Poster for LIFE OF KEA, directed by Lyanna Kea, Taysha Melissa McFarland, Tristan Braines, AFIN 2024

Short Film AFIN 234

LIFE OF KEA

Directed by Lyanna Kea, Taysha Melissa McFarland, Tristan Braines

AFIN 2024 Nominee · 2 nominations

  • 2024
  • 6m
  • Australia
  • English
  • PG
Australian
Watch trailer View My AFIN →

Stills

1 frame

Nominee

Best Australian Lead Performance

Lyanna Kea

Nominee

Best Australian Supporting Performance

Sasha Leong

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Credits

Synopsis

Aunty Kea; a brash, no-nonsense, Malaysian-Chinese woman navigates an impending financial demise which pushes her into the dating game for all the wrong reasons. Amidst this, Kea and her daughter struggle to mend their frayed relationship upon discovering a suitor that Kea does not approve of.

What makes this one special

From the Judges

From the Judges

A warm comedy following a young woman and her mother navigating cultural family life, this short blends everyday humour with genuine heart. The panel found the writing sharp and the pacing assured, with a lead who moves nimbly between comic and dramatic registers while embodying a whole range of characters. Colourful shots and a brisk editing style give the series its lively tone, and it struck them as the kind of work that deserves a much wider audience.

Curated, anonymised highlights drawn from the judges' notes.

Directors' Biography

Lyanna Kea, filmmaker portrait provided to AFIN. Lyanna Kea Taysha Melissa McFarland Tristan Braines Directors

Lyanna Kea is a Malaysian Chinese actor and producer with an edge for comedy. Her comedy series LIFE OF KEA, funded by Screen Australia, was recently nominated for Online Series Production Of The Year 2023 by Screen Producers Australia. Lyanna was also awarded Best Actress for her theatre performance in V-DAY. As an online content creator with over 11 Million fans globally, Lyanna was recently announced Top 5 Australian Breakout Creators on YouTube. She loves entertaining and connecting with her audience base through relatable comedy skits. Award-winning animations featuring Lyanna's voice acting work were screened at several festivals including the Sunshine Short Film Festival and Los Angeles Horror Film Festival.

Trailer

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LIFE OF KEA was an official Nominee for Best Australian Lead Performance and Best Australian Supporting Performance at the AFIN International Film Festival 2024, a Top 100 Best Reviewed and IMDb-qualifying festival.

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