Silvy is withdrawn, lost, and hiding behind her cynical journal entries. Her outlook is challenged when she is forced to spend a night in the country with her aunties foster children.

Director’s Statement

A Static Wind began as an email to myself at 4am in April 2014.

The subject line read; ‘You can do this, this is a good idea’, and the email ended with
‘Reflect on my feeling of disconnect from my family and from people in general’

This combination of doubt and a desire to explore my own emotional state both haunted and moulded the film through the almost two years since this kernel of an idea. However this may be able to be traced back to April 2007 when I was paralysed in a motorcycle accident forcing me to readjust my career goals. Strangely this filled me with a certain hope, an ability to start from scratch and do anything. I picked film making and it has been a ride of ups and downs since then.

Needing a buffer from the autobiographical, I prefer to tell stories through a female main character as it allows me to openly explore personal themes and ideas. In the vein of films like Somersault (2004) and Ratcatcher (1999), A Static Wind explores the turmoil of the adolescent mind; oscillating between the inquisitive and a stoic disdain, the longing for attention and a constant search for solitude.

This film is about personal adversity without the guidance to deal with it. Without the guidance of a mother through the tumultuous teenage years, Silvy retreats inside herself, diminishing those around her and shutting out the world. Not least of all are the two foster children she spends the night with, each with their own lack of guidance but dealing with it in different ways. 9 year old Grayson is just a kid, taking each moment as it comes, Mia and older teenager rebels against anyone that seeks to control her. We each deal with adversity in different ways and exploring this in A Static Wind opened my eyes to how I deal with it myself and how important it is to understand each persons individual experience.

The purpose of A Static Wind is to explore the fragile mind of an unguided adolescent. A Static Wind represents the need for acceptance, acceptance of people, acceptance of places and acceptance of the circumstances you find yourself in.