August 29, 2019
Short film festival to curb drinking culture at UOW Residences
Winning film by รรอลสำฦต student portrays consequences of heavy drinking on education
On Tuesday night, August 27, รรอลสำฦต (รรอลสำฦต) hosted an inaugural film festival to raise awareness about safer drinking practices among students living on campus.
ResFlix โ A Phoney Film Festival, was open exclusively to รรอลสำฦต students in residence, and the finalist screening featured 12 films shot on smartphones or tablets under two minutes in length. Each film addressed the theme Dial It Back (dial back your drinking).
The winning submission titled Party, sleep, uni, repeat portrays the negative consequences of excessive drinking on a studentโs experience at university.
โIt presents to the audience how poor decisions are affecting a studentโs attentiveness in class, and their grades,โ Resflix winner and Kooloobong Village resident James Sutherland said.
Mr Sutherland won $1000 for his entry and said the competition had likely attracted so many entries because the theme resonated with students.
โPersonally I felt like I could make a connection to it,โ he said.
โWeโve all just moved out of home, weโre young adults making decisions without the input of others.โ
Runner Up Swapnil Bhatnagar, Winner James Sutherland and People's Choice Winner Maria Ortiz on Tuesday night.
There were entries from Marketview, Graduate House, Weerona College, Bangalay, Campus East and Kooloobong Village residences.
Mr Sutherland said the film festival had created awareness about the issue; there were a number of conversations about drinking among his peers at Kooloobong while they were creating the film.
The free event which attracted close to 300 students and staff to the UniHall on Tuesday grew from an idea by Marketview resident Shamila Ebadi.
รรอลสำฦต Safe and Respectful Communities Manager Ron Fogarty was supportive of the concept from the start.
โWe take the safety and wellbeing of students very seriously and thought this would be a fun and engaging way for students to talk about the issues,โ Mr Fogarty said.
โWe were pleased to see so many students engaging with the topic, and seriously considering the impact of heavy drinking on their health and wellbeing.โ
Resflix at UniHall on Tuesday night.
In a survey, 95 per cent of attendees said they felt the event was effective in generating a conversation about safe drinking practices.
โWe will continue to look for opportunities like these to ensure our students are informed and safe.โ
UOW Accommodation Services Director Nigel Pennington said the evening showcased the creativity and sense of community that exists in our student residences, while delivering an important message around creating safer drinking practices.
and also supported the event.