Southern Stories to the Screen: An Interview with Dunedin Filmmakers Bridget Ellis and Sergey Sushinskiy
Created by two of our members, Bridget Ellis and Sergey Sushinskiy this evening will host a varied programme of world premieres, films fresh from the international festival circuit and the 48hrs Filmmaking Competition.
6 pm Tuesday, August 13, Reading Cinemas - seven recent shorts from filmmakers across Otago. Check out the programme and buy tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/dunedinfilms
There will also be a Q&A session with the filmmakers hosted
I had the chance to chat with the filmmakers behind the Dunedin Short Film Screening, Bridget Ellis and Sergey Sushinskiy, to ask about their initiative and inspirations.
Although we sat over Zoom with lag problems and an 'unstable' internet connection, I was still able to catch the energy and passion that fuels Bridget Ellis and Sergey Sushinskiy, two filmmakers in Dunedin. When the noise in the café became too loud, they kindly stepped outside into the cold to speak with me, their faces coming in and out of the cropped shared phone screen.
As the organisers behind the Dunedin Short Film Screening, Bridget and Sergey have put together a programme of seven films, set to be shown on Tuesday, August 13, at Reading Cinemas. Spanning from reality TV to political scandals, this night of short films, crafted by the pair, aims to not only highlight the remarkable talents of local filmmakers but also celebrates the dynamic creative community in the region.
Here’s a peek into their journey.
How did you meet and become collaborators and friends?
They both laugh.
Sergey: The 48 Hours competition two years ago. It was a workshop for people who wanted to be involved and collaborate for the 48 Hours competition.
Bridget: Yes, Duncan Sarkies, the scriptwriter, was doing it. And Sergey was there by himself. I looked over to him and said, "Do you want to be in a pair?" And that was the start. We've had a lot of contact, lots of talking, and coffees!
Bridget Ellis and Sergey Sushinskiy Photo: Simon Henderson Otago Daily Times
What inspired you to start a short film screening in Dunedin? What are your goals for the initiative?
Sergey: The idea for this event came about when my film wasn't selected for local and other film festivals. Bridget and I decided to gather our films and other unselected films and possibly add more in our area to create our own program. Once we started working on it, and we've been doing so for about ten weeks, I found myself really enjoying the process. This experience has been very fulfilling, and it makes me happy. I’m considering the possibility of turning these film screenings into an annual event in Dunedin and perhaps expanding to other cities with the same or different programs in the future.
Bridget: Yeah, we didn't have a place to screen our own films. In a small industry like ours, there can be a sense of scarcity. But you make your own abundance. For now, it’s a one-off for me, but I'm really interested in building a future screening for other people as well.
How did you go about selecting the films for your screening? Is there a particular theme or focus?
Sergey: This is our first time hosting a film screening in a real commercial cinema, and we asked for submissions from local filmmakers. We received 12 submissions, including our own films, and ended up selecting seven, even rejecting two of our own. We focused on narrative films that would appeal to a family audience, avoiding those with overly jarring or dark themes.
Bridget: We really wanted to showcase a diverse range of narrative films that could be enjoyed by a wide audience.
Sergey: The ideal situation was to have all films suitable for general or parental guidance, but a couple of great films included a minor swear word, which pushed the rating to M. We didn’t want to include any really disturbing content, so we avoided those kinds of films. Our program includes narrative films from local filmmakers from Otago and Southland, between four to fourteen minutes.
The Girl, The Lamb & The Man (Writer, Director - Jacinta Compton, Producer - Millie Cossou)
How has the local community responded to your screening, and what kind of support have you received?
Bridget: I think local film enthusiasts have been quite supportive. In a way, this is also about proving ourselves.
Sergey: Yes, the local community has been very supportive. Otago Daily Times interviewed us, and we had a radio interview on OAR, a local radio station in Dunedin. People are genuinely open to supporting local projects.
Bridget: Yeah, I think what we’re doing is offering the film community in Dunedin access to these screenings and connections. But we’re also looking to invite the wider community. It’s about whether people know someone in the films or if they’ve heard about it and are just interested in seeing local short films. Film is such a great medium for telling stories. It’s wonderful and allows people to engage at different levels. That’s what excites me about creating films at this level.
Flora & The Greater Good (Writer, Director - David Hay, Producer - Tess Whelan)
Tell us about the films you personally have in the screening.
Sergey: My film, "Relocation," is a narrative based on real situations and the many stories of people trying to relocate their families from Ukraine to different countries in the early weeks of the full-scale war. It focuses on a Ukrainian woman in New Zealand who is trying to bring her mother and sister over from Ukraine during those first weeks of the war. I heard many such stories from friends and their relatives, and it felt important to create this film.
Bridget: My film, "Second Hand Shop," is a coming-of-age story. The main character is a 12-year-old girl who works in her mother’s second-hand shop. While clearing out a house of a Waitaha family, she finds a suitcase and something that's been hidden for a long time comes to light. The story unfolds from there, revealing secrets and the events that follow.
Sergey: In addition, we have two other films, "Flora & The Greater Good" (Writer, Director - David Hay, Producer - Tess Whelan) and "The Girl, The Lamb & The Man" (Writer, Director - Jacinta Compton, Producer - Millie Cossou), which have already been selected for some film festivals. Another film, "The Reality of Love" (Producer, Writer Amalia Remus, Director, Producer Jonty Norton), was a Dunedin finalist in the 48 Hours competition this year. We just attended the 48 Hours Film Festival screening, and I was really excited about this film, so I decided to include it in our programme.
48 hour film festival team Gold Rushes filming their short The Reality of Love at Queenstown’s Thurlby Domain.
Amazing, excited for next week then?
Bridget: Yes, we’re almost sold out—only about 15 tickets left out of 124 seats. It’s amazing, especially considering the risk Sergey took by booking the theatre.
Sergey: Yeah, I booked the theatre myself.
Bridget: I was like, “Get a small theatre!” but Sergey went for a big commercial theatre.
Sergey: Yes, exactly. A real big theatre. With popcorn.
Got to have popcorn. The full cinematic experience. It sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic event. Thank you both for sharing your experiences and best of luck with the screening!
It’s great to see filmmakers in the region taking the initiative to create their own opportunities to share their work and foster a vibrant film community. With the screening nearly sold out, it’s clear there’s strong interest in local films.
If you can’t make it this Tuesday or if tickets sell out, the organisers have set up a waitlist to gauge interest in a possible additional screening, so go check that out.
