Monska

dir Isabella Andronos

Australia

When a dance competition opens up in their town,
a group of young girls take it upon themselves to
perform their own distinct routine. The girls are
determined to show their strength, regardless of
the outcome.

words from the filmmaker

In devising music video, Monska (2020) for Sydney musician, C. R. Robin, I aimed to explore the strength of young girls, depicting them in a way beyond the dominant mode. Moving
away from representations of passivity, my work showed the young troupe performing a shadow-boxing routine. This performance involved jabs, uppercuts, hooks, elbow strikes, punches and kicks. For me, a marker of success of the project was knowing that this group of girls, who were between eight and twelve years of age, would leave knowing a suite of self-defense moves,
including how to break an attacker’s nose.
It was important to me that the Uphold Test be utilised, whereby at least half of the cast and crew would be women. On the Monska film shoot 81% of our film crew identified as
female or non-binary. Monska has screened at more than thirty festivals worldwide and in 2021 won the Women in Film and Television (WIFT)
Audience Favourite Award (2021).

why we love this film

If you've never seen 10yo girls box before, this is your chance! The dancers were fierce, the cinematography was delightful, and the tone was humorous but with a purpose.