Freshly Squeezed Shorts 2

sunday 23rd March, 4pm
105 mins, Cinema 2, ACMI

Full: $18
Concession: $14
ACMI Member: $12

This session is Unclassified 15+.

The Melbourne Women in Film Festival is proud to showcase the work of women and gender diverse filmmakers and storytellers. This means that we sometimes include films or panel topics that may explore difficult subjects and be confronting for some audiences. Our aim is to ensure our audience has a safe and enjoyable experience when coming along to our festival and so we have included content warnings, classification and cultural information throughout the program.

Please take the time to read the film synopses below to determine whether the session is suitable for you.

From stories that honour women past and present to the accidental kidnapping of gnome, Freshly Squeezed Shorts 2 showcases the latest and best short films from our region's women and gender diverse filmmakers.

  • Witnessing Her Last Fall

    Australian Premiere

    The victim of the new case, a familiar face from the sealed past—a detective finds herself stuck in the memory of that one summer and is on a swirling path to be complicit in the aching truth.

    Australia/China, 2024, 15 minutes
    Director: Ziyi Nan

  • Outpicker

    A queer immigrant finds a sense of belonging in the Australian landscape through litter-picking.

    Australia, 2023, 14 minutes
    English, Mandarin Chinese
    Director: Le Luo
    Writer: Le Luo
    Producer: Feifei Liao

  • Pond

    Part 3 of The Binary Coalescence Project, POND is a scientifically-accurate allegory for the process of binary coalescence, inspired by the work of astrophysicist Dr Linqing Wen.

    The Person lives alone, in peaceful but repetitive isolation, until their routine is upended by The Scientist, whose broadcast has moved into their orbit. The pull towards each other is irresistible, ending in the most joyful and complete fashion imaginable.

    With The Person and The Scientist playing the roles of neutron stars, and Water standing in as the physical embodiment of gravity, the film is a meditation on loneliness, connection across space, and the irresistible force of attraction.

    Australia, 2022, 7 minutes
    Director: Jennifer 'JP' Piper
    Producers: Claire Bowen, Jennifer 'JP' Piper, Aiv Puglielli

  • Dead Lesbians

    As she prepares for a first date, Isabelle is pestered by the apparition of Dorothy Ainsworth, a chain-smoking, well-spoken, long-since deceased author of 1950’s lesbian pulp novels. Isabelle is grappling with ‘dead lesbian syndrome’ and resents Dorothy for perpetuating it in her writing. In the end, Dorothy highlights the freedoms Isabelle enjoys as a queer woman today and reminds her to be grateful for the privileges she enjoys - including a hugely successful first date.

    Australia, 2023, 13 minutes
    English
    Director: Eva Justine Torkkola
    Writer: Jaq Avery
    Producer: Jaq Avery

  • Gnome

    To cope with the unexpected loss of their good friend, three teenagers rent out a cottage, do shrooms and accidentally kidnap a gnome.

    Australia, 2024, 11 minutes
    English
    Director: Kavitha Anandasivam
    Writer: Kavitha Anandasivam
    Producer: Ashleigh Knott

  • Housekeepers

    Victorian Premiere

    A tween's childhood comes to a premature end in light of her non-English mother's sacking, upending their parent-child relationship.

    Australia, 2024, 12 minutes
    English, Japanese
    Director: Kaede Miyamura
    Writer: Kaede Miyamura
    Producer: Evangeline Parks

  • Lǎo Lao Lǎo Le

    Australian Premiere

    When a young boy is left home alone with his increasingly unwell grandmother, he is forced to come to terms with her deterioration.

    Aotearoa NZ, 2023, 15 minutes
    English, Mandarin Chinese
    Director: Julie Zhu
    Writer: Julie Zhu
    Producers: Jazz dos Santos, Puteri Raja Ariff, Julie Zhu

  • The Queen’s Flowers

    A magical take on a true story, The Queen’s Flowers is an animated short adventure that follows Emma, a native Hawaiian girl in 1915 Honolulu, as she makes a special gift for the last monarch of Hawai`i, Queen Lili`uokalani.

    USA, 2024, 12 minutes
    English
    Director: Ciara Leinaala Lacy
    Writer: Ciara Leinaala Lacy
    Producers: Ciara Leinaala Lacy, Concepcion Saucedo-Trejo

  • Threshold

    Threshold is a deeply personal exploration of what it means to have a little machine as part of your body, a portrayal of the Deaf experience rarely seen. The acceptance of a cochlear implant is not an automatic, seamless entry to a world of sound but rather a chaotic understanding of what it is like to hear.

    Australia, 2023, 8 minutes
    English
    Director: Sofya Gollan
    Writer: Sofya Gollan
    Producers: Rhianna Spooner, Naomi Just