Mukbang controversy ignites fuse to deep industry issues

Mukbang, a short film which won the director's prize at the Sydney Film Festival, has produced a pungent debate about racism and cultural appropriation.

Just a few days ago, that sliver of the press which actually cares about Australian short films was happily reporting that Mukbang had won the best director prize at the Sydney Film Festival. The judges were Sophie Hyde, Bryan Brown and George Miller. The artistic director of the whole festival is Nashen Moodley, who grew up in South Africa, has strong connections with Third World cinema and is a person of colour.

At the time, I said this:

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David Tiley was the Editor of Screenhub from 2005 until he became Content Lead for Film in 2021 with a special interest in policy. He is a writer in screen media with a long career in educational programs, documentary, and government funding, with a side order in script editing. He values curiosity, humour and objectivity in support of Australian visions and the art of storytelling.