One of Perth’s most revered events Revelation: Perth International Film Festival begins this week bringing together some of the most intriguing, compelling and challenging films from around the world.
There’s everything from short films to features, documentaries, dramas, comedies and often films that defy categorisation.
Making its debut at the festival will be a new short film Connies, all about Connections Nightclub. OUTinPerth chatted to director Matt Sav about the project.
Prior to making this new film Sav’s had a successful career making music videos for the likes of Spacey Jane, Confidence Man, Birds of Tokyo, Alex Lahey, Carla Webhe, Methyl Ethel and many others, as well making some memorable TV commercials and short documentaries.
What made you want to make a film about Connections?
It began as part of the Reflections Film Funding through the State Library of WA and Screenwest. We chose to make a film using the Connections poster archive at the library as a jumping off point because we are passionate about the arts, the queer community, music, and places to express yourself in Perth.
The longest running queer club in the southern hemisphere was bound to harbour some incredible stories. It’s a space that means so many things to different people, how do you go about capturing the essence of a long running venue?
It is really challenging with such a short piece! We Tried to interview a cross section of punters from across the years, starting with Noel who worked and partied at Connies in the 70s, through to Tim Brown, the current owner and a few people in between.
This gave at least a small insight into the breadth of experiences and meaning harboured in the clubs walls.
Do you remember your first time of going to Connections?
I do! My first time at Connies was one of the first times I felt comfortable at a club and saw myself in a light that was always there.
I remember at midnight seeing the crowd stop dancing, the lights and music change, and this incredible queen start strutting out onto the stage. I felt so happy, proud, and at home! Seeing the freedom of people there to express themselves how they wanted to not only without fear but with reverence was a really special experience.
I love love, and I love music, and I love freedom of expression (where harm is not done to others). I also grew up watching lots of musical theatre in the actual theatre, so it was like seeing the gritty sister of that expression, up close and personal, which I naturally loved.
What was the biggest challenge you faced making the film?
Telling all the stories in such a short time! We really would have liked to make a longer piece. There are just so many stories living in those walls!
What do you now know, that you didn’t know before embarking on this project?
That Connies was about to shut down because of many outside pressures, and that Tim Brown was instrumental in managing it back to life.
Making the decision to modernise and focus more on the music in the club. I didn’t know this part of its history. For me, it has always been there. I think we often take places in our community like Connies for granted until they are gone.
And look, there might be cooler, or more trendy queer raves and parties going on, but Connies provides a much needed, very public facing community and space that I think is really important for people at all stages of their queerdom to be able to see and access, where some of the more underground events are less visible, and more challenging to access.
The short film Connies screens with the feature Extraordinary Miss Flower. Catch it at Luna Leederville on Thursday 3rd July at Luna Leederville from 5.45pm, and Saturday 12th July at Luna SX in Fremantle from 5.45pm.
Dive into the full program the festival’s website. Revelation: Perth International Film Festival runs from Wednesday
