ARE YOU STILL WATCHING? (2021)
Short Animation / 5:58 / English
Production Sissy Screens

In the midst of Melbourne’s COVID-19 lockdown, Jamie finds reprieve from the monotony of isolation through their imagination, sensuality and some help from iconic onscreen queer characters.

Created by Sissy Screens
Directors Tali Polichtuk, Alex Cardy & Kitty Chrystal
Writer Tali Polichtuk
Producer Alexandra George
Art Director & Character Design Kitty Chrystal
Cinematographer Alex Cardy
Cityscape Artist & Animation Sorcha McKenzie
Backgrounds, Colour & Animation Adam Price
Sound Supervisor & Mix Jennifer Leonforte
Music Composition Stellar Ruby Marshall
Sound Editor Lachlan Harris
BTS Photography Anna Hay

Featuring Zoe Terakes
with Frances J Clarke, Liz Esguerra, Kassie Junkeer, Eugene Howard

Special Thanks
Unison Sound, Thought & Found

Synopsis
Jamie is a 20 something year old non-binary person living in Melbourne. They’re whip-smart, creative and have an encyclopaedic knowledge of cinema and pop culture. They’re also single, bored and perpetually horny.

Forced into near-isolation during Melbourne’s COVID-19 lockdown, Jamie keeps themselves entertained bingeing on queer film and TV. What begins as mere escapism turns sensual when they start having sexual delusions involving their favourite queer characters. Fantasy and reality merge as they recount their erotic encounters to their physician Dr. Holland and receive an unusual diagnosis.

Are You Still Watching? explores the emancipatory power of the queer imagination, combining erotic fan fiction tropes, magical realism and a firm camp sensibility. Learn more here.

Festivals
2021 Edinburgh International Film Festival
2021 Chicago International Film Festival / Gold Hugo for Best Animation — Nominated
2021 Melbourne International Film Festival
2021 Palm Springs International ShortFest / Best Comedy Short, Best Sound Design — Nominated
2021 Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival
2021 Outfest: Los Angeles Film Festival
2021 Inside Out: Toronto LGBT Film Festival
2021 Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival
2021 Wicked Queer: Boston’s LGBT Film Festival
2021 Image + Nation: Montreal’s Queer Film Festival / Best Sound Design — Winner
2021 Florida International Animation Film Festival
2021 Vancouver Queer Film Festival
2021 Newfest LGBTQ+ Film Festival, New York
2021 Gaze International LGBTQIA Film Festival, Ireland
2021 Seattle Queer Film Festival
2021 Out on Film Atlanta Queer Film Festival
2021 Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival
2021 QUEER-Streifen Regensburg, Germany
2021 Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
2022 Mardi Gras Film Festival / Best Emerging Filmmaker — Winner
2022 Melbourne Women in Film Festival / Best Victorian Short — Winner

Supported by Victoria Together & Melbourne Queer Film Festival