ABOUT US,

FOR YOU:

A FESTIVAL OF STORIES

A Cinespace collaboration with Naarm-based initiative SXSEA, About Us, For You: A Festival of Stories was a series of workshops for culturally-diverse young people (18-25 years) around storytelling in film, music, and theatre. Through 3 workshops, across 3 weeks, participants worked with experienced mentors and each other, to create artistic pieces that shared people's stories, in their voices. The music tracks, films, and theatre monologues they created were showcased at an event, hosted in collaboration with Brimbank FReeZa's Half-Baked Open Mic, at The Bowery Theatre.

‘South by South East Asian’ (SXSEA) is the sexy way to shine a spotlight on South Asian and South East Asian artists in Naarm.

SXSEA envisions a world where artists can tell their stories, and create the way they want to, without the weight of cultural expectations.

We follow the SXSEA mission- to create spaces for artists from South Asian and South East Asian communities, to experiment with their artistry, and exercise freedom in the stories they tell.

This is a multicultural revolution, the SXSEA way.

OUR PROGRAM PARTNER

Supported by

the workshops

MEET THE PARTICIPANTS

Gwendolyn Sathiaseelan

THEATRE
Mabruka Obsa

THEATRE
Akshita Benny

THEATRE
Skylar Klease

MUSIC
Disanda Hettiarachchi

MUSIC
YAN RU LEE

FILM
Enhui

FILM
Stephanie Ramirez

FILM
Elizabeth Fouldes

FILM

THEATRE

Beginning with the question ‘How do you connect to your culture?', each participant centered their story around a chosen theme, crafted a character, and a monologue from that perspective.

These three unique works unapologetically explore very relatable difficulties of finding belonging within so-called Australia, and diverse communities through themes including careers, sports and even… love?

Dance? You’ll Dance

By Gwendolyn Sathiaseelan

Watch Now
Me and Malik

By Mabruka Obsa Ali

Watch Now
Pass

By Akshita Benny

Watch Now

music

Through collaboration, Disanda and Skylar, combined their ideas and lived experiences to write and record a track filled with honesty and meaning. The song they created, titled "No Way Out", sang their stories of fitting in and finding a sense of belonging in a diverse and complex world. Skylar also recorded a second track, titled "Butcher Bird", that delivers raw vocals of their personal lived experiences.

film

Through the filmmaking workshops, participants learned how to create mini documentary videos that highlighted real stories through interviews. They explored techniques for planning, filming, and editing to bring out authentic voices and experiences. By the end of the workshop, each participant crafted a short documentary that captured the essence of someone's personal journey.

JUNIPER CARE

By Ru Lee

too sexy for france

By Stephanie Ramirez

MY AUNTIE’S GARDEN

By Enhui

JOHN’S ORIGINAL FLOWERS

By Elizabeth Fouldes

Meet the mentors

Having worked with Jaguar Jonze, Stella Donnelly, Sparrows, and Magdalia, Seetali Mack is a Melbourne-based producer, songwriter, musician, and composer whose dedication and technical expertise have established her as a rising force in the music industry. Her passion for guitar, production, advanced recording techniques and songcraft drive her mission to break barriers and challenge stereotypes in the industry. Seetali strives to inspire diverse creators, encouraging them to see their potential reflected in her journey.

Seetali Mack [MUSIC]

Steve is a writer, theatre director and cultural producer, with passion and experience for community engagement and development particularly with Queer, CALD and POC communities. A Tanzanian, Canadian, and Australian of Indian background, he has extensive experience and training working in the areas of race, culture and identity.

Steve Pereira [THEATRE]

Nabila is a theatremaker, creative producer, director, dramaturg, DEI specialist and advocate. With her writing and directing debut at Melbourne Fringe Festival 2024 with To The Moon and Back, her career credits include Producer of UMMTA’s Spamalot, founding member and Artistic Director of CIPTA Theatre Company, and various roles in equity. Nabila has a deep passion for improving diversity and inclusion in the industry through facilitating cross-cultural productions and stories, with a strong emphasis on community building.

NABILA MALIK (THEATRE)

Simon is a Naarm-based freelance videographer, photographer, mentor and artist. His work and personal practice engages with community storytelling. For the past 5 years, Simon has filmed with various communities throughout Naarm. Recently he has captured many stories from locals and the wider trader community for the public photo and video series, “I Love Coburg”, which was produced in collaboration with Central Coburg Business Associations & Merri-Bek City Council. Simon’s continual focus is to collaboratively find the best ways to project people's voices where interviewees feel proud.