Beneath the Southern Cross
Christmas comes in summer, and water drains in the other direction, but filmmakers on the south side of the equator are anything but backward. These eclectic shorts demonstrate keen attention to the human condition and the ways that others' choices can dramatically affect our lives. In Lala Rolls' Fish out of Water (New Zealand 9 mins), a clever commuter finds his maritime morning ritual rudely altered. Veialu Aila-Unsworth's Blue Willow (New Zealand 14 mins) is a uniquely animated tragic love story based on an antique china pattern. In Elalini (Place of Rest) (South Africa 27 mins) by Tristan Holmes, a policewoman is revisited by her past and the family she tried to leave behind. Shona McCullagh's Break (New Zealand 14 mins) is a beautifully choreographed dance between a mixed-race couple and their child, capturing the emotions that bring them together and tear them apart. In Story of Hong (Australia/Singapore 15 mins), Melanie Rodriga reveals the extreme social and academic pressures on a young girl. And in Damon Fepulea’i's Karma (New Zealand 9 mins), what comes around, goes around. — J. Parsont
Shorts in Program
Blue Willow
2006 New Zealand 14 Min
Director: Veialu Aila-Unsworth
Print Source: The New Zealand Film Commission
Break
2005 New Zealand 14 Min
Director: Shona McCullagh
Print Source: The New Zealand Film Commission
Elalini (Place of Rest)
2006 South Africa 27 Min
Director: Tristan Holmes
Print Source: Tristan Holmes
Fish Out of Water
2005 New Zealand 9 Min
Director: Lala Rolls
Print Source: The New Zealand Film Commission
Karma
2005 New Zealand 11 Min
Director: Damon Fepulea'i
Print Source: The New Zealand Film Commission
Story of Hong
2005 Singapore/ Australia 16 Min
Director: Cassandra Wong
Print Source: Murdoch University, School of Media
