Would we have had this years Mystery Road without Ivan Sen’s ’98 short Vanish? Or Robert Connolly’s million dollar success The Turning without his ’97 short Rust Bucket?
The fact is short films are the backbone of the film industry and the beginning of amazing careers for some of the world’s greatest auteurs.
Here, Cinema Australia takes a look at the four shorts the Australian Film Institute deems the years best.
BUTTERFLIES
Directed by: Isabel Peppard
Starring: Rachel Griffiths and Nicholas Hope
Compared to the other nominees Isabel Peppard’s atmospheric animation style stands out the most. It’s unique and comes across as very personal – you can tell she’s in love with her craft.
Her creations are confronting and grossly graphic, just like the story they occupy.
When a young, struggling street artist is hired by a demanding greeting card company her imagination is threatened by her laborious and mundane means of earning a living.
Apart from the strange and abrupt ending Butterflies flutters and stirs our inner emotions, it’s honesty echoes most of our day-to-day lives. It’s professionalism is what you would come to expect from the Mary and Max contributor.
Director Isabel Peppard told Cinema Australia: Winning the AACTA would be a dream come true.
Cinema Australia 