The success of the short film CAPTCHA is a story that provides valuable insight into the many possibilities that many films can achieve, especially within the University of Canberra.
Recently, Canberra’s M16 Artspace hosted an exhibition dedicated exclusively to showcasing the Student Film CAPTCHA, directed by Matthew Francis and produced by Lachlan Kendall.
I had the opportunity to witness this film, within its respected exhibition first-hand, as well as discuss with Matthew and Lachlan about their film’s overall inspiration and success.
During my time in the exhibition, I discovered how the M16 Artspace conveyed such a powerful sense of unsettling and detached emotions, through the showcasing of the film.
The overall environment and atmosphere was cramped, dark and slightly eerie. The M16 Artspace provided nothing more than an empty room, a single chair in the centre, and the film itself being projected onto a blank wall.
There was no room for distractions or unnecessary information.
My focus was directed solely towards the film. Because of this, my overall experience with the exhibition was intimate, personal, and slightly unsettling.
Nevertheless, this experience only further complemented the film’s overall sound quality, visual effects and unnerving message; providing me the incredible experience of witnessing the film the way it was intended.
Once I had completed the exhibition, I also had the chance to hear from the director and producer of the film, as they shared their inspiration and overall success of the film.
Through our discussion, I discovered that CAPTCHA was filmed predominantly on the University of Canberra campus, as well as initially being created as an assessment piece for the Creative Producer unit.
“Everything from the dialogue I was putting into the film was AI written and the structure was also based around like a three-by-three structure sort of like the squares that you get in an ‘I am not a robot test’. That was my inspiration”.
Matthew Francis, Director of CAPTCHA
As the discussion continued, Lachlan and Matthew both shared that CAPTCHA has been recognised and awarded at various film festivals, including being featured at the Saint Kilda Film Festival, being awarded the Canberra Short Film Festival’s film with the best sound, and being recognised as a finalist at the Melbourne Cineverse in 2023.
Lachlan shares what he’s taken most out of the experience.
“Learning about festivals, learning about distribution, learning about exhibitions, I think at least from my Producer’s point of view, that’s where I’ve taken away the most out of this”.
Lachlan Kendall, Producer of CAPTCHA
The entire experience of witnessing the CAPTCHA exhibition within the M16 Artspace firsthand was incredible, as it effectively elevated everything that this brilliant short film had to offer.
Discovering the origins and success of the film through the director and producer’s perspective was a beautiful way to end the experience as a whole.
The overall experience, including the exhibition and discussion with Lachan and Matthew, showed me that there are many avenues of success that students can achieve through their work, especially within the University of Canberra.