Reelife Film Festival
It's been a long time coming, but the festival has now reached the end and the winners have been chosen.
The Reelife team has been ultra-busy ensuring this year's entries were comparative to 2006's entries, and they've not let the viewing public down.
Not only did the competition include feature-like expressionism, but also inclduded Linklater-inspired rotorscoping techniques, foreign documentary, life in the outer-Melbourne suburbs and a host of uniquely-visioned filmmaking. After all, it's a festival designed not only to give youths a go, but also let the world know there are major talents emerging from Australia
Nice Shorts has been immenseley proud to be the online partner for the festival, and wishes every entrant, finalist or otherwise, every success along their filmmaking journey.
The Winners
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Davey Sams - Dreams
Emily Rose is a Fine Arts student living in the city when one day she runs into old flame Dreams, who is now a jaded and cynical photographer and threatens to bring her to his level.
Davey's cinematography efforts got him the following prizes:
Sydney Film School - one weekend cinematography workshop valued at $800
Crumpler – 1 Reelife Crumpler messenger bag
Dendy – free double entry pass
BEST UNDER 18
Tony Gleed - I Am Grateful
Danny has finally cleaned himself up. After years of drug abuse and addiction, he abandoned his junkie girlfriend. Danny, now attempting to move on from his past, is haunted by Jess' increasingly disturbing answering machine messages. She's is getting to Danny, leading him down a path of madness.
Tony Gleed's work has helped him get the following:
Metro Screen - $400 towards short courses and equipment hire at Metro Screen
Crumpler – 1 customised Reelife Crumpler Complete Seed messenger bag
Dendy – free double entry pass
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Genevieve Bailey - Kompis
Osama and Sahin are 11 and live in Malmo, Sweden. Every Tuesday at 4.30 they take the bus to Rosengard, where Berrang teaches them how to rhyme and express themselves in rap school.
Genevieve's doco was cool enough to land her:
AFTRS – 1 short course of their choice with a maximum value of $1,000
Crumpler – 1 customised Reelife Crumpler Complete Seed messenger bag
Dendy – free double entry pass
The Finalists
Wally
Little Maltida cannot stand her new dog, Wally. In retaliation to his constant bad habits, she sets him up for a seemingly innocent crime involving chocolate cake.
Drift
Two friends watch a bum on the street and reflect on their own experiences and choices in life.
Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?
The production becomes more dramatic than anything Shakespeare could have intended. Romeo gets locked up, Juliet is expecting a baby, and someone has nicked the camera…
Hike
The story starts at the end and ends at the ‘beginning’. It opens on Kim stumbling, battered and bruised, through a pine tree forest. The film slowly reveals how Kim ended up so far from where she began.
Kiama's Tracks
Kiama’s Tracks explores the confronting topic of assimilation in the early 70’s and growing up within a white foster family. We follow the main character, Kiama, as she battles with the struggles of peer pressure, drug use and Identity.
Larevedere
When Carmen’s mother Angela decides to take her back home to the “old country” of Romania during the summertime there couldn’t be any better opportunity to have more fun.
Next Try Wins
Next Try Wins Centres on two brothers trying to escape a discouraging family life through Australia’s favourite sport, Rugby League.
Skin And Fashion
The Muslim/Lebanese religion in Australia is topical as their cultural beliefs differ from ours. This short film sheds a different light on how young Muslim Australians are affected in Australia by living in a Western pop culture – both its negatives and positives.
Vote For Jack
The Sharehouse – A breeding ground for hatred, vengeance and worst of all democracy. When inverted Gil gets pushed to his limits, his hatred towards fun-loving Jack becomes too much to bare leaving him no choice but to start a war. A war that noone else is playing.
Talking Truth
In an attempt to uncover some truth, alone in a room with a camera and a young woman, 12 males were interviewed about life, being a male and what that means to them.