One Year Completed: The First Trimester of 2025 Comes to an End

This trimester, T1 2025, has been particularly challenging as I were taking three units including Production, Post-Production, and Fiction Writing. 

Not only focusing on study and assessments in uni, but also I was wandering to have more connections with filmmakers out of uni, which is to participate in as many meetups and film festivals as possible. However, the problem is how to handle these things in parallel and forwarding without being nervous.

Especially this time I collaborated with some younger classmates who might not have been productive on time and quality. 

Based on my previous experience, younger students often seemed more focused on their personal lives than on their studies.

After a long conversation between Sekhar and me, we decided to fully support Anushka’s idea, a girl pursuing her Indian classical dance, Kathak, the name of the film called VIRASAT.

However, after we talked with our other team member, Dishari, we changed the protagonist to male because she has a friend, Advay, he can dance and play actor. 

We shot The Fan over three days, with all filming locations located in the P Building. Because of Yuti's absence, we asked Stanley to support us, who gave us a big favor.

In the meantime, I had many film festivals accept my doco, Extra Time, which we did in the last trimester. I enhanced the film’s quality, made some slight revisions, and created a trailer for my post-production class. Also, Extra Time has been officially selected for the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.

In addition, Sekhar, Quang, Jason, Joann, and I made a short film titled The Fan. The original script was written by someone else, but I revised it to fit the setting of Mazu Restaurant, where Stanley works.

We even screened the film at Mazu, bringing the story to life right where it was set. 

Sooo happy that all my friends were coming to the screening night!

In my fiction writing class, I completed a short film script titled Farewell to the Island in the Wind. I also submitted it to the Taiwanese Short Film Subsidy Program based on this story. 

Beyond my classes, I’ve also hosted local events, including a picnic organized by the Taiwan Australia Career Forum in Melbourne, and another event called Ask AI Over Wine, which sparked some great conversations with Taiwanese friends from the community. 

Before the event started, I created a promotional video to help spread the word on social media. 

Furthermore, I hosted a local Agile online meetup to share how to use AI as a facilitator for sprint planning using Miro and Jira.

I’ve also participated in two film festivals, including the Setting Sun Film Festival and the Melbourne Taiwan Film Festival.

The picture on the left shows the church where the Setting Sun Film Festival was held. 

I also watched my first footy game in Melbourne, which was an exciting new experience.

Until now, I’ve been living in Australia for almost one year. From what I’ve observed, it seems that most students come here not for their studies, but mainly with the goal of finding jobs and building a future as immigrants.

I'm not saying that those pursuing permanent residence are wrong; rather, I'm suggesting that the main purpose of studying at university should be to find the meaning of our lives. It should not be just for securing a good job.

Anyway, I’m still helping myself and my friends find purpose in our lives. Let’s see how far we can go next trimester.