Main

THE MIRROR | AACTA Winner 2020 | Short Film

Written and directed by Joel Kohn. This award winning short film tells the darkly magical story of a young Jewish girl who discovers a mysterious antique mirror in the basement of her grandmother's house, and accidentally opens a window between time that allows her to cross over into war-torn Nazi-occupied Poland. (genre - dark, fantasy, family, historical) CAST Suzi - Ingrid Torelli Dad - Matt Day Young Hilda - Amelia Westlake Nonna - Ruth Yaffe. KEY CREW Writer/Director - Joel Kohn Producers - Mike Horvath, Tom Davies and Joel Kohn EP's - Sander Schwartz, Nick Riali, Antonio Raiola, Andrew Coyle Casting - Chameleon Casting (Daniella Freidman) 1st AD - Bob Donaldson Cinematographer - Andrew Condor ACS Production Designer - Renny Watson Hair & Makeup - Helen Magelaki Costume Designer - Tami Holton Script Supervisor - Mim Green Editor - Trevor Holcomb Music/Composer - Dmitri Golovko Sound Design/Mix - Final Sound (Paul Shanahan) Visual Effects - Scott Zero Colorist - Dee Mcleland Legals - Lalor Law (Jenny Lalor) INFO The Mirror won the prestigious AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema, Television and the Arts) award for 'Best Short Film' in 2020, and has screened at over 40 festivals around the world, including The Chicago Children's Film Festival and the St Louis International Film Festival. It was also long-listed for Academy Award consideration in 2021. . . . . . #australianfilm #Australianshortfilm #shortfilm #shortfilms #aactas #AACTAawards, #AACTAWinner #AACTAshortfilmwinner #AACTA2020 #Winningshortfilm #AustraliansinFilm #WW2ShortFilm #Childrensshortfilm #TheMirror #TheMirrorshortfilm #StKildaFilmFestival #AFINInternationalFilmFestival #ChicagoInternationalChildrensFilmFestival #StLouisInternationalFilmFestival #JuryPrizeWinner #JewishInternationalFilmFestival #JIFF #JacksonvilleFilmFestival #HobnobbenFilmFestival #ArlingtonInternationalFilmFestival #JewishFilm #JewishShortFilm #MattDay #IngridTorelli

Screen Invaders

1 year ago

(gentle music) (car engine roaring) - Suzi, honey, we're almost there. (car engine roaring) (gentle music) (door creaking open) Hello. (door closing) - Are they here to fix the sink? - No, your family is here to see you. - Hi ma'. How are you feeling? - How do you think I'm feeling? - She's a little bit cranky today. - Just today? Come say hi, Suz. (gentle music) - Who's this? - Well, this is Suzi, your granddaughter. - No, that can't be right, where's Fritz. Has he locked himself in the study a
gain? - Maybe we should have some tea, I'll put the kettle on. - Yes, that's fine. But tell him to come downstairs before it gets too cold. - It's been happening more and more. - Dad's going to, he's going to be a while mom. Maybe we can start without him. (brooding music) (door creaking open) (stairs creaking) (gentle music) (footsteps approaching) (chest door creaking open) (pages ruffling) (gentle music) (child sobbing) (curtain ruffling) (gentle music) (footsteps approaching) - Hello. Who's
there? (brooding music) (footsteps clattering) (clock ticking) (knocking at the door) - Are you taking care of my old room for me? It's so strange. I used to sleep in here when I was a little boy. What do I always tell you? - Everything has history. - That's right, everything and everyone, lights out, okay? What about this? - I like it in. - All right, suit yourself. - Papa. - Yeah. - Today in the basement I, I found some old photos. Was Nonna in the war? - Yes, she was. She would have been abou
t your age in fact. - Is that why she's always angry? Possibly a little. I suppose, if you go through something as traumatic as a war at such a young age, it's bound to leave some scars. - What about her family, what happened to them? - We really don't know. - Is that gonna happen to us? - What, no, no. That was a long time ago, okay? The world is very different now. You don't have to worry. All right, goodnight. - Night. (crickets chirping) (heavy breathing) (child sobbing) (crickets chirping)
(suspenseful music) (door creaking open) (Hilda sobbing) - Are you okay? (speaking in foreign language) - A little. But we need to keep our voices down. Otherwise they might hear us. - Who? - The bad men in the street, they hunt us. (gentle music) - Can I come in? (plane engine roaring) (dog barking at a distance) (bicycle bell chiming) What is his place? - Secret room, upstairs is for making chance. - My name is Suzi. - Hilda. - Does she have a name too? - Rina, she belonged to my sister. - Whe
re is your sister? - The bad men took her away. - You said that we're chasing you, why? - Because they want to kill us. - Why would they want that? - Because of the war? - What do you mean, there is no war? - There is over here. Where do you come from? - I came from in there, very far away, I think. How is this even possible? This is all a dream. - It's not a dream to me. - Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. What about the rest of your family? - My mother brought me here after my sister
was taken. She said I had to hide so the bad men couldn't find me. She said she'd come back once it was safe, she promised. There is a family who come and visit me sometimes with food. But I haven't seen them in nearly a week. - You haven't eaten in a week. (plane engine roaring) - Where did you get all this? - The fridge. - The what? - Doesn't matter. It's for you. (gentle music) Do you like it? - One not allowed jewelry. They took away all our precious things. - Here, you can have this. It lo
oks pretty. Tell me mister mirror, why have you brought me here? There has to be a reason. (loud thudding) (indistinct speaking) (heavy breathing) (footsteps clattering) (door creaking open) (suspenseful music) (heavy breathing) (gunshots booming) (door closing) (footsteps clattering) Listen to me, you can't go back there, it's too risky. - But, what about my mother? - She'll be happier if you were safe, you won't be, if they find you. - Okay, but, let me go get Rina first. - [Dad] Suzi, are you
down there? (gentle music) - No no, no no, Hilda, Hilda, Hilda, Hilda! - Suzi, what are you doing? It's four o'clock in the morning. - Papa, I came down here because I heard a noise and this mirror. - What? - I couldn't sleep, so I came down here to look at more photos. - All right, that's enough now, okay? Back to bed, come on. Come on. (footsteps clattering) (gentle music) (footsteps approaching) (gentle music) - Hey look, I shouldn't be too long, okay? I think Ester has just popped out for a
bit, so, you know. - It's fine, I'll look after Nonna. - Oh, okay, well that's, that's very kind of sweetheart. Hey look, maybe when I get back, we can go through that old chest together, what do you say? All right. - See you. (door closing) (gentle music) - Suzi. Thank you. (upbeat music)

Comments