Films by student, lecturers for Venice Film Fest

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Zahara Abbawaajji as Abeba in Coffee & Allah

MEDIA RELEASE
23 AUGUST

Films by student, lecturers selected for Venice Film Festival

A student and two lecturers from The University of Auckland's Department of Film Television and Media Studies (FTVMS) have had their films accepted in the short film category of the prestigious Venice Film Festival.

Although strikingly different in their content, both films explore universal themes of violence and xenophobia and depart from the traditional New Zealand filmic landscape.

Postgraduate Leo Woodhead wrote and directed Cargo as his masters thesis project. The 12-minute film, which was self-funded for $8,000, was almost entirely set and shot in the Czech Republic. Supervised by Vanessa Alexander, herself a past FTVMS graduate and now a lecturer and producer, the film stars Czech actors and has English subtitles. Filmed from the perspective of a kidnapped boy, Cargo offers a bleakly realistic look at child trafficking.

Leo says the idea came to him as the Football World Cup was being played in Germany, amid reports of legal brothels being set up to accommodate the desires of travelling fans.

"I've always had an interest in the parts of human nature that are cyclical, and the cyclical nature of violent behaviour towards others is a universal problem. I think this is one of the reasons the film strikes a chord with so many people," says Leo, whose film will also be shown at the London Film Festival later in the year.

FTVMS senior lecturers Shuchi Kothari and Sarina Pearson have also had their film selected for the short film category. The 14-minute Coffee and Allah, which is directed by Sima Urale, explores a New Zealand Ethiopian Muslim woman's appetite for coffee, Islam and a good game of badminton.

"In the global climate of Islamophobia and the more recent attacks on Muslims in New Zealand, I felt the need to tell a story of a young Muslim woman who yearns to make a human connection in her new homeland," says Shuchi who, along with Sarina, produces films and writes about displacement and difference.

FTVMS Head Duncan Petrie says the fact that two of just 16 short film finalists hail from the University reflects the strength and quality of the department.

"It's particularly pleasing that the work of our established film-makers on the staff and emerging talent from among the students are being showcased side by side. That demonstrates the strength in depth that we aspire to in the department," says FTVMS Head of Department Professor Duncan Petrie. "The inclusion of Cargo also makes Leo the eleventh graduate from our programme to have their work screened in an international festival and our second film to screen in an A-list international festival. That's a record no other tertiary institution in New Zealand can match."

The oldest film festival in the world, the Venice Film Festival's goal is to encourage the awareness and promotion of all aspects of international cinema as art, entertainment and industry, in a spirit of freedom and tolerance.

Cargo and Coffee and Allah are funded by the Short Film Fund of The New Zealand Film Commission. Coffee & Allah is also partially funded by a National Geographic All Roads Seed Grant and The University of Auckland Research Fund.

ENDS

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