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By:Natalija Asceric

Australian short film “Abduction” has been inspired by real events and a mix of personal experience, memories, and science-fiction. The short film has already won the Audience Choice Award at the Australian CinefestOz Film Festival. The movie follows a young woman named Mathilda who had a traumatic experience. After a night out Mathilda wakes up in a field and can’t seem to remember anything, not even how she ended up there. On her search finding out what has happened to her, how she got marks on her body, and why she experiences hallucination, she gets to know what it means to be judged and treated with brutality.

“Beautifully shot and superbly acted”

Director and Producer Paul Komadina is a film-maker based in Perth. Komadina founded a production company with Producer Cody Greenwood who also was part of the project. Both worked on several commercials together which shows a great relationship between the duo. Writer Frances Elliott made a big personal contribution to the short film when she shared her personal experience with Paul Komadina; she once had a spiked drink at the club and wasn’t taken seriously by her friends. 

The main character was played by Alexandra Nell who was recently part of the Netflix crime drama movie “Rattlesnake”. In reality, she is a housemate of Megan Hollier who acts the role of Abbe, a friend of Mathilda. The fact that they know each other in real life enables them to transfer the authenticity of friendship to the audience. The role of Mathilda’s boyfriend Andy is played by Kyle Barrett. He studied at WAAPA (The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts) and has already worked on several projects with the director Komadina.

The self-financed Australian short film is full of unpredictable moments. It allows the audience to gain an insight into the emotional world of a woman who has been abducted. Using dark and frightening colours, mystic music, and well-chosen actors make it even crueller. Many people will feel that the topic is more than a problem of just one woman, but moreover, a serious social issue. Beautifully shot and superbly acted, Abduction is a great film for many reasons. A short film with a long term powerful impression.