For Film's Sake / Human Rights Film and Arts Festival - Mwah
It's an ordinary school night for a teenage girl as she rides her bicycle home from her friend's house. On the way home she encounters a man who follows her and makes her the object of predatory attention.
Interview with Writer/Director Nina Buxton
Watch Mwah here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The films we watch growing up have a huge impact on our understanding of what is important. When I was a teenager, I saw a lot of films that showed women being attacked or killed. I hardly ever saw a plot line that involved a woman being sexually harassed and then having to move on with her day. I think it was the absence of these moments from films that made me believe that my own experiences of sexual harassment were unimportant and not worthy of being told.
Being cat-called is such a common experience, but strangely it’s something I’ve never seen depicted in a film before. I wanted to make a film about these smaller, more subtle moments of everyday sexism that too many women endure silently.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think you should watch this film because it captures a truly universal experience that most women endure but rarely speak about. I hope it can also educate men about the negative impact of cat-calling and help them to understand why it is not a compliment.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
This is a very personal film for me because it's entirely based on my own experience of being sexually harassed. I think the film can be also seen as universal, because the story depicts an experience that most women go through and understand all too well.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The evolution of this film began with me writing down a personal story about what it feels like to be cat-called when you're alone at night. I then shared the story with a group of women at a Film Fatales meeting, and those women encouraged me to make the story into a short film.
The film really came together because of the team that I was fortunate to be surrounded by - Stephanie Westwood and Emma Roberts as my incredible producers, my brilliant director of photography Charlie Alexander, and my talented cast lead by Bethany Whitmore who was just outstanding as the lead role, and really captured the feeling from the original short story.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We've received really positive feedback, and the film has started a lot of really personal conversations with women who saw their own experiences reflected in the narrative.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Something that surprised me was how many women have a story like this to share. I’ve spoken to women from so many different generations who have experienced this exact narrative in their own lives. It saddens me that in some ways that narrative hasn’t changed.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
It's a privilege to be featured on We are Moving Stories. We would love for our film to be seen by as many women as possible, and to share the message that everyday sexism is something that needs to be called out, and never silenced.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We believe one of the best forms of communication and amplification is through film, so we are hoping to share our story with as many audiences as possible. We would love to speak to film festival directors in Australia and internationally.
We would also like to reach a younger audience to help educate teenagers across the world. It would be wonderful to hear from any educators in schools or universities for an opportunity to screen our film to their students.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We want to tell women everywhere that their experiences of sexual harassment are important, and these are stories that need to be told.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is cat-calling ever a compliment?
(Hint: no)
Would you like to add anything else?
Our film is screening at the Human Rights and Arts Film Festival in Melbourne at ACMI on May 7th 2018 at 9pm in ‘Australian Shorts’. We would love to see you there.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Nina Buxton is working full time at the Australian television production company Gristmill. She was recently shortlisted for the Sydney Film Festival’s Lexus Film Fellowship to develop a new short fiction film. Stephanie Westwood is also working full time in television and is currently developing multiple projects including a dystopian miniseries based on her last short film ‘Blue Games’. Emma Roberts is working in advertising and is in development on a virtual reality project with the Australian Climate Council.
Interview: April 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Mwah
It's an ordinary school night for a teenage girl as she rides her bicycle home from her friend's house. On the way home she encounters a man who follows her and makes her the object of predatory attention.
Length: 7 minutes
Director: Nina Buxton
Producers: Stephanie Westwood and Emma Roberts
Writer: Nina Buxton
About the writer, director and producer:
Nina Buxton is an Australian film and television director and 2015 Victorian College of the Arts Film and Television graduate known for telling stories from the female perspective. Stephanie Westwood is a Swinburne University Graduate and Melbourne based producer whose work has screened at festivals all over the world. She is known for exploring themes of womanhood, queer identity and family. Emma Robert is a Melbourne based producer whose passion lies in supporting and enabling new creative media with specific emphasis on unusual stories and diverse storytellers. Her work includes visual reality, music videos and short films, and she is currently the in house production manager at Truce Films.
Key cast: Bethany Whitmore, Joshua Dawe, Mayah Fredes
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Social media handles:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mwahshortfilm/
Twitter: @buxton_nina
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninacbuxton/
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Human Rights Film and Arts Festival in Australian Shorts screening May 7th 2018 at 9pm ACMI