SHELTER, 6min., Australia
Directed by Martin Ponferrada
During the height of the COVID-19 lock-downs, performance artists from around the world were asked to express the emotion of isolation through dance.

https://www.instagram.com/shelter_adancefilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film? - It irks me when I leave ideas unattended. I always have to actualise it in some form. It explains why I have so many projects abandoned in the pre-production phase, but the bigger regret would be not even attempting their implementation in the first place.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film? - About 11 months, a chunk of which was spent during NSW's Covid isolation.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!? - Collective trauma

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film? - Locating the dancers, especially those from the smaller. less populous nations. It was an exhausting plumbing of social media. So many emails were sent, many of which are probably still sitting unanswered in the inboxes of their account-holders.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking
about your film in the feedback video? - I'm always chuffed when listening to others talk about something I was involved in. It never ceases to amaze me the things they pick up that I had no idea were there. It goes to show the multiple ways through which art can be read.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films? - There was no specific point of realisation. More a gradual occurrence over time. I lived alone in a small apartment during Covid and always wondered what others were doing to cope.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life? I recently looked up the most streamed films on my computer and two titles took top spot. Chungking Express (1994) and The Big Lebowski (1997). But try as I might, I cannot find a correlation between these two. Nothing thematically, technically, artistically, I don't think they share similar crew, certainly not cast. One is a moody, rainswept drama, the other is a comedy. One is tightly scripted, the other improvised top-to-bottom (and strangely enough, it's not the comedy that was improvised). Anyway, if someone can detect any point of convergence between the two, please let me know. This may have some deep identity implications.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career? - Perhaps more digital ways to attend or address an audience in this increasingly work-from-home world.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site? - It's been great, and they've been getting better eliminating the scam and non-legit festivals from the platform.

10. What is your favorite meal? - Fried eggs. Nothing fancy. Yoke bang in the middle. Antioxidants straight up.

11. What is next for you? A new film? - Always