Sit Down Shutup and Watch Screen Festival
19 - 30 Oct 2022
Teaser trailer
Sit Down Shutup And Watch! (SDSW) Screen Festival 2022 is back!
Join us for our 5th biennial Festival, free to view right HERE on our website, on our YouTube Channel or on our Facebook Page
Our Daily Program drops at 12 Noon ACST, Wednesdays to Saturdays from 19 - 30 Oct.
Please take a look below at our full Day by Day guide of the Festival Program after the message from Sara Egarr.
A message from the SDSW Steering Commitee Chair.
“SDSW SCREEN FESTIVAL 2022 will be presented online from 19-30 Oct on our Website, Youtube Channel and our Facebook Page. It will be an opportunity to celebrate screen creations made by learning disabled and neurodiverse artists and it will be heaps of fun.”
Sara Egarr
SDSW Steering Committee Chair
Michael Need
Also known as Miké Oz Need I was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism when I was three years old. I couldn’t speak till I was six years old. I used sign language to communicate as a child. Thanks to Sesame Street, I learned how to speak with an American accent. Hence whenever I meet someone new, they often ask if I am an American.
I also enjoy creating video reviews on new movie releases under the name Sketch Bud on YouTube.
SDSW program 2022
It's time to, Sit Down, Shutup & Watch!
Screening an inspired and highly diverse selection of the best Local, National and International screen works by learning disabled and neurodiverse content makers, the 2022 SDSW Screen Festival returns in it’s newly established online format under the theme, Something a Little Bit Different.
DAY ONE
Drops at 12 Noon ACST
October 19, Wed
WELCOME to Day One of SDSW
Presented by SDSW Steering Committee Chair, Sarah Egarr, and featuring our Special Guest, Resident Film Critic, Mike Oz Need.
Works screened today are: The Secret Life of Astrid North, Dir. Ray Jacobs, (UK), Beautiful Bear, Dir. Stuart Quinn, (UK), and, Mermaid, Dir. Jenna May, (Australia).
WELCOME to Day Two of SDSW
Presented by SDSW Steering Committee Chair, Sarah Egarr, and featuring our Special Guest, Resident Film Critic, Mike Oz Need.
Works screened today are: Indoor Camping Guide, Dir. Michael Fong-See Need, (Australia), The Neutral Pose, (Australia), Lockdown, Dir. James Kurtze, (Australia) and Dirty Dishes, Dir. Alec Marcus Klicke, Alexander George Sotiriou, (Australia).
DAY TWO
Drops at 12 Noon ACST
October 20, Thur
WELCOME to Day Three of SDSW
Presented by SDSW Steering Committee Chair, Sarah Egarr, and featuring our Special Guest, Resident Film Critic, Mike Oz Need.
Works screened today are: What a Wonderful World, The Man of The Trees, Dir. ANDREA TRIVERO (Italy), and, We Found a Leak, Dir. Alexander Sotiriou, (Australia).
DAY THREE
Drops at 12 Noon ACST
October 21, Fri
WELCOME to Special Saturday Screening
Oska Bright Film Festival : Best of Fest 2022 (UK)
Presented by SDSW Steering Committee member, James Kurtze.
Our partner Festival, Oska Bright bring us their specially selected Best of Fest for 2022.
SPECIAL SATURDAY SCREENING
Drops at 12 Noon ACST
October 22, Sat
WELCOME to Day Four of SDSW
Presented by SDSW Steering Committee Chair, Sarah Egarr, and featuring our Special Guest, Resident Film Critic, Mike Oz Need.
Works screened today are: Fell Down the Rabbit Hole, Dir. James Gregory Jones Bull, (Australia), Seife, Dir. Riccardo Di Gerlando (Italy), and, Sunshine and Rainbows, Dir. Sara Egarr, (Australia).
DAY FOUR
Drops at 12 Noon ACST
October 26, Wed
DAY FIVE
Drops at 12 Noon ACST
October 27, Thur
DAY SIX
Drops at 12 Noon ACST
October 28, Fri
SPECIAL SATURDAY SCREENING
Drops at 12 Noon ACST
October 29, Sat
WELCOME to Day Five of SDSW
Presented by SDSW Steering Committee Chair, Sarah Egarr, and featuring our Special Guest, Resident Film Critic, Mike Oz Need.
Works screened today are: Halloween, Dir. Joel Hartgen, (Australia), and, Dust Angel, Dir. Peter Dorn-Ravlin (USA).
WELCOME to Day Six of SDSW
Presented by SDSW Steering Committee Chair, Sarah Egarr, and featuring our Special Guest, Resident Film Critic, Mike Oz Need.
Works screened today are: Cloud Boy: An Autistic Journey, Dir. Kieran Firth-Bernard, (UK), Coming Out Autistic, Dir. Steven Fraser (UK), and, Secret life of Tom Lightfoot, Dir. Ray Jacobs, (UK).
WELCOME to Special Saturday Screening
Special surprise screening announcement coming soon.
All screen works in selection for SDSW 2022
The Secret Life of Astrid North
DIRECTOR
Ray Jacobs
ORIGIN
UK
GENRE
Drama
Astrid North investigates the arms trade and diamond smuggling in the Arctic Circle, known as queenie to her bemused colleagues Astrid also claims to be the Queen of Zaftra an undiscovered isle in a world not of our own.
Beautiful Bear
DIRECTOR
Stuart Quinn
ORIGIN
UK
GENRE
Drama
Peter is on autism spectrum and lives with a soft toy bear companion called Teddy, who are inseparable. However, one night he must summon the courage to face a situation he has never faced before and for the first time...without Teddy.
Mermaid
DIRECTOR
Jenna May
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Animation
She is an Underwater Mermaid. She is very special. The way I draw Mermaids is a really hard thing to do. And this mermaid is a bit quirky and a bit out there.
What a Wonderful World
DIRECTOR
Caitie Moloney
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Music Video
Auslan signing to this classic song that speaks to the heart.
The Man of the Trees
DIRECTOR
Andrea Trivero
ORIGIN
Italy
GENRE
Documentary
Daniel Balima is a senior horticulturist from Tenkodogo, a small Sub-Saharan African town in Burkina Faso, where he lives with his large family and has worked since he was born 67 years ago.
Daniel as a child falls ill with polio and, although growing without the use of his legs, he is able to follow his father in the family nursery, walking on his hands.
We Found a Leak
DIRECTOR
Alexander Sotiriou
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Comedy
A Plumber gets a call from a customer asking to unclog pipes at his home, but the Plumber also finds a leak or two.
Fell Down the Rabbit Hole
DIRECTOR
James Gregory Jones Bull
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Personal Story
This is a film about an individual artist with a brain injury. It gives an insight into what I can do when I have some support from a mentor. It’s raw, original and has different scenes and features.
Seife
DIRECTOR
Riccardo Di Gerlando
ORIGIN
Italy
GENRE
Drama
Hadamar 1938
A young man with disabilities is taken to a clinic for some experimental treatments.
Sunshine and Rainbows
DIRECTOR
Sara Egarr
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Drama
A story about a young person who has a personal problem.
Halloween
DIRECTOR
Joel Hartgen
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Music Video
A music video about zombies.
Dust Angel
DIRECTOR
Peter Dorn-Ravlin
ORIGIN
USA
GENRE
Sci-Fi
During the Earth/Mars conflict, a lone soldier explores a mysterious planet in the Andromeda galaxy. As the human searches for resources, he discovers that he is not alone.
Cloud Boy: An Autistic Journey
DIRECTOR
Kieran Firth-Bernard
ORIGIN
UK
GENRE
AnimationCloud Boy journeys through his insecurities and issues growing up. But as college approaches, he decides to become a more independent person. A semi-autobiography about the experiences of living with Autism.
The Neutral Pose
DIRECTOR
Ryan Borman
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Mockumentary
Covering internet crazes like the Ice Bucket challenge, here we follow, the neutral pose.
Lockdown
DIRECTOR
James Kurtze
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Animation/Live action
Like many of the world’s citizens James spent a significant amount of time confined to his home as Covid 19 spread like wild fire. Lock Down is James’ fantastical take on the origin and spread of the pandemic and his experience of it.
The Dirty Dishes
DIRECTOR
Alec Marcus Klicke, Alexander George Sotiriou
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Comedy
Business manager blames an unsuspecting employee for leaving dirty dishes in the lunch room.
Coming Out Autistic
DIRECTOR
Steven Fraser
ORIGIN
UK
GENRE
Animation Documentary
CONTENT WARNING
Sexually explicit content
Explores the experience of telling the world that you are autistic when you also identify as LGBTQ+. Queer coming out stories are well documented, but the occurrence of telling friends, family, co-workers and strangers that you are autistic is less explored. Parallels with queer experiences are investigated and a wide range of individuals are interviewed to express the array of feelings and reactions that are encountered.
Secret Life of Tom Lightfoot
DIRECTOR
Ray Jacobs
ORIGIN
UK
GENRE
Sci-Fi
Tom is anxious, he holds a secret in his human heart, a wing beat and a flutter and its bursting to take flight.
The Secret Life of Tom Lightfoot is a tale of magical realism to be witnessed and shared. It is a tale of healing revealing how we can learn to live with the secrets of our more than human hearts.
Indoor Camping Guide
DIRECTOR
Michael Fong-See Need
ORIGIN
Australia
GENRE
Comedy Documentary
A comedic documentary short about trying to enjoy great outdoors while being isolated during the pandemic.
“People are only as disabled as their environment, so if we start to create a culture where it is acceptable for everybody to be able to create, then we are automatically adapting the culture to enable that to happen.”
-SDSW Steering Committee Founder and Leadership Mentor, Lee Witczak