An ex-Canterbury College student has returned to Logan to debut her film tackling the “horror” of domestic violence.
Local director Elise Lamb has been described as the “love-child” of Christopher Nolan and Sofia Coppola and she has a passion for gender-equality and feminism to boot.
Her love of cinema has taken her to the US, Japan and New Zealand, but she recently returned home to make a movie close to her heart.
The short film, The Wilted Rose, is about a woman attempting to leave an abusive relationship.
It was filmed and funded in Logan, which Ms Lamb said was very important because of the presence of domestic violence in the community.
“I made it with the intention of engaging with the community about a social topic that I’m really passionate about,” Ms Lamb said
“It’s a topic that people are afraid to talk about – even I’m afraid to talk about it – because it’s got so much stigma around it.
“I think as a filmmaker, we need to be more conscious about the content that we’re putting out there and engaging with specific themes and topics.”
Ms Lamb said it was important to “remember where you came from” when telling stories.
She said her stories reflect the community she grew up in.
“We can show this film anywhere in the world and people are going to connect to it even though it was shot in Logan,” she said.
The Wilted Rose has recieved a range of support, some coming directly from the state government.
“It was a bit crazy being able to get all the way into parliament,” she said.
“I think this is also something that I’m really interested in as a filmmaker: How can we consciously connect politics and art, and engage with community and support organisations that do work?”
The premiere screening is 26 May at the Kingston Butter Factory, followed by a Q&A with Ms Lamb.
All ticket proceeds will be donated to The Center for Women and Co, a Logan-based support organisation for people affected by domestic violence.
Ms Lamb said the organisation, a partner of the film, worked hard to educate the community.
“Basically, they want to empower women and families in the hopes of preventing DV in the future, but also supporting those that are unfortunately affected,” she said.
The Centre for Women CEO, Stacey Ross, will also attend the premiere as will the Queensland minister for housing, Shannon Fentiman.
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