NT Travelling Film Festival
The relationship between music and memory was the inspiration for filmmaker Jane Hampson's short film Sunset.
Sunset follows the story of Ingrid, an 89-year-old who is abandoned on her birthday. In a sad state, she meets a young musician who helps her make peace with her past.
Hampson says she was inspired to tell a story with a strong musical link after learning of the impact of music on people with Alzheimer’s disease.
“I had a friend who was a carer in an old-timers home and he told me about the power of music, especially for people with Alzheimer’s disease,” she says.
“As soon as music was played, especially if it was from an important time in someone's life, they would find all this animation for life. I was really interested in how those memories are trapped in people’s minds.”
Hampson also wanted to make viewers think about how the older generation are treated in today’s society.
“I wanted to do something that celebrated old age and encouraged people to look at the way we view and treat old people, while still touching people's hearts,” she says.
“It’s about a woman in the sunset of her life and set on the Nightcliff foreshore, so it’s a celebration of Darwin’s shorelines and magnificent sunsets to tie the outside and her inner world together.”
You can catch Sunset, along with a whole host of other locally produced films at several locations in the Top End as part of the NT Travelling Film Festival.
Darwin Sat 11 May | 7.30-11pm Deckchair Cinema | $12
Nitmiluk Sat 18 May | 7-11pm Katherine Gorge, Jetty Lawns | $19
Edith Falls Sat 25 May | 7.30-10pm | Edith Falls Kiosk And Camp Ground | Free
