‘Together we build a vibrant space that fuels inspiration and celebrates diverse voices’

Born and raised in Kuwait (with Sri Lankan roots), Shaki Prasanna is a cinematographer, creative director and storyteller. When Shaki arrived in Australia in 2015 to study a Bachelor of Film Production, he noticed the lack of opportunities for people of colour in Naarm/Melbourne’s creative community. Breaking into a tight and competitive artistic space is no easy feat, especially as an immigrant who was learning the creative landscape in Australia.

This posed the question to Shaki, if someone wanted an entry into the creative scene in Naarm – where should they begin?

Introducing Heatwaves: an anthology micro-documentary series where each episode highlights a uniquely individual creative based in Naarm.

The first chapter of Heatwaves introduces us to three distinctive creatives working in Melbourne: A.Kid (architect and printmaker), Tim Gleig (shoe designer and craftsman) and Aki (artist and muralist). Each episode (around 2-4 minutes long) moves at the cutting edge of technology, with explorative editing, crisp sound design and a true passion for building the world around each of the individuals they profile. 

It makes perfect sense that Shaki would design a T-Shirt to commemorate the first chapter of Heatwaves; honouring the community, hard work and collaboration that it took to create each film. Printed by The Print Bar, this limited edition T-Shirt captured the essence and ethos of Heatwaves and included the iconography of artists A.Kid, Tim Gleig and Aki.

On Friday the 20th of October, at the Sun Theatre in Yarraville we saw a sold out theatre come together to celebrate the premiere of Heatwaves. Collaborators, supporters and excited loved ones converged to see each of the three episodes on the big screen – with Shaki introducing each film and the individual team that came together to create it. Going off script, Shaki took the time to acknowledge everyone involved in the productions, and gave The Print Bar a big shout out for our involvement in the limited edition run of T-Shirts. It was our pleasure, Shaki.

Head to Heatwaves to read more. You can also watch all three Heatwaves episodes below.

Looking to get involved? You can contact Shaki here.