The excitement is really starting to build this week as TEDxSydney launches its film program for 2015. The program promises to engage and educate us in unexpected ways, which is apt considering the theme for this year’s event is ‘learning’.
‘’This year’s program will inspire wonder, delight and awe. Audiences will be transported to places they may not venture in their everyday lives,’’ said TEDxSydney Film Curator, Melanie Horkan.
The 2015 film program will consist of 12 short film debuts, plus a special surprise entry by world-acclaimed video company Universal Everything.
The program will include documentaries, animations and cinematic essays, and many of the films experiment with techniques such as stop motion animation, live action illustration and photographic collage. Amongst the line-up of films included in this year’s program are Jamie Andrei’s The Cancer Curing Pole Dancer, Melanie Horkan and Sinead McDevitt’s How to Fall in Love with a Stranger and Ian Shying’s We Never Learn.
“We search for unique vision and bold ideas for the film program. This year has been really exciting to discover new talent: the calibre of the short films is unprecedented. Many of the films are world premieres especially commissioned for TEDxSydney—a great platform for emerging filmmakers to build an audience.
“Last year the TEDxSydney YouTube channel had 8.9 million hits in the first month alone’’, Horkan said.
This year’s program is shaping up to be just as popular. We are most definitely in for a cinematic treat on 21 May.
TEDxSydney 2015 Film line-up:
Projections in the Forest – Tarek Mawed and Friedrich van Shoor
A projector is brought into the forest to reveal a glowing wonderland. Using trees, bushes, plants and creatures, the duo brings the forest to life with faux-bioluminescence.
Woven Threads – Michi Marosszeky and Paul Sullivan (3.24 mins)
Our shared human condition is the inspiration for Woven Threads. Through humour, delightful animations and simple story telling, the film places the asylum seeker or refugee into a circumstance with which we can identify.
We Never Learn – Ian Shying (2:00 mins)
A contemporary fable that seeks to reveal the inevitable repercussions of humanity’s inability to learn from its mistakes. Created using a combination of live action, animation, illustration and photographic collage.
How to Fall in Love with a Stranger – Melanie Horkan and Sinead McDevitt (2.5 mins)
Inspired by the 1990s experiment by Dr Aron, which used 36 questions and a 4-minute stare to make complete strangers fall in love. The film takes seven Sydney couples and puts the experiment to the test. Live action and animation.
Archaics Anonymous – In The Thicket
A stop motion animation featuring a self-help group for obsolescent inanimate objects including VHS, Betamax, C90 tapes and Vinyl among others. This is a light-hearted look at the eternal tension between the changing of the old and the new guards.
The Cancer Curing Pole Dancer – Jamie Andrei
Chinese Australian PhD student seeking a cure for cancer has a quarter life crisis and takes up pole dancing.
The luxury Cave with the Million Dollar Views – Jamie Andrei
Deep in the Blue Mountains, a man uses old convict tools to carve a beautifully intricate and magical cave reminiscent of Gaudi’s creations.
Vanessa Vanuatu – Kasimir Burgess
A day in the life of Vanessa, a young girl who uses a wheelchair. Vanessa has the hope of one day teaching children with disabilities.
The Unseen – BMF
Shot in a Sydney swimming pool on a long, hot summer’s day, this is a series of beautifully languid shots of swimmers set to classical music as they move gracefully through the water. As they move trails of coloured dye follow them.
Sound Advice – Paper Moose
A montage of different people giving advice about their various trades, teaching people how to do things. However, the advice will often be absurd and irreverent.
By The Book – Imagination
A short cinematic essay about the beauty of the book.