Dogmilk Films is a collective dedicated to the production and exhibition of alternative and ambitious screen and sound works. Founded in 2017, the collective currently consists of thirteen members with eclectic stylistic approaches and skill sets in film, video and sound art. Dogmilk’s members are currently based between Naarm/Birrarung Ga (Melbourne, Australia), Makassar (Sulawesi, Indonesia) and Paris (France).
Over the years, Dogmilk has run a plethora of screenings throughout the Naarm/Birrarung Ga region, dedicated to highlighting and fostering the work of local and international, early career filmmakers and programmers. In addition, Dogmilk has showcased many international features that exist on the fringes and are largely unseen in Australia. These include the Australian premieres of ‘The Works and Days’ by C.W. Winters and Anders Edström, and ‘Purple Sea’ by Amel Alzakout. During COVID lockdowns, Dogmilk curated a platform for fortnightly online programs of short films from diverse filmmakers, in both style and origin.
Currently our main screening and exhibition initiative is Dogmilk Degustations, a series of ten events held over the coming year (2023). Dogmilk Degustations runs fortnightly over two seasons (March-May/August-November) in the heart of the Melbourne CBD, partnering with one of the city’s most important cultural hubs and venues, Miscellania. The program for the first season is in development and will be released in early 2023.
While Dogmilk does not function as a production company, it runs quarterly Critical Review sessions whereby members can present ideas, scripts, and works-in-progress for feedback and to help develop and refine projects in a safe and nurturing environment. There are many films both short and feature length at various stages of development, production and post-production by the collective’s members. There are also experimental and expanded cinema projects as well as spatial sound works and performances being planned and developed.
In addition to Dogmilk’s activities in Naarm/Birrarung Ga, it has also started an exchange initiative called Sipakatuo with its members in Sulawesi, Indonesia. After piloting this exchange online during COVID lockdowns, Dogmilk intends to expand Sipakatuo and to create a yearly, in-person exchange between artists working in moving image and sound from Sulawesi and Victoria. To read the many interviews with significant artists, academics and cultural agents carried out during the pilot project, visit the Sipakatuo website.
