Laura Nagy’s short film Bodies, shot by cinematographer Emma Paine, was reviewed as part of the Australian short film program at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) in 2019.
Review by James Cunningham.
Bodies is a fifteen-minute drama exploring the toxic friendship between two teenage girls, both seeking to master control of the world around them, their relationships, and their own bodies through increasingly destructive means. The pair’s relationship is brought to breaking point as they compete for the attention of a high-school gym teacher.
Bodies was funded by Create NSW’s Generator: Emerging Filmmaker’s Fund in 2017, and was executive produced by Polly Staniford and Cecilia Ritchie at Aquarius Films (Lion, Berlin Syndrome).
Shot flawlessly by cinematographer Emma Paine, we are taken into a world where exquisite production design by Diva Abrahamian is amplified perfectly by the camera. It is sometimes argued that good cinematography is not noticing the cinematography, and that is why, based on Bodies, Pain should one cinematographer in high-demand.
The film stars Mitzi Ruhlmann (Boys In The Trees) and Bridie McKim (ABC’s The Heights).
James Cunningham is the Editor of Australian Cinematographer Magazine.