MACKSVILLE’S Alexandra Pirani has won the Audience Choice Award in the Documentary category at the 2025 West End Film Festival (WEFF) for her deeply personal and moving short film, “Unconditional Bond”.
The documentary follows the journey of an Australian family navigating the challenges of international adoption, focusing on Alexandra’s own family story involving the adoption of her and her brother from Colombia and Korea.
Now based in Brisbane, Alexandra studied at SAE Creative Media Institute, where she completed a Diploma of Film.
Unconditional Bond was created as part of her studies but has since resonated with audiences well beyond the classroom.
“I was shocked as I went into the festival not thinking I would win anything, just for fun, so you can imagine my excitement when I got the message and I had to do a double take,” Alexandra told News Of The Area.
“My dad called straight away; he was so proud.
“I think he was almost in tears and that’s when it really hit me that I had won.”
While the subject matter is close to home, Alexandra said the film wasn’t initially planned.
“At first, this wasn’t the documentary I set out to make, but after a conversation with one of my lecturers about my birth mum, the idea began to form so I spoke with my parents,” Alexandra said.
“As they shared their experiences, and those of their friends who also adopted, I realised this story needed to be told.”
Alexandra’s father, David, told NOTA he was “thrilled and so proud” of his daughter’s achievement.
“It was her first attempt at sending her short documentary to a film festival,” he said.
“So just being accepted was awesome but then to be awarded the People’s Choice was fabulous.
“It is such a great surprise to get that recognition and I can’t wait to see what she produces next.”
Transitioning from short films to documentary work was a learning curve for Alexandra.
“I’d never made a documentary before and I struggled at first but I learned that sometimes you just need to turn the camera on and let things unfold – no scripts, no cuts, just real conversations.
“That raw, unplanned style became something I grew to love.”
One of the biggest challenges Alexandra faced was the emotional weight of telling a story so personal.
“It was hard separating myself as the filmmaker from myself as their daughter and some of the topics were tough to talk about,” she said.
“My mum was especially vulnerable on camera, and I’m so grateful to her for sharing her experience.”
Another challenge was condensing such a rich, multi-layered story into a short format.
“This documentary is just a snippet and it could have easily been feature-length, especially with my brother’s experience included but that just means there’s room for more in future projects.”
Winning at a grassroots film festival like WEFF has left Alexandra feeling inspired to continue in documentary filmmaking.
“Everyone has a story, and I want to be the one to help tell them.
“I’ve got a few scripts in development, but my next project might be close to home again; a documentary about our beautiful little community radio station in the Nambucca Valley,” concluded Alexandra.
The West End Film Festival, established in 2009, celebrates grassroots filmmaking and community storytelling.
By Mick BIRTLES
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