Long Time Dead

Director: Marcus Adams

Year: 2003

A Jeep travels along a nighttime freeway; Senga Wilson (late 30s) is behind the wheel, tired, drawn & tense. In the passenger seat is her daughter Nat (15), there is a mother daughter tension in the air; Senga is starting to fall asleep and Nat insists they pull over. Just before they rejoin the freeway, Senga stops at an ATM, while Senga has her back turned, Nat invites a young girl backpacker into the car knowing it will annoy her mother. A few more miles, having dropped off the backpacker Nat's father rings to say Nat's birthday gift has been left behind and once again the two pull off the freeway to wait for him. The gift is tickets to a concert that Senga has forbidden Nat to attend, the three have a terrible fight and Senga rips up the tickets, Nat screams at her and runs. Senga calms down and starts to search for Nat to apologise. She sees Nat with the backpacker and a strange couple climbing into an RV. Senga screams and rushes after Nat, it's too late she has gone. Senga runs to her Jeep and sets off after the RV and moments later the backpacker's belt tightens around her throat, in front of them a silver fuel tanker suddenly brakes, Senga swerves and hits the central divide. The door opens and the backpacker climbs out leaving Senga slumped unconscious, blood dripping from her temple.

Director: Ben O'Connor

Year: 2026

Robbie exists on the margins of society. He lives alone on a narrow boat in rural England with little means. He has found solace in isolation and a humble life. Unexpectedly he is contacted with the unwanted news of his estranged father’s death. This drags up emotions from the past that quickly become too much to bear… And so, the story begins… A journey back into his past. A journey on a motorcycle to find his mother. He drives, alone, through desolate landscapes, barren and mountainous, into the depths of his mind. A dream world where Robbie is forced to confront his past. Two stories emerge; memories from his childhood recurrently appear, fracturing the present where ex-lovers who have shaped his life confront him in surreal encounters. With time the two stories collide, past and present become one. The road leads in one direction, back to his childhood home and ultimately, his first and now final love; his mother. For where he began, he will now end and know himself for the first time.

Director: Simon Brooke

Year: 2025

Boyfriends Connor, Silas, and Connor’s dad Rob arrive home. Connor and Silas show affection. Rob drops his yellow work bucket in the kitchen. Little brother Max sits up for dinner while mum, Jan, plans for his sixth birthday. They watch the evening news announcing a scientific discovery; if a boy sees yellow while hearing a woman sing on his sixth birthday, he will grow up gay. The notion of this quotidian trigger creates a tense silence. Connor, anxious, realises his parents can choose whether Max grows up gay. The next day, Max chooses colours for his party, ignoring yellow. Connor sees the yellow bucket in the kitchen has been replaced with a blue one. That night, Connor wakes Max to ask if anyone told him what colours to pick. Max insists he chose his favourites. Before the party, Jan fears she is losing her voice. Rob takes Connor to the pub and reassures him the yellow bucket broke, and that he and Jan are proud Connor is gay. At the party, Connor withdraws to his room. Jan follows and finds he has hidden every yellow object in the house. Upset, they gently return to the celebration leaving the objects.