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Zoe Misplaced

Jul 03, 2014

Zoe is a fairly typical student, cramming for university assignments in between socialising with mates, knitting and watching old Dawson’s Creek re-runs in a slightly shabby share-house the likes of which will be familiar to most Australians.

She lives with best friend Coal, who is equally busy juggling sport and bedroom dates with her ex-girlfriend, the sultry and enigmatic Nat.

Chain-smoking Zoe initially comes across as somewhat sardonic – the film opens with her watching a protest on television and scoffing at the futility of it all – and her attitude seems to extend to sex, love and relationships. But as everyone knows, sometimes these things just happen, and as Zoe discovers, life can get very messy.

New South Wales writer, producer and director Mekelle Mills’ indie film traverses familiar territory in many respects, but what is refreshing is the fact that it does so from a young lesbian perspective. And it’s not the highly glamorised picture portrayed in some American films and TV shows (The L-Word, Queer as Folk), but an honest and realistic Australian viewpoint.

“As a lesbian, I was finding the amount of relatable lesbian films in the market to be quite low,” Mills said in an interview with LOTL magazine. “I myself wanted a film that focused on the regular everyday highs, lows, wins and tribulations of being a lesbian in this world.”

At the same time, however, Zoe Misplaced shows the universality of life experience, regardless of sexuality – especially the way in which the first throes of love can skew perceptions, over-ride our sense of self-preservation, and blind us to the damage we may be doing to other relationships. There’s also wry humour in the script, which cheekily pokes fun at stereotypes.

Mills has assembled some impressive young actors, with Hannah Raven Smith convincingly conveying the myriad emotions of Zoe, while Clementine Mills’ piercing intensity as Nat is, at times, chilling. Rounding out the cast are John Manning as Zoe’s brother; Ryan Bennett as best mate Tom; and Kaska Zielinski, who gives a strong performance as the staunch yet wounded Coal.

Zoe Misplaced is a low-budget film – funded with the help of a Pozible campaign – and this is evident in aspects of the production, but it’s an impressive effort from a young Australian film-maker.

Zoe Misplaced is showing at the Mercury Cinema at 1.30pm this Sunday (July 6) as part of the Feast Film Festival. There will be a Q&A session with director Mekelle Mills after the screening.

 

 

 

 

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