Screen It International Film Festival To Hit Dendy Coorparoo This Weekend

The Screen It International Film Festival (SIIFF) hits Dendy Coorparoo this weekend, showcasing Australian and International films on the big screen. 

SIIFF’s mission is to support aspiring creative filmmakers of all experiences and backgrounds, and it’s certainly doing that this year with a huge program across three categories; Maverick Movie Makers, Passionate Artists and Inspired Students.

From the students, Substratumm, directed by Harvey Abrahams, is an intriguing exploration of a subterranean Australia at war with some remarkable visual effects. The underground futuristic world presented by Abrahams is in stark contrast to River and House, directed by Cheuk Yin Cheung, which tackles the opposite end of the spectrum, focussing on those iconic Brisbane structures that capture the imagination of local artists across various mediums. This film in particular will hold a lot of favour with local audiences, with some remarkably beautiful cinematography and a lovely cast of local artists captured with such authenticity.

Perhaps of particular uniqueness with Screen It Film Festival is their Passionate Artist category, which consists of films made by, or with, people who identify as disabled or neurodivergent, with all proceeds raised from submissions in that category donated to Indelabilityarts to help support disabled artists. 

In the Passionate Artist category, From The Dark by Erika Sanz particularly stands out. Well produced, with a strong score and some gorgeous underwater cinematography, this short excels - aided by a strong performance by Josephine Le Sourd. Chesters, meanwhile, delves into the world of the group behind those extremely annoying “your toll is overdue” texts, with decidedly funny results.

More broadly in the Maverick Movie Makers category, showcasing works by those no longer studying, a sweeping selection of cinema is on display. Whether its the subversive zombie horror-come-comedy in Bin Day, or the more traditional scares of Krampuss, there’s something for everyone. Gudni Lindal Benediktsson’s work with Krampuss is of particularly high quality, with some compelling acting, a wonderful hazy grade, and some world class visual effects. 

SIIFF is hitting Dendy Coorparo on the 25th of August, starting from 1:15 pm. Tickets are on sale for $25 per category, and can be bought at the link below.