"Be yourself, everyone else is taken" by Selena Seifert (Australia, 2023) offers a warm, observant look at people navigating motivation, achievement and anxiety within creative settings. The short highlights experiences related to cognitive processing and intellectual disability without reducing them to a single narrative. Shot with a sensitive eye for group dynamics and adult perspectives, the film uses art as a lens to explore confidence, frustration and small victories. Presented as part of the Focus on Ability International Short Film Festival, it sits among films that celebrate ability, resilience and everyday accomplishment, inviting audiences to reflect on what success and belonging can mean for different lives.
Hi, my name's Selina. I run Wild Valley Art Park in the beautiful Blue Mountains. I work as an art teacher and I use art as therapy. Today, I'm just working on a painting of a bird and some flowers. It calms me down. I've got a bit of a problem with anxiety, but when I come here, all my problems disappear and I just focus on the artwork. And you're such a wonderful teacher also, so that really helps. The outcomes of teaching art is to develop skills, to engage in social interaction and to gain independence and purpose. Oh! Courtney, can you tell us what you're doing here today? Trying to splatter paint on my splatter painting drawing, which I'll be putting kanji on the top of it. Some Japanese writing, not sure what it's going to be yet. It's probably going to be something inspirational. So, what I'm doing is I'm drawing a cat with my left hand by the right-handed and pretty much my brain is telling me that I'm supposed to go left to right, but my heart's telling me I have to go straight, but my brain's just confusing the whole thing. How's it going for your concentration to do this challenge? It's destroying my brain. Let's have a look at it. Can you show us how it's looking? It's looking good. How it's looking? Oh, well done. Hi Courtney, what have you got to say tonight? This is my first ever art expedition. Hello everyone. Hi, very nice to meet you. My name is Jacob and I just want to congratulate to Courtney for her show. I think you've done fantastic. His works are actually really great and they flow well with his works and I think that she should be extremely proud of herself. So, well done. Oh, hello. I'm painting a leopard on black paper with white pencil and I'm painting a black leopard on white paper with black ink and I'm painting some bamboo with black ink. So, you've really got most of my portfolio there dumped on a table. In nature, I think they're my favourite things to paint and draw. Two dogs, a python called Elvis, three bearded dragons called Lolly, Wanda and Rocket and a fish. And a fish. My dragons are great because they kind of regulate my day and they also have beautiful colours and textures which have inspired a number of artworks as well. I am painting a still life that you can see here of a vase with some flowers and I'm working on top of a mural that I painted previously. Okay, so I'm inspired a lot by colour, nature and pattern. That's what I'm going for in this painting. So, creating art and working on works such as this definitely gives me a sense of wellbeing. It helps me to stay motivated and also fosters a sense of independence. Through teaching art, I aim to open new doors and experiences to my students. Everything from exhibiting their own art to developing their online platforms and to creating their own art businesses.
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Be yourself, everyone else is taken by Selena Seifert (2023)
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Be yourself, everyone else is taken
by Selena Seifert - OPEN ENTRANT DOCUMENTARIES
