AIFF23 PROGRAmMe
AROUND THE WORLD - opening night
SCREENING SESSION ONE - TICKETS $15 + booking fee
Friday 27 OCTOBER - MEtro arts west end
Doors @ 6.45pm
Screening @ 7pm - 9pm (approx)
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AIFF 2023 begins with a bang. Join the opening night celebrations as we start our film journey in Queensland, travel around the world with some of the best international shorts, and finish here at home again. The bar will be stocked, so grab a drink, sit back and enjoy traversing the globe with a stellar night of films.
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THE MUSE Director Jessica Sherlock (QLD)
Through the lens of desire, a voyeuristic artist captures more than images when she photographs her alluring neighbor.


THE COMPLAINT Director Maria Trevis (UK)
Katy, frustrated with the institution responsible for her future career takes her complaint to the top. Through a bizarre and archaic turn of events, the world she knows unravels around her, causing her to question her reality.
I’M NOT A ROBOT Director Victoria Warmerdam (Netherlands)
After repeatedly failing Captcha tests, music producer Lara becomes obsessed with a disturbing question: could she be a robot?


MINUTES TO GO Director Rick Page (USA)
The end of a couple's life-long journey, as the love they've shared for nearly 70 years propels them into what comes next.
intermission
DIARY OF A GHOST Director Caroline Hajny (UK)
After the loss of her first love, a young woman keeps a diary to process her grief, blurring the line between reality and imagination.


LOSER Director Colleen McGuinness (USA)
LOSER follows 22-year-old ALICE, who works at a frozen yogurt shop, on what turns out to be an unforgettable day of her life.
THE BIKE - vosta Director Joseph Boujenah (France)
Along the banks of the Seine, a young man finds himself in despair after a mechanical mishap with his bicycle. The unexpected comes to life when a mysterious young woman appears, determined to help.


BAJUDH Director Carlos Serment (Mexico)
The vision, the struggle and the resistance of a Tének girl to be the first woman to dance the "Bixom T'iw or Dance of the Sparrowhawk" in a world where only men can fly.
YAKKA Director Jack Shepherd (AUS)
On a secluded Australian estuary, as two young brothers grapple for their neglectful father’s approval, their usual pastime of exploring empty holiday houses goes awry, and a violent mistake will shatter their fragile bond forever.

SEQ FUTURE STARS - NEW -
SCREENING SESSION TWO - TICKETS $15 + booking fee
SATURDAY 28 October - MEtro arts west end
Doors @ 09.45 pm
Screening & AWARDS @ 10am - 12.30Am (approx)
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AIFF is proud to present a screening session of the very best short films from Southeast Queensland high school STUDENTS in Grades 10 to 12. In a first for a SEQ STUDENT film festival category a panel of industry professionals and respected community members will adjudicate each finalist film as it is live screened. The session will conclude with a very special awards ceremony.
- This session will be about local students for local students -
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SCREENING ORDER TO CHANGE - tickets & FULL PROGRAMME OCTOBER 1
Skin
Director Sol Rain
Ghostwire
Director Congdon Harrison
Pinky Pop
Director Sol Rain Hibberd
The Last Charge
Director Andrew Lu
Arthur; A Knights Quest
Director Scott Tamblyn
Slade's Story
Director Lucas Sebastian Measham
As Time Goes By
Director Morgan Duckett
Day Dreamer
Director Patrick Jones
Borderline
Director Jonathan Legrand
A Quest for Inspiration
Director Gabriel Danoy-Monet
Iris
Director Sylvia Rodda
Outbound
Director Zach May
Dakoda and Daisy
Director Talita Gitsham
Under Guise
Director Ashley Wong
Foundation
Director Jack Hinz
To Distill A Spirit
Director Alan Madappatt
Spotto
Directors Luke Dunlop & Kilian Veerman
Tipping Point
Director Ivy Tucker
I'm Coughing Up Pink Gunk Again So Now I Need Your Money
Director Francis Lau
KEEPING IT REAL - documentaries
SCREENING SESSION THREE - TICKETS $15 + booking fee
SATURDAY 28 October - MEtro arts west end
Doors @ 12.45 pm
Screening @ 1pm - 3pm (approx)
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Documentary lovers - this session is for you. Join us for an afternoon dedicated to some amazing true stories sourced from all corners of the World, as well as a few from our own backyard. you don’t want to miss this opportunity to see some unique stories on screen.
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BURNT COUNTRY Director Kirsten Slemint (QLD)
Could Australia’s past help secure its future? 65,000 years in the making, Burnt Country is about fighting fire, with fire. It explores the profound knowledge and wisdom of First Nations, and how we can connect to country and community.


DESIGNED BY DISASTER Director James 'Q' Martin (USA)
An inspiring story about Danny Giovale, a passionate climber whose life-changing accident in the Dolomites compels him to address a critical safety gap in mountaineering.
ENVISION Director Yuichi Ishida (Japan)
Yoko Arano, a legendary Japanese calligrapher has not yet completely felt satisfied with her artwork even though she has been writing for over 60 years. She how she expresses her life through calligraphy.


ENTROPY Director Inuk Jørgensen (Greenland)
The melting of the Greenlandic ice sheet threatens the sacred connection between the land molded by ice and the Inuit who live there. Told from an Indigenous perspective the film celebrates mythology as much as it laments the loss of nature.
BORN TO HUSTLE Director Grace Anna Cardona (AUS)
Carve open the frenzied mind of Emma Addams and you’ll discover an unruly symphony of many different players. Jeweler, Artist, Entrepreneur, Born Hustler - simultaneously compromised but brilliant.


EVERYWHERE Directors Kate Campbell & Claire Ha (AUS)
Follow the remarkable journey of The Periscope Crew, a film crew of young people living with disabilities, invited to cover the 2023 World Transplant Games.
SOFA SESSION
Screening session FOUR - TICKETS $15 + booking fee
Saturday 28 october - MEtro arts west end
Doors @ 3:45PM
Screening @ 4:00PM - 6:00PM (approx)
Dark, edgy, very Halloween, and definitely Adults Only. A mix of styles and genres that push the boundaries from Queensland all the way to the other side, with a few chilling stopovers on the way.
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THE MAGIC VIOLET RABBITDirector Kotoko Nakamura (Japan)
To escape from his dull life, a man wishes to become a wizard. He wants to be a "real" wizard, not a "fake" one.


CIRCLE Director Ke Wang (China)
After failing in the ring, Bökh wrestler Temur returns to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, where he seems to catch a glimpse of his old indomitable self in the form of a younger wrestler.
AVE MARIE Director Celestina Sumby (NZ)
When Marie's gender-bending brother decides to take on the local BMX gang and fight back, it is up to her and dance to stand beside him and bring peace to the neighborhood.


THE GRACEFUL ACT Director Jimmy Woo (NZ)
A chance meeting between an inquisitive schoolboy and a captivating bookstore employee ignites a sweet connection testament to the power of stories and the unexpected encounters life offers.
NEXT TO ME Director Evie Goodswen (AUS)
On a family camping trip, Dani and her cherished dog George hatch a plan to turn their dull afternoon into an action-packed adventure but first they must evade her dad’s watchful eye.


MR CHICKEN GOES TO MARS Directors Katrina Mathers & Leigh Hobbs (AUS)
Mr Chicken goes to Mars. It's a big day.
HOME GROWN AUSTRALIAN SHORTS and award ceremony
SCREENING SESSION Five - TICKETS $15 + booking fee
Saturday 28 OCTOBER - MEtro arts west end
Doors @ 6:45PM
Screening @ 7:00PM - 9:00PM (approx)
AWARDS @ 9:00pm - 9:30pm (APPROX)
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The night of nights. Last but definitely not least, AIFF23 will present some of the very best shorts from Brisbane, Queensland and across this great land. With a session full of thought provoking stories, we’re finishing on a high. Straight after the screening, we’ll celebrate the best of the best with our awards ceremony before heading to The Boundary Hotel to send off AIFF23 in style.
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ESPERANCE TO FREMANTLE Director William Turner (AUS)
Not having seen his father for years, a wayward teenager, tracks him down in a pub. Rob resolves to approach him as if he were a stranger to discover who he really is and why he left.


UNDER THE WATER Director Isabella Andronos (AUS)
When an eleven-year-old girl is confronted with misogynistic taunts and violence from the boys in her town, a series of strange happenings lead to her revisit a storybook about the sirens of the sea. Inspired by these strange creatures, she finds the power in herself to push back.
JASON IS MY DAD Director Ashley Zukerman (AUS)
An uber driver finds himself helping a private school kid with a paper route while trying to get a refund for a washing machine that he says never arrived.


ERZI Directors Kailani D'Amour, Tin Huyen Pham (QLD)
Erzi decides to become a professional musician, but his mother’s history of rejection may ultimately pull them apart.
intermission
DANCING ON A FLYING CARPET Director Leila Honari (QLD)
A mesmerizing dance unfolds on a carpet of lights, portraying migratory seabirds trapped on its borders. The dancer channels their desires, creating a poetic fusion symbolizing the collective search for freedom in the intricate patterns of nature.


UNTETHERED Director Alfie Faber (AUS)
Sam in a drug-fueled haze, does everything to avoid what used to bring her joy, but now the avoidance wants her to destroy herself - so she does. As her insecurity spirals into a surreal nightmare, her mother loses patience and gives her an ultimatum.
DREAMLINK Director Kalani Gacon (AUS)
The crumbling relationship between an influencer mother and her neglected daughter finds an unexpected remedy in DreamLink, a revolutionary app merging dreams and reality that promises to connect them with the person they need most.


SONOS Director Anderson Shane (QLD)
A occult collector gets more than he bargained for when he buys some haunted audio cassettes.
REAR VIEW MIRROR Director Sean Loch (QLD)
Stranded on a remote desert highway, a young couple soon discover they are not alone.


INSUFFERABLE Director Stig Wemyss (AUS)
Losing a loved one after 60 years of marriage is never easy. For Terry letting go is not an option, so he begins mummifying his wife's body to immortalize her forever.
SMOKO Directors Steven Cooper & Adam Gunn (AUS)
Brandon, a tradie, and Brenda, an ibis, meet up on a park bench in Chippo every day for smoko where they chew the fat about whatever pops up.


THE CAT CONUNDRUM Director Emer Rafferty (AUS)
We claim to love them but humanity’s fascination with cats has reaped disastrous consequences. What is best for these elusive creatures, and how do we go about solving The Cat Conundrum?
AIFF24 SHORT SCREENPLAY FINALISTS
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​Clockwork - Writer Ross James Luttrell
If You Show Me Yours I'll Show You Mine - Writer Riya Agarwal
Side Effects - Writer Fred Perry