The Melbourne International Film festival is one of Australia’s most culturally diverse film festivals. However its ticket holders are not, attracting much the same audience year on year.

In 2018 we were challenged to reach a broader audience. One that would not normally engage with the film festival. We needed to find a way to over-come the barrier preventing people engaging with our festival program of foreign and art house films.

This film is one of six ‘Unwritten Reviews’. It follows the creative process of Melbourne Music Producer and Composer, Billy Davis, as he creates a bespoke track reflecting the narrative and characters of a film from the 2018 Melbourne International Festival. After being invited to a private film screening, he heads back to his private studio where he selects instruments inspired by the themes, explaining the relevance of each, as he gradually assembles an haunting piece.

Five ‘Unwritten Reviews’ were created by five diverse artists, including a professional chef, a music producer, a master brewer, a contemporary aboriginal artist and cocktail mixologist. Each were invited to a private MIFF film screening from the 2018 program. They were then tasked with crafting a piece in their individual mediums that’s inspired by their viewing experience.

The process became short films themselves shared online, spread through the influencers channels, the festival website and experienced first-hand in locations around Melbourne during the lead-up to and during the festival.

Instead of reading a review, visual, visceral, edible, audible and tactile pieces will communicate the film experience to our audience without a single word.