must do everything we can to support, encourage, foster the talents of the next generation of Australia’s film makers – for they will be describing – even defining – the Australia of tomorrow."
The program was screened before a mostly French audience, with good representation from the French film industry.
The program of 11 films opened with Matthew Saville's A Writer and Three Script Editors Walk Into a Bar, a three minute film on the agony of screenwriting. The program included Bluey, a film by Darlene Johnson about an angry young indigenous woman, trapped in a life of violence, who meets a boxing coach who may change everything; Habits, an animation by Kathy Sarpi about a woman in need of self-improvement; The Dam, by Brendon McDonall, about feelings between two lifetime friends that can no longer be contained; and Meat and Potatoes, by Arielle Thomas and Ellenor Argyropoulous, about a vegan woman who is starving in the Outback during the Apocalypse. There is no food, but there are dead bodies ...
After the screening there was a Q&A on-stage with Arielle Thomas who produced and co-directed Meat and Potatoes.
She also won and won the Nicole Kidman Award for Best Actress at Tropfest 2017 for her role in Meat and Potatoes.
She is an Australian actress who has formed the female-driven production company Cinema Thom, the production company for the film. She decided on the elements she wanted for the film and commissioned the script for Meat and Potatoes from two friends in San Francisco.
This is her directorial debut in directing a narrative film, and this is also her first comedic role as an actress.
Arielle Thomas during the Q&A
The 2017 Audience Award at Australian Short Film Today in Paris went to The Mother Situation, directed by Matt Day, a dark comedy linking assisted suicide with Sydney home prices.
The Paris evening was presented in association with Bernard Bories of Cinéma des Antipodes, whose Rencontres du Cinéma des Antipodes, featuring Australian and New Zealand feature films and short films, takes place in October each year in Saint Tropez.
Ladygrey director Alain Choquart
Mathew Gledhill of StudioCanal
Q&A
Bernard Bories of Cinema des Antipodes
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH
HOSTED BY
