Event

Rites of Passage, Last Supper, and All Things Hidden

RITES OF PASSAGE (Phillip Crawford, 80 min.)

Filmed over three years by the community arts organisation Beyond Empathy (BE), six interwoven stories show the risk-taking, disappointment, joys and love that come with growing up. While their stories might be raw and brutal, they are also full of irreverence and humour.

They might battle homelessness or addictions. They might live in public housing or come from families that have known hardship. But their performances on the screen and behind the camera prove that disadvantage needn't dictate your future.

For these young people, making the film became a rite of passage. The authenticity that these non-actors bring to the screen blurs the line between fact and fiction.

The film is an innovative collage of colour and texture, shot in glorious mayhem on cameras ranging from 16mm, Super 8, Digital SLRs, Handycams, Infrared Black and White and iPhones. It is directed by award-winning film-maker Phillip Crawford and funded by BE, aided by a highly successful crowd-funding campaign.

LAST SUPPER (Ira Chute, 6 min.)

An artist becomes obsessed with her local newspaper's detailed description of an executed prisoner's final meal request, leading her on a personal crusade to see the death penalty abolished through her artistic protest of painting more than 500 final meal requests on ceramic plates.

ALL THINGS HIDDEN (Sean Avichouser and Persephone Vandegrift, 18 min.)

A woman struggles to overcome her tragic past after she visits her childhood home. All Things Hidden is an inspiring film on domestic violence uniquely told from little girl's POV.