We recently attended the launch of the fourth MWFF Melbourne Women Film Festival at the Melbourne Capital Theatre.
This year’s festival is entitled Stories In Colour and the featured film for the opening night was Vai. Promoted as a portmanteau feature film, it consists of eight vignettes telling the story of a young girl named Vai from the age of seven to eighty.
Created by nine female Pacific filmmakers and writers, filmed in seven different Pacific countries being Tonga, Solomon Islands, KukAirani (Cook Islands). Samoa, Niue and Aotearoa (New Zealand).
Presented in an unusual style, we find the main character’s name changes as we follow her journey through the different stages of her life. As a woman in the Pacific Islands, her family and her culture present many different demands on her. Often, having to forget her desires, she puts her family and cultural traditions first as she displays unwavering pride in who she is and the culture of her people.
Established in 2017 The MWFF is a volunteer-based not-for-profit festival. Its mission is to promote and celebrate the achievements of women in film. It’s objective is to acknowledge female directors, writers and producers to cinematographers, sound designers and editors.
The annual festival showcases the many talented Australian and Pacific Island women who work within all areas of screen production, exhibiting works of all styles and genres created by women. Although these films are primarily about and for women, their subject matters are universal and explore the art of storytelling from a women’s perspective in a way that most male-dominated presentations overlook.
If you would like to learn more about the festival or volunteer to be part of next year’s festival visit their site at https://mwff.org.au/
Photo Concept&Design By Beata Gombas (c) 2020
You can view a trailer for Vai at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB8i0Z2XonI
