Mia’s most recent music video direction explores social and mental health issues, collaborating on two music videos with Northern Rivers recording artist, Moreton.
‘See Yourself’ addresses mental health stigma. The music video was shot entirely on Kodak 200T 16mm film and features a small street cast group of people who volunteered to sit for the camera in a stark upfront audition tape style frame, perfect in their imperfections, vulnerability, and honesty. Given there was limited film stock and roughly 5 minutes with each character, Mia strategically rolled the camera between “takes” – unbeknownst to the characters – with the desire to capture their natural state of vulnerability, rather than a staged performance.
Mia has been nominated for Queensland Music Award: in 2020 for ‘Circles’ (Moreton), which focused on the catastrophic 2017 Lismore floods, and in 2016, for ‘Black Seaweed’ (LAIK).
A career highlight for me is my creative collaboration with Wakka Wakka and Yaegel artist Hannah Bronte on her video installation work at Sydney Opera House “Terra Nullis” (2020), “Heala” (2019), at the Art Gallery of NSW, and photo installation work at IMA “Futcha Ancient” (2018).
Mia also works as a photographer for recording artists (recently Kate Dillon, Moreton, Tex Perkins, Ayla).
Mia’s short films have screened at international film festivals, including the BAFTA recognized Aesthetica Short Film Festival. In the homeland, her most recent work Leisure, premiered at the Queensland Film Festival, with it’s follow up screening at Channels Festival at ACMI.
Before moving to the Northern Rivers, Mia worked for Brisbane International Film Festival as a programmer, a projectionist at the Australian Cinematheque, and with Queensland Art Gallery Gallery of Modern Art within the in-house digital production team.
https://vimeo.com/miaforrest
Clarence Valley
Byron Shire
