Short films create snapshots of everyday Kiwis

The final assignment of a second-year film production class at Victoria University has led to some striking portrayals of everyday New Zealanders.

Students in Film 210: Introduction to Film Production were asked to produce a portrait of themselves, or someone else, as their final short film project. The brief was to create a piece that says something meaningful about the person, their understanding of the world, an experience that has shaped them significantly, or provides insight into another person’s life. 

The students produced films covering a range of topics, from the subtle philosophy of a farmer (All Flesh Is Grass) to a dialogue-free impressionistic piece about the soothing effect of music (Music Therapy), to a young woman with an intellectual disability who is unable to speak (Alice). 

In their films, the students use many of the techniques, narrative approaches and visual methodologies that they have been taught in class. The films are shot with very limited resources, such as a handycam and a simple sound recording device. 

“All the films treat their subjects and viewers with respect and employ visual means of communicating their stories really effectively,” says film lecturer Dr Paul Wolffram.

“In the class I encourage the students to take risks and expose something of themselves, who they are and what they feel passionate about. I teach them that drama and real narrative power is achievable in short non-fictional film works if you expose and explore real emotions and genuine feelings.

“This year’s class was remarkable and I’m very pleased with the results that came out of it.”

Eight of the films from this class can now be viewed on Vimeo:
Responsibility—Jennifer Smith:  http://vimeo.com/110926278
#Abi4Mayor—Katie Ayling: http://vimeo.com/110926276 
Music Therapy—Tori Miller: http://vimeo.com/110852535
More to Me—Jesse Strong: http://vimeo.com/110852534
Child of the Forest—Annie Sanders: http://vimeo.com/110852319
TTM - Anna Hulley: http://vimeo.com/110851894
All Flesh Is Grass—Henry Bennison: http://vimeo.com/110849757
Alice—Lucy Holyoake: http://vimeo.com/110755631