The Sea Inside Her
The Sea Inside Her

Short Connections 2024 

Five new Aotearoa shorts examine the ways we connect with each other. From strangers uniting to stand up for what is right to fleeting moments of understanding between loved ones, these films deftly capture the bonds and binds between us.

83 minutes
M
Violence, offensive language & content that may disturb

Beneficiaries band together against a narrow-minded case worker; an anxious grandmother tries to protect her grandchild from the dangers of the world; a lonely teenager shares a moment of intimacy with a mysterious stranger; a young woman and her friends gather to honour the memory of a loved one; and an eighteenth century seal hunting gang is shaken when one of them is caught secretly trading with two Māori siblings. These short Aotearoa-made films capture the connections between all of us.

Payback 2024

Director, Screenplay

Producers

Miryam Jacobi, Jack Barry

Cinematography

Jack Barry

Editor

Ben Chesters

Cast

Gentiane Lupi, Nova Moala Knox, Hariata Sanders, Zoe Crane, Caleb Teaupa, Callum Hibbert, Troy Wynyard, Jasiah Jennings
12 minutes

When a welfare department’s insidious prejudice can no longer be tolerated, a group of unlikely heroes band together against a narrow-minded caseworker. Made in collaboration with Toi Whakaari, Mia Blake cleverly reflects the state of the nation in this punchy black comedy. 

Earthlings 2023

Director, Screenplay

Producer

Desray Armstrong

Cinematography

Maria Ines Manchego

Editor

Anastasia Doniants

Music

Stephen Gallagher

Cast

Chloe Parker, Elliot Lloyd-Bell
15 minutes

A lonely teenager shares a moment of intimacy with a mysterious stranger in this surprising and sensitive film. Jamie Lawrence (Darryn Exists, NZIFF 2011) evokes a surreal world that tenderly explores identity, belonging and the desire for connection.

The Sea Inside Her 2024

Director

Producers

Lani-rain Feltham, Michele Powles, Alyx Duncan

Screenplay

Michele Powles

Cinematography

Gin Loane

Editor

Adam-Luka Turjak

Music

Francesca Mountfort

Cast

Kilda Northcott, Mateo Cruz
9 minutes

Award-winning filmmaker and choreographer Alyx Duncan (The Tide Keeper, NZIFF 2015) builds on her unique movement-led films, depicting an anxious grandmother desperate to protect her grandchild from the dangers of the world. Using performance, puppetry and visual effects, Alyx Duncan paints a fantastical picture of fear and frustration for these fragile times.

Lost at Sea 2024

Director, Screenplay

Producer

Emma Mortimer

Cinematography

Adam Luxton

Editor

Simon Price

Cast

Louise Jiang, Nomundari Amarbat, Chloe Jaques, Lauren O’Hara, Reon Bell, Leonardo Gunter
12 minutes

A young woman and her friends gather at a beach house one evening to honour the memory of a loved one. Made in collaboration with Toi Whakaari, Asuka Sylvie (Kainga, NZIFF 2022) conjures an evocative atmosphere in this poignant and lyrical portrait of grief.

The Lascar 2023

Director, Screenplay

Producers

Adi Parige, Rao Parige, Jessica George, Matt Asunder

Cinematography

Jenna Eriksen

Music

Jose Jugo

Cast

Vinith Shiva, Mark Matthews, Tanea Heke, Mohammad Kunwar, Finn McCauley, Ian Blackburn, Fred Pokai

At the end of the 18th century, hundreds of Indian sailors, known as lascars, worked in brutal conditions among European seal-hunting gangs in Aotearoa. In Adi Parige’s striking coastal epic, one such crew is shaken when a lascar is caught trading with two Māori siblings behind the back of the gang’s tyrannical British leader.