ACT 1

1. Hurts to Laugh (2020)
Short Film
1:39

Writer/Director/Producer: James Haggarty
Cast: Noah Giddings, Nik Soldatovic, Jack Haggarty, Jeff Haggarty, Kym Haggarty
Original Music Composer: Simon Zinzovski
Supervising Producer: Angie Black
Production Coordinator: CJ Welsh
Laugh tracks obtained from BBC Sound Effect Library - bbc.co.uk Copyright 2020 BBC 
VCA Film and Television Faculty of Fine Arts and Music © The University of Melbourne

**Content Warning: Film explores themes of death and isolation. **

Artist Statement
Dejected and lonely on his birthday, Peter Putney is visited by an unexpected guest...
This film was created as part of the VCA's Film and Television first year course, in which we had to create a film consisting of only ten shots with no dialogue that related to the theme of isolation. Due to the Covid restrictions the film was shot at home with my own props and equipment that I had on hand.

2. A Sea Spray of Ash (2019)
Contemporary-Classical Chamber Music (solo soprano composition)
3:30

Composer/ Piano: Robert McIntyre
Soprano: Amanda Hargreaves
Recording: Thomas McIntyre
Audio mix: Robert McIntyre
Part of the 2019 MAY Composition 3 Cohort Concert "Evolving Voices" @ Hanson-Dyer Hall, Ian Potter Southbank Centre, The University of Melbourne Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (MCM)

Artist Statement
A Sea Spray of Ash is work for solo soprano with minimal piano accompaniment confronting the issue of environmental collapse, which poses a sobering threat to our existence. It conveys a narrative of ash covering the shores, natural disasters and a reminiscent moment of when the Earth was pure, right before a solemn caution to not silence the Earth’s plea for survival.

This piece is dedicated to Amanda, and inspired by the huge surge in climate strikes around this time.

3. Fright Night (2019)
Short Film 
5:00

Writer/Director: Gracie Dephoff
First Assistant Director: Jack Bell
Cinematographer: Gilda Jones
Cast: Esther Randles, Lucy Rossen, Stacy Clausen, Joe Kenny
Additional Crew: Olivia O'Brien, Ryan Boutland, Caleb Ribates and Jamie Walsh
Music by: Marlon Bando

Artist Statement
Fright Night is a film that is very close to my heart, made with a crew that was majority female identifying. I wrote and directed the short in 2019, as part of my second year studying film directing at the Victorian College of the Arts. This coming of age story explores characters on the cusp of change; inhabiting the liminal period between child and teenager, then teenager and adult. I was interested in exploring the theme of unrequited love and how this manifests in family relationships as well as female friendships.

Being a queer woman, I strive for a filmmaking career after I graduate dedicated to representing the experience of the queer female from a place of authenticity. I firmly believe in aligning one’s film crew with the stories they're representing on screen. Equality in the film industry for me looks like more stories from underrepresented communities produced by those who identify with them; a balance in front and behind the camera.