It all started back in October 2005. The Australian Government wanted to set tough new Anti-Terror laws, which included laws that would affect the expressions of the creative community.

So, we decided to spark a response from the Australian filmmaking community. The first message was sent out on the 31st October to the TOF list, calling filmmakers to "create a short film (between 30 seconds and 5 minutes) that responds in some way to the draconian anti-terrorism laws. "

Back then, sedition was going to be part of the laws and 'seditious intent' was defined as an intention to effect any of the following purposes:

• to bring the Sovereign into hatred or contempt;
• to urge disaffection against the Constitution, the Government of the Commonwealth or either House of the Parliament;
• to urge another person to attempt, otherwise than by lawful means, to procure a change to any matter established by law in the Commonwealth;

We set a deadline for late January 2006, which was extended to mid February. We had a great response, from which we selected 17 short films to be 'onlined' here on the SI Short Film Collection web site.

We received a great number of emails offering support and assistance with promoting the collection - and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who responded, including all the filmmakers who sent in work.

We have partnered with EngageMedia, a group focusing on the distribution of video stories about social justice and environmental issues in Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. We are proud to be their first collection, and thank them for their support with managing the hosting of the actual films.

When we initiated the project, we knew it wouldn't prevent the anti-terror laws from being implemented. However, 'SEDITIOUS INTENT' was aimed at keeping the discussion alive and enabling filmmakers to participate in actions that provoke debate that leads to change.

And it seems the debates, actions and lobbying by Australia's creative and civil society communities have had an impact. The Government has made some amendments to its Anti-Terrorism Bill (2) 2005. Though still highly problematic, seditious intent must now be linked to the urging of force of violence. See the page about terror laws for more details.

Thanks to everyone who supported this project.

- Mandy King, Fabio Cavadini and Sam de Silva