Reviewed by Georgia Cassimatis
There were many silver linings to the 2020 Pandemic, and The World Monolgue Film Festival founded by creative industry leader, Peter Malicki, was one of them.
Realising that the creative industries were going to be shut down indefinitely, he devised a platform for creatives to well…keep creating. His innovative idea was to conduct a worldwide monologue film competition where one actor films one monologue in any location for anywhere between 1-2.5 minutes. Someone can help out with filming, and post-production credits can only go for 5 seconds only. Graphics, if used, must only appear on the film. One final rule: absolutely no reference was to be made to The Coronavirus.
Entry was free, and before long there were 3000 actors from 25 countries, chasing the $500 cash prize for best film. In the end it boiled down to 25 microfilms from 10 countries, which showcased at the Dendy Cinema in Newtown.
Hundreds of guests packed the cinema to watch films from Mozambique to Slovakia, South Africa, the UK and Australia. Genres covered a spectrum of comedy, drama, suspense thriller and mini-documentary. Speak To Soon (South Korea) was filmed by a student who had never before made a film. His use of time sequencing, filmed in his apartment, was impressive, as he explored the concepts of life after the death of his mother. An Actor Prepares (Australia) comedically relays the life of an actor, in chef speak. Chicken Shit (Canada), my favourite, is about a woman who is addicted to eggs and can’t keep away from the chicken shed. While her name is Charlotte, she accidentally calls herself Omelette, and admits she’s an Egg-A-Holic. Masquerade (Australia) explores the disturbing façade and disconnect of social media, while Grow A Pair (UK) was about the concept of men not being able to express their true emotional landscape.
Funny, poignant, and pithy, all monologues told a powerful story. It was like a buffet that left one picking and choosing what resonated with one’s own world, while being both entertained and informed about what others are experiencing in the complexities of life.
As Malicki says: “Normal filmmaking conditions don’t exist right now and filmmakers needed a new framework in order to keep creating,
hence World Monologue Film Festival was born. The work we’re screening is so incredibly diverse and inspiring – I was blown away by what people did with the format.”
For more information, check out www.monologues.com.au/WMFF . Contact: World Monologue Film Festival Founder Pete Malicki on petemalicki@gmail.com or 0423 673 060