By Molly Magennis
The ninth annual Setting Sun Film (SSFF) Festival is back on in the west, showcasing a variety of local and international short and feature films.
The festival, founded in 2013, features an eight day program that will run from May 5 to May 12, across locations in Yarraville (Sun Theatre and Kindred Studios), Melbourne’s CBD Greek precinct and online.
SSFF will present a variety of events across a jam-packed schedule including an Italian program, a Greek program, youth program and a female filmmakers’ program.
The festival will also feature a program called ‘Access Cinema’, which is a collection of award winning films that feature people living with a disability.
One of the films shown as part of the Italian program held on May 6 is feature documentary ‘Memories That Make Us’ directed by Martin Potter.
The film focuses on post World War II Italian migration to Australia, featuring the stories of individuals who made the nearly 16 kilometre journey from 1945 onwards.
Mr Potter, a senior lecturer of screen and design at Deakin University, said the film emerged from a research project conducted at the University that was run in partnership with CO.AS.IT, an Italian assistance association.
Among the many motivations and reasons behind the creation of the documentary, Mr Potter said it was first and foremost a way to create a ‘consolidated archive’ of the stories and experiences of Italian immigrants who helped transform Victoria after the war.
“Italian migration, especially post World War II, to Australia and to Victoria specifically, entirely recently reshaped our society, our culture, our economy, politics and you know, arts and sports,” he said.
“We were speaking to people well into their 90s, and a lot of them are really, really aware of wanting to pass on their stories, their experiences to other generations, and CO.AS.IT had kind of identified that there was this intergenerational gap.
“But also there’s the notion that…potentially other migrant communities can look at this as a model which they can either replicate for themselves within their own communities as they start to think about how they create archives of their migrant journey and experience across generations.”
Festival director Anna Bourozikas said after two years of hosting the event online, she was looking forward to finally catching up with those attending in person.
“This year’s program is really dense and there is something for everyone. We encourage everyone to download a program and have a look,” she said.
For more information visit: www.settingsun.com.au
