Private Project

Ring Around

When awkward family man George receives bad news he approaches it like everything else: methodically. He calls his closest, then furthest, then most annoying relatives, all a means of avoiding the hardest task of the day: calling his estranged dad to tell him the news.

  • Sisi Stringer
    Director
  • Cameron Manion
    Director
  • Tegan Ware
    Writer
  • Cameron Manion
    Producer
  • Garth Holcombe
    Key Cast
  • Clementine Anderson
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Dramedy, Gay, Queer
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 10 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 24, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Australian Film, Television and Radio School
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Tropfest
    Sydney
    Australia
    February 22, 2026
    Worldwide
    Finalist
Director Biography - Sisi Stringer, Cameron Manion

Sisi Stringer is an actress with a background in film and television. Her roles in Vampire Academy and Mortal Kombat bought her to an international audience, while her roles in Force of Nature brought her critical acclaim with a local audience. She has moved into directing while studying a Masters of Screen Arts at the Australian Film and Television School.

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Director Statement

Producer Statement:

This story is a snippet of life experience - calling parents you don’t want to reconnect with due to bad news - that many queer people have faced throughout their life.

This is an experience I have, and one I have seen many friends go through. In the end, the things we have to get us through are community and humour. This short incapsulates all of that - the dark humour, the weird things that comes with grieving, the pain of connecting with estranged family.

I approached this short wanting to make sure we encapsulate not just tragedy, but humour and love, within this short. I want to approach the topic with sensitivity and care, and allow this short to be a strong character-based film that focuses on the human side of the world’s most scandalised pandemic. In the wake of COVID that the government responded to and the rise of an increasingly polarised world that has escalated since then - right wing protests, Trump revoking women and queer rights, the UK taking away trans rights - this short touches on issues that are still around today.

This is about the human side of the worlds most scandalised pandemic, and the relationships that get us through. It is an ode to the FLINTA people who stepped up to care for gay men when the world would not. And it is an ode to queer community and connection - the thing that got us through the a wide social tragedy, but also the thing that gets us through a phone call to a homophobic parent.