VCA School of Film and Television

Arguably Russia’s most famous folk song, Dark Eyes has captured hearts around the world for the past 100 years. This portrait explores the song’s somewhat controversial history, its musical versatility and its cultural relevance. Performances by Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Liberace, a 13-piece orchestra and a Russian folk group make it clear why Dark Eyes has stood the test of time.

Narrated by the birds that roost in the rafters of a shopping centre, "Peeps" is a portrait of five unique teenage girls in contemporary Australia.

A girl stands on a lonely road looking into the distance and into her future.

Pitch Black takes us inside the claustrophobic worlds of three young men immersed in the online black-pill subculture, as they struggle to reckon with their actions.

Follows Yo, Siyuan and Mia, three young women who, using the mobile application Replika, have formed romantic relationships with virtual partners. This short documentary captures the richness of these bonds, from philosophical questions to intimate moments to the real sense of security and companionship afforded by these artificially intelligent lovers.

Kay can't eat, Kay can't sleep, and Kay can't do anything about the city, as it slowly consumes the people around him; but what is growing on his chest?

The once celebrated graphic designer Paul Andrews has fallen from grace. Battling against the demands of vacuous clients, deprived of his voice, he descends into an obsessive and distorted search for creative expression.

Adam Elliot's earliest film, Human Behavioral Case Studies, is a drawn animation rather than claymation like his other films. It's about unusual human behaviors or obsessions. At only a minute long, it's just long enough to be memorably, darkly amusing.

Follows a group of young Australians who stutter as they take part in a 10-week performing arts program to create a unique theatre piece, which they’ll perform for family and friends.

In a not-so-distant future, scientists have discovered immortality. What follows is a surreal exploration of the sometimes banal, sometimes chaotic consequences, begging the question: is there meaning in infinity?

A 17 minute portrait documentary film that explores one woman’s lived experiences as a survivor of domestic violence and homelessness, told with humour and heart.

It's Tom's first day on the job. He's already having doubts about his career. Jimmy's not making life any easier.

Inside a den fortified to keep people out, Josh finds himself trapped with four unstable drug dealers and a possessed bag of meth. An ancient evil with a proclivity for gratuitous acts of violence makes its way through the whacked-out inhabitants, one by one. As eyeballs are pulled out and throats are slit around him, Josh realises that, to survive, he must claw, cut and burn his way out.

Want to be a big game hunter but hate the big game price tag that comes with it? Don’t go to Africa to kill animals – have a fun day out with your family at The Drive Zoo! Witness fantastic creatures in their natural habitat, then shoot them all from the comfort of your car. Experience the thrill of hunting with less death, less guilt, less blood and more glory!

Arriving on a cruise ship as though pulled by an invisible string, senior citizen Donald discovers an apparent murder scene. While searching for answers, he finds a second body, and an emergency is declared. When it becomes clear that the murderer is not of flesh and blood, that Donald is next in line to be killed and that the ship’s captain is a ferryman carrying his passengers to the afterlife, he and the other elderly tourists decide to make a break for it.

A man trying to propose to his girlfriend is blindsided by the telepathic accusations of a childhood teddy bear.

Packing away at his late father’s apartment, a stoic man finds himself grappling with grief and anger. Unable to cope yet refusing to open up, he retreats from cold, harsh reality into a warm, fuzzy forest, where he is left alone and there’s no more emotion, no more pain, no more struggle.

All Andrew wants is a change of scenery, but his grimy new St Kilda apartment has other ideas.

After eight seasons of poor off-screen behaviour, sitcom character Martin Dreggs has been killed off. Will the actor who plays him get a second chance at fame when the show broadcasts live? Drawing from sitcom inspirations absorbed throughout an entire childhood, writer/director Samuel Bortolazzo stages a complex family dilemma within the vessel of a television sitcom.

Ruby has started a business baking cakes from home. At the last minute, she has been tasked with creating the centrepiece cake at a friend’s wedding. Now, along with her aloof partner Tom, she must navigate a broken-down car, dismissive parents, unhelpful friends and other obstacles in order to make it to the wedding on time.