June Collie, one of the 2011 Junior Resident artists at Popopstudios this past summer and Gio Swaby, a student volunteer at Popopstudios have both entered short films into this year’s Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF).

As part of her final exhibition “Fallen Transitions” at the end of her 3-month residency June Collie displayed three short films – “Simon Says?”, “Installation II” and “What Do You Want June?” – each making a statement about individuality.

In a Nassau Guardian interview June said, “With my work, I like to get straight to the point.”

“…in film, I got to show people what I wanted to see. I feel like I can express myself,” she says. “When I work with video, it never feels like work.”

Gio Swaby is an art student at the College of the Bahamas and a volunteer at Popopstudios. Last year she assisted in the Popopstudios Junior Resident Artist Khia Poitier’s final exhibition by making a film of Khia wrapped in a crocheted ‘cocoon’.

DEVOTEE

Director: June Collie

The Bahamas / 2011 / 3 mins
Young Ali, has given into his fixation with Facebook. It has become a part of his daily life, as a result he carries it wherever he goes. And every night before he goes to sleep, he makes sure he gets a full dose of it. Is it an addiction or avid entertainment?

COCOON

Director: Giovanna Swaby
The Bahamas / 2011 / 6 mins
This short film is centered around an individual who appears to be willfully enclosed within a colorful crocheted cocoon. The façade that the character in this story has built is abruptly ripped away and the individual is suddenly thrown out of this comfort zone and into a new, exciting but frightening world. The character is then faced with the uncomfortable choice of either reverting to or abandoning the image that they have so carefully constructed and become accustomed to. ‘Cocoon’ focuses on the subject of identity and the fear of change and rejection, issues that every person will face at some point in their lives. It presents the process of finding and facing oneself in a very literal and basic way in an attempt to appeal and connect with a broad audience of people.