By Tyler Wright
The Warburton Film Festival this weekend is set to showcase the work of many filmmakers, including a young Yarra Ranges student.
Ivy Tucker, Year 9 student at Belgrave’s Mater Christi College, felt the desire to make the move from acting on-screen to working behind the camera 18 months ago.
The result?
Her first short documentary, ‘Agricola 7101,’ which was picked from competition ‘Show us Your Shorts’ and will be presented to the local Yarra Ranges audience who are at the core of the film’s themes.
“It’s about the generosity of the people at the [Lilydale] Sailing Club, how they gave my brother Agricola 7101 and gave up their time to help my brother learn how to sail this boat during the difficult times of lockdown,” Ivy said.
The six month filming and editing process involved the director documenting the group of locals who bound together to rescue a long-neglected and rare classic Australian sailing dinghy – fundamentally changing the life of a young boy (her brother) along the way – an act of togetherness essential during the pandemic.
“I like being able to tell a story from behind the camera and being able to make people feel something; being able to create something that makes people feel kindness or compassion towards other people,” Ivy said.
And while this is the student filmmaker’s first foray into an individual project, she is no stranger to documenting experiences and putting them on screen after starting at the Ranges Academy of Performing Arts seven years ago.
“We made a couple of films together with this group, and I went to Spain for an International Children’s Film Festival where one of our first films we made together was screened, which was pretty awesome.
That was in 2018 – and then I’ve gone on from there by myself”
The teen has since juggled her studies with virtual filmmaker forums, youth discussions and promotional events across the USA including Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival.
Not far from home, though, was the Lantern and Light International Children’s Film Festival in Belgrave which inspired Ivy to submit her own work to be screened.
Ivy has received an invitation to speak at the upcoming 2022 Comic-Con, as part of the film’s selection for screening at the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival, but is still undecided if she will be able to attend in person.
As for future projects, the storyteller and aspiring actor remains tight-lipped.
“I might in the future think about making other [films], but I’m experimenting with lots of different types of filmmaking at the moment,” she said.
You can find the trailer for Agricola 7101 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8goiGcwQLC0
