Culture

Every year, a brave few enter their amateur films into the OUSA Mothras, seeking fame, glory, and prestigious Mothra awards. All of the films will be screened between October 11 and 14 at the Church Cinema, Dundas St, but for now, we present our pick of the bunch.
 
Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places
Director: Jonathan Donald
Film Length: 7 minutes
Tuesday October 11 and Thursday October 12, 6.30pm and 8.30pm
 
It’s a little kooky, a little ridiculous, but Looking for Love is also pretty funny. Four flatmates decked out in the typical scarfie uniform of shorts, wife beaters and jandals welcome you, their newest flat mate, into the fold by demonstrating the finer aspects of their flat life. They perform a pseudo-coordinated dance to Katy Perry while wearing lei leis. They demonstrate their extreme tag-team cooking, which is comically messy. They go fishing for downstairs’ flatmates, play outdoor rugby. All in all, it’s a scarfie tale of bro-camaraderie.
 
 
Unexpected 
Director: Henry Jian
Film Length: 3 minutes, 30 seconds
Tuesday October 11 and Thursday October 12, 6.30pm and 8.30pm
 
The most professional and disquieting of the films being screened, Unexpected is certainly, well, unexpected. Beautifully filmed, the film was carried by its heart-wrenching acting, particularly that of Irwin, rather than by the concept itself. The team knew the benefit of keeping it simple, and the actors barely moved from their idyllic park bench. Featuring painful close ups, Unexpected keeps the viewer thoroughly absorbed from start to finish.
 
 
Commercial, Consumer, Cacophony 
Director: Lindsay Horne & team
Film Length: 4 minutes
Wednesday October 10 and Friday October 12, 6.30pm and 8.30pm
 
Rather than creating a narrative, Commercial is a grunge collage art piece, combining blaring infomercials with neon and Youtube videos. The line between advertising and common life blurs. Consumerism and products are compared to vomit; both are detritus, both are waste. Colours and images reach a climax, leaving the viewer discomforted and overwhelmed.
 

Journey for a Sitcom
Director: Luke Bremner
Film Length: 6 minutes
Wednesday October 10 and Friday October 12, 6.30pm and 8.30pm
 
A sweet documentary following the story of Luke and Kirk, two Kiwi guys who decided to start up a sitcom about a fish’n’chip shop. Journey peered into the set and followed the sitcom’s story from conception to completion. Featuring awkward humour and kitsch kiwiana, Journey is an endearing watch.
 

Do You Wanna Go Out With Me? 
Director: Hamish Gavin
Film Length: 7 minutes
Tuesday October 11 and Thursday October 12, 6.30pm and 8.30pm
 
The musical stand out of the Mothras, Do You Wanna had the swoons, the lols and the musical prowess. Set in the Valley, one young lad falls in love with a cute girl at a record store, and seeks advice from his flatmates on how to win her over. There are beautiful juxtapositions; the metalhead flatmate screams about feeding the ducks, the catholic girl raps about making her cum everywhere, and the fabulously gay flatmate sings Broadway and tap dances. Of course. The awful flatmate was the stand out for me.
 
 
Contra 
Director: Golda Matthias
Film Length: 4 minutes, 38 seconds
Tuesday October 11 and Thursday October 12, 6.30pm and 8.30pm
 
Yet another mash-up of images and animations, this could have been a drum and bass music video. Full of American symbolism, warheads, politicians and mention of oil, Contra could have been yet another film about the hypocrisy of America, etc etc. Instead, Contra’s message was slightly more hidden; stop oil drilling in Otago. As well as being political, Contra would double as a great watch while on the illicit substance of your choice.
 

Trapped in a Cage
Director: Alec Dawson
Film Length: 7 minutes
Tuesday October 11 and Thursday October 12, 6.30pm and 8.30pm
 
Set in a bunker, complete with terrorists and hostages, Trapped is a funny story of a kidnapping that goes awry. It emerges that the terrorists have their hostage, an unidentified NZ MP captive, with the intention of furthering animal rights. This leads to such scripting gems as “We’re just scrawny white boys who believe in chickens” and “I’m just in it for the chicks”. Silly, stressful, and perhaps not all that unlikely.