Elari follows a mythical creature who encounters a group of LARP-ers, accidentally joining their fantastical adventure while trying to connect despite his own fantastical nature. Moving from a follower to a leader, Elari takes the audience on a journey of emotions, communicating what it feels like to find people you connect with, but the anxiety and resistance of sharing your whole self authentically.

The concept was created by the director and award winning filmmaker Emma Tripp as a Swinburne University graduate short film. It has been developed amongst a passionate group of student filmmakers and ultimately serves as an allegory for queerness and neurodivergence, capturing the fear that comes with self-expression.

With months of turning this idea into a reality, we intend to push the bounds of filmmaking and explore creativity to share something impactful with a wider audience.

However, bringing a film to life comes with real costs. Whilst some equipment is provided by our University, your support will help us cover essential expenses such as location fees and permits, costumes, props, food, transportation for cast and crew, post-production editing and sound design.

Every contribution, big or small, brings us one step closer to turning this vision into reality. We sincerely appreciate any and all donations, and it would help massively in turning this film into a reality!

If you're not able to donate but would still like to support us, please consider sharing this around and following us @elari.shortfilm on Instagram!