Luke's party

A woman picks up a video camera to make a mock documentary about growing up as a First Nations person in South Australia. As the camera starts rolling she is continually interrupted by the demands of children, friends, telephone repair people, neighbours, salespeople and representatives of a range of government bureaucracies. This delightfully tongue-in-cheek short film makes salient points about the difficulties of maintaining personal dignity in a world of economic and emotional uncertainty. The futility of her attempt to explain “herself” on camera as the world around her descends into absurd farce satirises the pretend objectivity of most social-realist documentary. Sharp, witty and surprisingly passionate, “Luke’s Party” is an exceptional short Australian film.