Rizzy’s 18th Birthday Party – CuriousWorks

Overview

Rizzy’s 18th Birthday Party isn't your standard boozy 18th. Part film, co-directed by S. Shakthidaran and Guido Gonzalez, and part nice 'n' close live music experience, Rizzy is the first in a connected series of works by Shakthi as part of his role as Carriageworks’ first-ever associate artist.

Through his work as founder and artistic director at CuriousWorks, Shakthi engages with marginalised communities, empowering them with the tools they need to artistically tell their own stories. Eleven years ago, Shakthi met co-director Guido at one such project in south-western Sydney and it’s a story from Guido’s past that inspired this modern coming-of-age tale with a south-western Sydney twist.

“It’s like [there's] an escapist, dream-like stability to your world just after high school, and everything seems possible, and as you navigate your way into adulthood, the force of reality intrudes,” Shakthi explains.

The film was shot over two days with an acting ensemble of talented Sydney artists and with the help of 20-30 young people from the CuriousWorks community program.

Although many projects that CuriousWorks is involved in focus on refugees and new immigrants, Rizzy is unique in that it focuses on second-generation immigrants. “You walk down a street in Western Sydney and you meet the whole world," says Shakthi. "I feel like it’s that next phase, like contemporary youth culture is about all of us together, post-race, post-everything and having a truly diverse Australian identity."

Technology is a huge part of the work he does, and Shakthi is very excited about the opportunities that technology affords in telling stories. For the rite of passage story that Rizzy represents, Shakthi says, “What’s really exciting about new technology is that we’re still in this emergent phase and it’s the most democratic that we’ve ever had — that’s the big difference,” he says. “The opportunity is there I think for huge diversity in our storytelling landscape.”

With a band in the middle, surrounded by audiences on four sides whose attention is directed to screens where they will view multichannel projections, audience-to-story intimacy at Rizzy will be at an all-time high. And that’s exactly how Shakthi wants it. “It’s like being in a lounge room with your closest mates and sharing music and film that you love, but your lounge room is really well equipped,” Shakthi laughs.

Blending Western Sydney youth culture and popular contemporary art, Rizzy’s 18th Birthday Party is one party where you’ll want to arrive on time.

Rizzy’s 18th Birthday Party is on at Carriageworks from October 1-4. Tickets are $35, available via Ticketmaster here.