Toshiyuki Chiba in Flowergirl (1999)
Free
Flowergirl (1999)

Presented by the Melbourne Cinémathèque

The Little Chaos: Three Films by Cate Shortland (1998–2000)

Cate Shortland | MA15+
Virtual cinema

When

8–14 Nov 2021

View online

Released across only two years, these three short films chart Shortland’s quick rise to become one of Australia’s most celebrated and promising writer-directors.

Pentuphouse (1998) 14 mins – Unrated 15+
Produced independently through Anthony Anderson’s Red Carpet Films, Shortland’s sophomore short tells the story of an ageing jazz singer’s fading relationship with a young petty thief and demonstrates the influence of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Todd Haynes on her early work.

Flowergirl (1999) 19 mins – MA15+
In a story featuring fascinating reversals of the male and female gaze, Shortland mixes neon-saturated analogue film imagery with digital video. Partially a reaction to anti-Asian sentiment prevalent in 1990s Australia, the veracity of this Japanese-language film is cemented by its cast of non-actors, many of whom were preparing to return to Japan themselves.

Joy (2000) 10 mins – M
Made while she studied at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, this is Shortland’s most experimental film, a portrayal of a night in the life of a teenage “mall rat” dynamically rendered through dizzying images, heightened subjective sound, and moving superimposed text.

Format: Digital
Language: English, Japanese
Source: Vimeo, ABC iview
Courtesy: Red Carpet Films, Australian Film Television and Radio School
Runtime: 43 mins

Event duration

43 mins

Rating

MA15+

Where

Pentuphouse
Streaming online for free on Vimeo

Flowergirl
Streaming online for free on Vimeo

Joy
Streaming online for free on ABC iView

Accompanying feature

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