Howl - Short Film

What's the story?

Sixteen-year-olds Daisy and Lila’s friendship is put to the test when a night out at a suburban house party goes terribly wrong.

Howl is a queer coming-of-age drama located in the intense experience of being a teenage girl in a patriarchal world. Both girls are desperate to belong, and navigating impossible patriarchal standards that mean no matter what they do, they will never be enough. It’s a film told in a circular style but the gaze is flipped, as Daisy, our protagonist, finally steps into her power.

Why tell it?

My name's Domini Marshall and I'm the writer and director of Howl. I live and work in Naarm (Melbourne). My work often explores gender and social norms and as a filmmaker I believe in the power of stories to not only reflect the world we live in, but create it.

This story is very important to me.

Howl aims to explore gender, sexuality and consent, in a nuanced, human way. This was something I never saw as a teenager, or even spoke about. And while Daisy's story is not my story, many elements of it are drawn from my own experiences as a teenager. The difference is that Daisy does what I only found the courage to do much later in life and that is, take up space and fight back.

I myself am a victim-survivor of sexual assault and I've seen many friends go through similar experiences. I’ve seen the slut-shaming that has followed and I internalised that same victim-blaming narrative, which impacted my life in many ways and took a long time to unlearn. And this narrative still exists, as do archaic ideas of consent that revolve around one word, yes or no. It’s time that changed.

Not too long ago, I shared this story with an audience. Afterwards, a group of women came up to me and shared their own experiences of very similar events - abuse of power and sexual violence made blurry, justified as boys being boys. It reminded me again just how common these experiences are. Yes, the conversation has come a long way since I was a teenager, but it still has a very long way to go.

In Howl, we have a chance to rewrite that narrative, and redistribute that power – a chance to say, enough, and to embrace a world where we don’t need to fit within the confinements of an ideology that limits us all. And that’s what we hope to do with this short film, and with your generous support.

"[Howl] is short and perfectly formed. It’s deftly written in terms of characterisation, structure and theme. It tells us everything you want us to know (feel, and experience) with great economy and impact...I really hope that you get the opportunity to make this short. We would be richer for it." - Matthew Dabner Writer, Producer, Script Editor, Nominated for 11 AACTA Awards

Where will the funds go?

To bring this short film to life, we need to raise funds to assist in covering:

Funding streams for short films are incredibly hard to come by and your donation is so deeply appreciated. Every dollar will be put to very good use!

Crew

We are so lucky to have an incredible team on board including: