No. 012 - 'Sydney Experimental' (2025)

Attended by Helena Williams at the Factory Theatre

An evening that promised to be RAW. INDEPENDENT. and REAL. I attended the first of Sydney Experimental’s gigs held at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville. The lineup featured music for the first act, a brief intermission and then numerous experimental short films for the rest of the evening.

I want to start by pointing out that following my attendance to this event I was really struggling to come up with an angle on which to base my review. I think this was a culmination of lots of things but, boiled down, it spoke to the experimental genre itself and how hard it is to measure something that, by definition, aims to be non-traditional, subversive and ‘out-there’.

I thought about using audience response to indicate the success of certain projects over others, but what if that response is not the intended one (nudity will always divide people, I’ve noticed). Does an experimental film fail if it evoked the opposite reaction to what was intended? Or a success simply because it evoked something? And by that logic, does that make Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, the most successful experimental film?

My friend (and editor), Matthew, pointed out afterwards that within the experimental genre, it is one thing to reference great experimental artists that have come before you, BUT as an artist, these references need to be redefined and have a meaning that exists solely in the story world you have created. In other words, you cannot rely on an audience’s prior knowledge of these ‘greats’ to drive your film’s meaning forward.

I liked this criteria of sorts (thanks Matthew) as I felt it helped decipher and decode the films. By working backwards I could understand perhaps WHY I liked some films more than others and articulate what exactly it was about them that stood out.

I believe that exposure to experimental art is paramount in pushing our boundaries as individuals as well as creatives. It can help us to redefine what we previously thought was possible, and (if successful) force us to reflect on what we are feeling, while we are feeling it.

At first glance, experimental art may be shocking or confronting. Many of the short films contained nudity, mental illness and/or drugs, expressed in raw and typically unseen ways. However, after exposure, we eventually became desensitised and forced into a blind acceptance of what was in front of us. I think there’s a lot of freedom in a viewing experience like this, and it can inspire creative pursuits or simply a different way to go about your day that, before exposure, might have felt irrational.

RAW, INDEPENDENT and REAL. Sydney Experimental certainly delivered on creative exposure for independent artists, and has created a platform for which aspiring artists can have more freedom in avant-garde exploration and first-time filmmaking. The participants should be applauded for their bravery in sharing their work to an audience who (mostly) may not have known what to expect.

Fleapit Pick of the Week

Golden Age is marking the 25th anniversary of Swedish director’s Roy Andersson feature, Songs from the Second Floor, with a series of screenings. Through vignettes and tableaux, Andersson balances the tragic and comedic of human existence. Songs from the Second Floor screens Sunday.

Screenings: Thursday 17 July - Wednesday 23 July

Miya Miya Film Club
Caramel (2007, Nadine Labaki)
Wednesday

Scandinavian Film Festival | 17 July - 10 August
Number 24 (2024, John Andreas Andersen)
Opening Night
Thursday

Hayden Orpheum | selected highlights
Miss Congeniality (2000, Donald Petrie)
25th Anniversary
Saturday

Metropolis (1927, Fritz Lang)
Sunday

Three Colours - Blue (1993, Krzysztof Kieslowski)
Sunday

Golden Age Cinema | selected highlights
Favoriten (2024, Ruth Beckermann)
Sydney Exclusive
Saturday

Songs from the Second Floor (2000, Roy Andersson)
25th Anniversary
Sunday

Stop Making Sense (1984, Jonathan Demme)
Monday

Ritz Cinemas, Randwick | selected highlights

The Wolves Always Come At Night (2025, Gabrielle Brady)
Daily

Robert Altman Retrospective (link)
3 Women (1977, Robert Altman)
Thursday

Cult Classics (link)
Barry Lyndon (1975, Stanley Kubrick)
Saturday & Monday

Celluloid Film (link)
Basic Instinct (1992, Paul Verhoeven)
Friday

Classic Matinees (link)
Cleopatra (1963, Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
Saturday & Monday

Make It Musical (link)
The Muppet Movie (1979, James Frawley)
Sunday & Wednesday

Meet Cute (link)
My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997, P.J. Hogan)
Tuesday

Dendy Newtown | selected highlights

Bring Her Back (2025, Danny & Michael Philippou)
Daily

Night Shift (link)
Master & Commander (2003, Peter Weir)
Daily

Palace Cinemas | selected highlights

Cult Vault (link)
Night of the Hunter (1955, Charles Laughton)
Monday

Matinee Memories (link)
The Sound of Music (1965, Robert Wise)
Saturday

Art Gallery of NSW
Film Series: Nouvelle Vague - A Short History of the French New Wave

Breathless (1960, Jean-Luc Godard)
Sunday

Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959, Alain Resnais)
Wednesday