The quality of film is going down. No, I am not talking about the Monash Malaysia Film Department. Movie theatres are skimping on quality screenings to save money and increase the lifespan of their equipment. Every film is a sequel or a remake or a badly colourised musical (They were…popular). One is bound to lose their hope in the things that make film authentic: passion. And, there are none more passionate than film students. 

The resident film club at Monash opened the student-made short films screening by acknowledging the core of the event: the talent that encompasses every aspect of filming like cinematography, sound, acting and more. This was part of a 3-day event that aimed to create community, platform creative voices on campus, and ultimately “bridge the gap” between the audience and the filmmaker. To encourage more participation, the screening was also a competition where two professors, the club committee and the audience present vote on their favourites. The event was divided into 2 showcases with a short break in between complete with pastries and natural conversation about the nuances of lighting. After the jolly introduction, the lights are dimmed and you are transported to a pocket universe where nothing exists but you and the world on the screen.

The showcase involved a variety of entries, everything from passion projects to university assignments. The first film was titled “Sein”, which means “to be” in German. This was one of my favourites, there was something so poignant about how introversion makes you more attuned to your surroundings and that when connection does happen, it feels all the more intense. Other entries include a piece inspired by German Expressionism, a few Wes-Anderson inspired films, atmospheric pieces which felt heavy with feeling, and a few comedic ones including a TLC-style mockumentary on matcha addiction. Other topics ranged from exploring homosexuality in cyberpunk Hong Kong, personal takes on horror and mythology, as well as fame and love and humanity. MONGA also submitted their own short film which was not part of the actual competition, and the key takeaway from the film turned out to be that the director’s mom kept pasta in the fridge instead of the shelves in her kitchen. It was extremely enlightening to see the different filming techniques and aesthetic choices used by the crew, in fact a proper roundtable with all of the filmmakers would have been enjoyable to watch.

It was extremely apparent the filmmakers were doing this for the love of the game, with recurring crew and cast members who are clearly friends supporting each other. Their responses to the question “Why should people vote for you?” ranged from “I just wanted to make this for myself” to “It’s up to the audience to decide if this resonated with them”. The simultaneous love and detachment they had with their work was inspiring, as subject material and vision is always distorted by audience perception. It was also exciting to see the amount of referencing that was happening, these are people who enjoy watching films as much as they do making them. One short film was inspired by Birdman which is something you would see pop up in niche Letterboxd accounts, and the phrase “Dubai Chocolate Labubu™️” was mentioned unironically so it was heaven for the chronically online. 

After all the films, a statement by the professors was shared congratulating everyone on their efforts and their pick of winners were announced. Hani from “Colorbleed” won Best Acting, “Love on a Lonely Night” won Best Cinematography, “Colorbleed” won Best Editing and “Scold’s Bridle” won Best Screenplay. The MonFilm committee’s pick was “The Murmuring Moths”. The event closed with a speech by the main committee, explaining that they hope for this festival to be their flagship event in the future and that they expect more people to be enthusiastic about film on campus. I left the event feeling an immense sense of community as a fellow film-lover, and a sense of accomplishment knowing that my A-levels Literature unit was put to good use. 

Written By Sanjana Rajagopal

Photos by Dinya