Curious about film making, and how to get your film into a festival?

As part of Melbourne Women in Film Festival, ATOM’s Fast Forward series is delighted to present an opportunity for students to meet filmmakers and film festival programmers.

Participants will gain exclusive access to different short films across two different sessions with an in depth panel discussion between filmmakers and festival programmers. Following the discussions, there will also be a live student Q & A session with the panelists.

This is a marvellous opportunity to link with VCE Media Unit 1 and Unit 3, and Media Arts curriculum linking to representation, and institutional context.

The selected short films will be announced at the start of Term 1.

• Two session times are available, aimed at different year levels. This session starts at 2pm and is aimed at Senior Years.
• Students are welcome to attend both sessions, however please book separately for each event.
• If you are a teacher booking on behalf of your class group, please ensure you select the number of student tickets in your class.

AQUAPHOBE (dir. Melanie Easton) is the story of Miriam, a young woman who used to be a cat. After unexpectedly turning into a human one night, Miriam is suddenly faced with the challenges of the human world. When she embarks on a romance with Alex, her former owner and an aspiring pro swimmer, she's forced to confront her paralysing fear of water or risk losing her relationship.

For the Q & A, we will be joined by

Melanie Easton - Writer & Director

Melanie Easton is a Canadian/Australian writer and director based in Adelaide, South Australia. Her work includes the short film 'Aquaphobe', segment producing on the TV series 'Totally Wild' for Network Ten, and various film and television production office roles.

Claire Bishop - Cinematographer

Claire Bishop is an award-winning cinematographer and filmmaker. Her work spans across drama and documentary, and she recently studied with the ASC Masterclass in Los Angeles.

Sian Mitchell - Festival Director

Sian Mitchell is a lecturer in screen at Deakin University and Festival Director at the Melbourne Women in Film Festival where she loves finding and sharing incredible stories made for the screen with others.

About MWFF

Melbourne Women in Film Festival is a not-for-profit festival aimed at celebrating and supporting the work of women filmmakers and creatives – from directors, writers and producers to cinematographers, sound designers and editors.

Sian Mitchell is a lecturer in screen at Deakin University and Festival Director at the Melbourne Women in Film Festival where she loves finding and sharing incredible stories made for the screen with others. Sian's research has been published in areas of Australian and women’s screen practice have been published in journals and industry blogs, including Camera Obscura, Peephole Journal, NFSA, and the AFI Research Collection.

Melanie Ashe is a teaching associate at RMT University and the Education Co-ordinator at the Melbourne Women in Film Festival, where she has facilitated school screenings and run filmmaking workshops for young and aspiring filmmakers.

The 2021 festival will take place from February 17 to 21. Visit the MWFF website for more information: https://mwff.org.au/

About ATOM’s Fast Forward Program:

The FAST FORWARD program is offered as part of the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series. Events run as part of the program are designed to support our ATOM community to:

• Give students additional media activities
• Provide opportunities to extend their thinking
• Encourage and inspire students in future media industry careers!

Please Note:

• This event will be held online via Zoom Webinar. Attendees will receive access to the films and login information for the session via email in the lead up to the event.
• ATOM's FAST FORWARD program is supported by DET through the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series.