Rituals of Reciprocity – Land and Water An Evening of Short Films
A collection of short films that trace the connections between land, water, memory and diaspora
Event details
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Sunday, 1 November 2026 | 6:30pm |
This is a free event.
Maximum two (2) tickets per person. Tickets registered in excess of the ticket limit may be cancelled without notice.
The only authorised agency for this event is Sydney Opera House. For more information about authorised agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.
General Public tickets on-sale
For those requiring assistance, wheelchair or companion seating, accessible seating locations are available. Bookings can be made by calling the Box Office on 1300 764 849 or by email.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Read our Child Safety Policy.
Program
HANEEN
Aprille Asfoura
11 minutes, 52 seconds
“I have never been to Palestine, but I have spent my life listening for it in my father’s stories. It lives in my blood and not in my memory.” – Aprille Asfoura
Drawing on intimate conversations with her father and aunty, Palestinian-Australian artist Aprille Asfoura examines how memory and ritual moves through generations. Collage-style animation by multidisciplinary artist Ahmed Elkhalidi sits alongside visceral, close-up imagery of fabric, hands on bark, sand between toes and sunlight flaring on the lens. Every frame weaves memory into the Australian landscape, building a layered meditation on family, sensory memory and the enduring pull of ancestral roots.
Bodies Remember, Stones Remember
San May
2 minutes, 25 seconds
A meditative animation where stones, bodies and rhythm become vessels for ancestral remembrance.
Responding to a Persian percussion workshop led by Sohrab Kolahdooz and Shervin Mirzeinali, Sydney-based digital artist San May’s Bodies Remember, Stones Remember reflects on the deep histories held in land and material. Led from the idea that we were once stardust, becoming land over time, the animation asks what a stone might remember after witnessing generations of human change.
God Does Not Forget You
Sivani Yaddanapudi and workshop participants
4 minutes, 40 seconds
A new work focusing on the story of resilience of Saba Gumma, which emerged from community filmmaking workshops, exploring land, water and the stories held between generations.
As a filmmaker, Sivani Yaddanapudi aspires to provide a space for individuals that were historically ignored. God Does Not Forget You is a collaborative film that brings that intention to life, made in collaboration with the participants who attended Yaddanapudi’s filmmaking workshops. Together, they consider how memory, place, identity and lived experience could be translated into images, sound and moving stories. The result is a testament to storytelling as an act of care.
Where Ends Meet
San May, Maggie Tra, Annabel Hom and Sovanarry Chan
6 minutes, 46 seconds
Cambodian classical dance, electronic music and ancestral memory converge in a stirring reflection on diaspora.
Where Ends Meet brings ancient Cambodian practices into conversation with contemporary performance, pairing Cambodian classical dance with modern and electronic interpretations of Khmer music. Created by San May, Maggie Tra, Annabel Hom and Sovanarry Chan, the film explores how diasporic communities might reclaim spirituality and ritual while living far from their ancestral homelands.
Submerged: A Fish Out of Water
Ali Rezvani
5 minutes
A haunting stop-motion reflection on home, loss and a village swallowed by water.
Inspired by a memory of Iranian villages displaced by dam construction, Sydney-based filmmaker Ali Rezvani portrays the story of a young man returning home from military service to find his village submerged and his family nowhere to be found. Following an individual’s journey through grief and uncertainty, Rezvani’s hand-crafted stop-motion traces the devastating human cost of environmental change and forced displacement.
Meet the artists
Aprille Asfoura is a Palestinian-Australian artist working across documentary film, writing, digital media, and community organising, based in Colomatta (Blue Mountains). Her practice is grounded in intimate storytelling – capturing conversations, preserving everyday moments, and creating space for voices shaped by displacement and diaspora.
Aprille brings over fifteen years of experience across the screen and creative industries, spanning documentary direction, production design, and story development. She has supported and organised international productions and screenings from Australia, the U.S. and Germany. She holds a Graduate Diploma in documentary from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and participated in Documentary Australia’s Impact Producer Program in 2024.
Aprille is the founder of Arts Impact Society, an organisation using art, storytelling, and visual media as tools of resistance and solidarity across colonised lands. Its current slate is committed to Palestinian liberation through projects like Names Not Numbers, a documentary channel centering voices from Gaza, and public campaigns including typographic interventions, poster campaigns, and memorial print works designed to challenge dominant narratives, demand public attention, and move people to action. Aprille’s practice asks how collective creative work can tend to memory – documenting what matters before it is lost and asking how we pass it on.
San May (they/them) is a creative producer and digital artist working and living in Sydney on unceded Dharug land. They hold a bachelor’s degree in Creative Arts for Film and Television Production from JMC Academy, and since 2017 has been working in western Sydney to deliver creative and artistic programs alongside the community.
San has experience in art education, event producing, production and festival design, and stop-motion animation. A strong advocate of human and social rights, San hopes their work inspires others to broadcast diversity in the arts.
Sivani Yaddanapudi (she/her) is a Sydney-based queer South Asian filmmaker/creative producer living on Darug land. As a filmmaker, her aspirations and intentions are to provide a space for individuals that were historically not listened to. Her works range from cinematography, producing, content creation and workshop facilitation within the community arts sector.
Maggie Tra is an electronic Producer, DJ, label head and musical polymath. The Australian born Vietnamese/Cambodian artist brings finesse and flair to the dance-floor by embracing the culture of the land she’s in with wholeness and conviction. A weaver of musical fibres, her creations as a music producer entwine melody, genres and tempos to create her own tapestries coupled with Asian influences.
Tra’s electronic soundscape gives listeners an immersive experience with captivating melodies and groovy bass-lines. She intertwines dance genres to create her own distinctive sound, which immerses the crowd into a realm where time has stopped.
Tra made her incredible debut as a producer with the release of her debut EP ‘U.L.A’ (U Look Asian) in 2021, and has continued a slew of releases since then. Her debut album ‘Kingdom of Her’ (2022) and ‘Very Vui’ (2023) and ‘Dancing Untethered’ (2024) and has been supported onTriple J, Bandcamp, NTS, Mixmag Asia, Bandcamp & Worldwide FM. She has also released music with labels Shika Shika Collective & FuFu Records. Her recent highlights are that she showcased at SXSW Sydney as an official artist, and worked with Sony Music Japan. With each release she continues to push the limits of dance music and become an integral figure in the Australian dance scene.
Grounded and full of hope to see more diversity in the music industry, Maggie founded SYS Sister Sounds. A label and collective that supports women & non-binary people in the music industry. The organisation runs ‘Pho The Girls’ DJ Workshops which is now a community of female & non-binary DJs based in London, Vietnam, Thailand and Australia. More recently she founded Hà Nội Community Radio. As a DJ she’s graced the decks in India, Brussels, Berlin, London, Australia and Vietnam. Her artistic ability to produce compositions that are both sonically and emotionally appealing demonstrates her mastery of electronic music production. It has garnered the support from Resident Advisor, DJ Mag, Mixmag Asia and more. Tra musically exposes herself within her sets in varying perspectives interweaving genres and styles with a focus on bringing Asian music to the forefront.
Annabel Hom (she/her) is a Cambodian classical dancer, experimenting with Cambodian contemporary movement styles. Annabel began her artistic journey in Cambodian Classical Ballet at 10 years old. Her dance practice has taken her from domestic to international stages having professionally trained in Cambodia and performed at Womadelaide Festival in 2024. She also is an instructor in cultural education for Cambodian-Australian young people with Sydney Apsara Dance Group helping the Khmer diaspora preserve their connection with culture.
Sovanarry Chan (she/he/they) is an artist and performer interested in exploring realms of identity, transformation, and collective healing through storytelling. Their dynamic presence as a performer is rooted in depth and authenticity which draws from re-connection to ancestral wisdom and lived experiences.
Ali Rezvani is a Sydney-based cinematographer and independent filmmaker whose work is defined by a nuanced visual language focused on the complexities of human relationships. Originally from Iran, Rezvani built an extensive portfolio—shooting over 30 projects, including features, documentaries, and short films.
Photo: Flore Vallery-Radot
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Attending this event
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Ticket information
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At the venue
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Refreshments are available to purchase from our theatre bars, with foyers open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
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Foyer doors are usually open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 120 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
Theatre doors will open 30 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 15 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
If you’re collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts.
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Location and access
Studio
The Studio is located in the north-western corner of Sydney Opera House, best accessed through the Western Foyers.