Perth Voice Interactive

A SHORT film about dating in your 80s kicks off a series of screenings from emerging filmmakers at Yagan Square this week.

Filmmakers from ECU’s WA Screen Academy are getting some exposure on the big 45-metre screen, and the first film in the lineup is Deighties, the tale of Phil (86) who lost his wife 18 months earlier and embarks on a quest to find love in the modern dating world.

Director Mason Fleming said that empathy was always the objective when making Deighties.

“I’ve noticed a collective blind eye turned to the notion of the elderly needing intimacy,” he said.

“I’ve always loved that Deighties tells an emotionally universal story. It acknowledges that everybody will age, everybody will feel loneliness and love, and everybody needs companionship.”

The seven short films will be shown on April 5, starting at 1pm.

Then every Friday at 1pm one of the films will be re-screened.