Bra and Footy Shorts

Yesterday I ditched work for a long lunch again, to see 32A as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival, at ACMI.

A movie filled with Irish accents and phrases, it's a story of Maeve and growing up. The teenage pre-occupation with bra size, the competition of growing rates with your girlfriends - it was also a trip down memory lane of the fights and silent treatment of friends in high school, ewww! Maeve captures the eye of an older boy, and falls into a world a little older than she for just a brief moment. The movie is sweet and cute, with growing pains aplenty.

A couple more hours at the office, and then it was back to ACMI for pre-screening drinks and address by Kevin Sheedy. Meeting Jenny on the way down, this being our first MIFF film actually together, we joined Rick and Melissa for champagne and canapes, before a seemingly off the planet Sheeds addressed the gathering to introduce the MIFF Footy Shorts - a short film competition marking the 150 years of AFL footy. Sheedy stumbled through an intro, and interview with artist of a collage showing the different forms and stages for our great game.

Moving up to the cinemas, we took our places for the 12 short films shown, introduced by the judging panel. These shorts were submitted by people all over Australia, and many of them portrayed the struggle of small town footy clubs, in tough economic times. Drug Game was a film about the recovery of Seaford footy club, after their run in with drugs - I Just Wanna Play Footy was a look at a young kids quest to get out and play - Child Rearing for Richmond Supporters was a funny look at the life lessons barracking for a flailing side like the Tigers teaches young people, very good.

In a totally crazy day, I then jumped on a tram and got to the Brunswick Hotel to see Oh Mercy with Nicole and Michelle. Based purely on Nicole's recommendation, I quite enjoyed this young Melbourne band's sound. Cute and fun tunes, they were funky and enchanting. I would have loved to hear Eliza sing a solo though! Alex, the lead, handled the heckling of two wasted tramps off the street mid-set, and their songs like Salvation Jane lead me to believe the world will be hearing more about them very soon!