Next Gen Shorts

Book Tickets

Saturday 25th February, 4pm
Cinema 2, ACMI

This session is Unclassified 15+.

The Melbourne Women in Film Festival is proud to showcase the work of women and gender diverse filmmakers and storytellers. This means that we sometimes include films or panel topics that may explore difficult subjects and be confronting for some audiences. Our aim is to ensure our audience has a safe and enjoyable experience when coming along to our festival and so we have included content warnings, classification and cultural information throughout the program.

Please take the time to read the film synopses below to determine whether the session is suitable for you.

  • A younf Asian woman in a black long sleeve bathing suit is squatting at the bottom of a lap pool under water.

    Peanut

    CW: Themes relating to abortion

    Odette struggles with her identity and relationship after deciding to terminate her pregnancy, she seeks comfort in the pool, trying to find a way forward.

    2021, 13 minutes
    Director: Taihra Swaine
    Writer: Taihra Swaine
    Producer: Alzbeta Rekosh

  • An image of a girl from the shoulders up wearing a green top and beige fisherman's hat. Behind her an older woman in a brown cardigan is standing in profile. There are trees in the background.

    Before We're Gone

    Befriending a resilient older woman, an ambitious young girl tries to save the planet from climate crisis, until her brother forces her to choose between saving the world and helping her own struggling family.

    2021, 16 minutes
    Director: Lilli Corrias-Smith
    Writer: Lilli Corrias-Smith
    Producer: Jenny Qu
    Director of Photography: Natalie Dundas Editor: Annabel Maloney

  • An older white man stands behind a large pile of brown onions. He is wearing a blue check short and has a long grey beard.

    Onions

    Over the course of the onion growing season of 2020 in a small town in regional Victoria, a daughter returns home to visit her parents and film her father growing his annual prized crop of onions. She learns many things about onions during these visits. From planting to harvest, as the seasons unfold, the filmmaker explores the many differences between herself and her father whilst also unearthing some unexpected similarities. Exploring the contrasting worlds of country and city life, the filmmaker realises there was more to learn from home than she had first thought. This visually striking film which is rich with metaphor explores what it is to grow onions and to grow up.

    2021, 11 minutes
    Director: Emmy Clifton
    Writer: Emmy Clifton

  • A close up of a young white woman with short curly brown hair holding the handset of an old rotary-style phone.

    Through Fault

    CW: Themes of homophobia and mental illness

    Set in Melbourne, Australia in 1990. Jo, a young Catholic woman, volunteers as a HIV hotline counsellor expecting to answer calls from the ill-informed public. However, when her first caller is a young man suffering from AIDS-associated dementia, Jo is finally forced to confront the realities of the epidemic she’s been ignoring; all in the span of a single conversation.

    2022, 15 minutes
    Director: Emily Brown
    Writer: Emily Brown
    Producers: Frankie Hopkins, Patrick Mantynen

  • A bright pink bakground with an orange silhouette of a girl standing to the side. Another smaller and purple silhouette of the girl bending back with her arms up is near the front of the image.

    Crave

    Exploring feelings of disconnect, ‘Crave’ aims to uncover how cultural differences can have a profound effect on your inner psyche and the way you see yourself in the world…and it all starts with a Vegemite scroll.

    2021, 5 minutes
    Director: Vivian Tang
    Writers: Vivian Tang, Sara Zelinger
    Producer: Sara Zelinger

  • An image from the perspective of above of a dinner table covered in a red table cloth and many plates of Chinese food. A set of hands at one of the placements and the arms of girl dishing up a meal are seen.

    Bubble

    A story of bonding, culture and connection through food. A lonely immigrant mother and her Chinese-Australian daughter reconnect through the ceremony of sharing a meal to celebrate Chinese New Year, .

    2019, 12 minutes
    Director: Gwendolyn Lin
    Writer: Gwendolyn Lin
    Producer: Yushan Mai

  • An image of a woman from the chest up. She is wearing a cat-like black mask across her eyes and a black bra. She is in a dimly lit brick room with a dressing screening in the background.

    The Holy Whore

    Lilli is a 33-year-old sex worker at Metropolis, Melbourne's most exclusive 6-star brothel. Branded as the Exotic Oriental Princess, Lilli is the top-performing girl and has a long waiting list of regular clients with an Asian Fetish. On a busy Friday night, Lilli services a; too-cool hipster hungry for validation, a narcissistic submissive ready to blow off some steam and a lonely old white man desperate for some company. The Holy Whore explores the private personas of brothel patrons and what lurks beneath the appearance of toxic masculinity.

    2022, 11 minutes
    Directors: Theresa Angela, Hamza Shahid
    Writer: Theresa Angela
    Producer: Theresa Angela

  • A close up of an elderly man's face in profile. He has a large scruffy white beard.

    Bustard Head

    CW: Themes of suicide and death.

    Bustard Head recounts the tragic life story of Nils Gibson during his station at Australia’s most gruesome lighthouse. Shining a light on the harsh realities of life at the light-station in the 1800s, this documentary delves into the devastating effects of the extreme isolation on the mental and physical health of its inhabitants.

    2022, 10 minutes
    Director: Lucy Lakshman
    Writer: Alex Binz
    Producer: Joshua Francillon

  • An image of a city skyline on a grey cloudy day. In the foreground is a pier with a young man walking down it, his back facing us.

    Queernation

    CW: Brief mention of suicide. Strobe lighting.

    In the midst of a COVID world, LGBTQIA+ community peer Christian Kurt Mendoza battles to keep himself and his community connected and alive.

    2021, 6 minutes
    Director: Jhaz Bullen-Williams
    Writer: Jhaz Bullen-Williams
    Producer: Leslie Hornung

  • Two white women are sitting on a wood bench with backs facing us. One is wearing a black puffer vest with a long-sleeved green top underneath and jeans. The other is wearing a mustard beanie and red rain jacket. They are looking over a coastline.

    Finding the Lighthouse

    Two estranged sisters meet at a rural car park with one objective… to take their recently deceased mother’s ashes to the lighthouse they once went to as kids. On the journey, they each battle with the awkwardness of the situation while re-discovering their relationship. Emilia reveals something to Charlie that changes the dynamic of their relationship completely. The walk started as duty but ended as re-connection and finally, aroha as a result of the shared experience.

    2021, 10 minutes
    Writers: Annie Wykes, Michael Cox
    Producer: Annie Wykes
    Director: Michael Cox