Students set to shine at film fest

The CinefestOz Film Festival has selected two Busselton students to represent their schools as finalists in the Cinesnaps Short Film Competition.

Talented young filmmakers Bella Montgomery, 16, from Busselton Senior High School and Poppy Treloar, 17, from Georgiana Molloy Anglican School will next month showcase their films and walk the red carpet at the Cinesnaps Grand Finale.

The annual competition invited aspiring filmmakers aged between 15 and 18 from South West schools to create a three-to-five-minute film exploring the theme Suitcase.

GMAS student Treloar said the theme intended to lead your mind towards getting out and travelling, but she wanted to try something different with her short film Sand Box.

“I was listening to a TED talk about a lady who had agoraphobia and found it really interesting,” she said.

“I think the contrast between something that beckons you outside, like the suitcase, and something that traps you in, like agoraphobia, creates this intense emotional conflict for a character, making a great short film.”

Treloar said the process of creating the short film had taught her the importance of multiple backups after she almost lost two months of work.

BSHS’ Montgomery said the creation of her short film Non-entity was smooth and enjoyable.

Montgomery said the production of Non-entity aimed to reflect the stigma surrounding refugees who were turned away from Australia.

“I wanted to create something that was more aimed towards the general public rather than a teenager, which I had chosen to do previously,” she said.

“It was a really good experience to do something that wasn’t about myself (and) wasn’t something I could directly relate to, but rather something I think we can all understand and look at from a different perspective.”

CinefestOZ chief executive Malinda Nixon said the level of entries for this year’s competition was impressive considering the challenges students faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Each year we never cease to be amazed by the talent shown by our students,” she said.

“This year in particular, we applaud all our entrants on what they have achieved during such a tumultuous time.”

CinefestOZ will be the first Australian film festival to host screenings for live cinema audiences since COVID-19 restrictions were eased.