For the 11th year, the Australian mega-conference Pause Fest was the catalyst for a series of short films called Pause Originals where artists “regain creative control, experiment, collaborate, and gain valuable industry exposure.”

The theme for the 2021 edition was “changes” and after a round of internal curatorial bickering at our end, we narrowed the field down to four standouts.

You can also watch all the films and the opening titles here.
 
 

NOMANKIND by Mehdi Hadi (above)

“NOMANKIND is a short film that represents the vision of a machine-dominated society in a near future where humanity is on the verge of extinction due to its own self-destructive nature.”

Director/producer: Mehdi Hadi
Soundtrack: Echoic
 
 

ABSENTE | Voyager by Eun Woo Lee

“While the Voyager was leaving for unknown space mankind was wiped out by an unprecedented pandemic. Therefore, we couldn’t greet the Voyager when it returned with the long-awaited alien signal. Changes are all around us, but sometimes we can’t always sense and feel them. Hopefully, not all changes are like van Gogh’s painting after drinking Absinthe.”

Director: Eun Woo Lee (Willy)
Artist: Jongwook Lee
 
 

Innuendo by Ziyang Yue

“This video shows that behind the rapid development, people are becoming more lazy and greedy, but the real problem is if we can pay the huge price for it. In five or ten years, when we face another global pandemic, will we be ready for it?”

Creative Director: Ziyang Yue
Music/sound design: Zelig Sound
 
 

Changes by Geert van Hooff

“Unforeseen and abrupt changes can be very difficult for our outlook on life and can set us back. But the change is inevitable and the only constant in life, so we have to change ourselves; we have to learn, adapt and alter our minds for progress.”

Director: Geert van Hooff
Audio: Zelig Sound