EGG DAY, 3min., Australia, Experimental
Directed by Syarisa Yasin, Claudia Dickson, Samantha Oo
A surrealist film in the style of female vaporwave, "Egg Day" explores the complex facets of femininity through scenes that allude to female reproduction. A recurring motif reflects the birth of a powerful warrior from Hindu scripture, Karna, who was born from his mother's ear. The film's style takes inspiration from artists such as Maisie Cousins, Petra Collins, and Pipilotti Rist.

Get to know filmmaker Syarisa Yasin:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

We made this film for our final assessment for an experimental film class at university. We first discussed a visual interest in orbies, fruits, eggs, and fibrous/round/soft textured images in general and wanted to layer images of these things—this led to a discussion on our personal connections to womanhood when we realized what their shapes could represent, and added hard and foreign-looking plastic babies into the mix. We had a desire to create a surrealist/mythic environment that expressed our anxieties surrounding femininity and the impact that complex social expectations have on women physically and emotionally.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

This film was made as part of an assessment in a university class, so the concept was developed over the process of a few weeks and the actual filmmaking process of shooting and editing was 1-2 weeks. Extra refinements to polish the film were completed a few months later in preparation for submitting the film to festivals.

3. How would you describe your film in two words?

Vibrant and uncanny.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

As this was our first experimental film , we had trouble trying to express our ideas in a non-linear style and developing a good soundscape/score . We had to push ourselves to make meaning in a surrealist way that had a clear motif while leaving some meanings up to interpretation and sought a lot of help from our professor to communicate our ideas more maturely.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

We were nervous but extremely excited. We didn't really have any idea what reaction we would get but we enjoyed hearing everyone's different perspective, bringing up ideas, interpretations, and suggestions we might have not considered.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

As a group, we realized that we had a lot of chemistry during our classes and wanted to come together to express our ideas. As individuals—some of us had aspirations since high school and others only decided to take the leap while studying other subjects at university.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

We have decided to go with our most re-watched films from our childhoods

- Samantha Oo: The Incredibles

- Claudia Dickson: Ratatouille

- Syarisa Yasin: Om Shanti Om

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

Experimental, Dance, and Music Film Festival has already done so much good for us. But in general we would love more opportunities for in-depth feedback and criticism that is relevant to our current skill set to help us improve, and to connect with industry professionals on a personal level.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

FilmFreeway is organized, straightforward, and makes it easy to find relevant and meaningful festivals.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Our favorite overall is bubble tea (if that sort of counts as a meal?) Anything that can contain fruit while also resembling orbies might be a better answer..

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

We want to expand on the ideas presented in egg day with different visual motifs...right now we're thinking of using images of and creating structures with rice to represent/explore overpopulation, human reproduction and sustainability, and the cultural importance of staple grains.