Featuring appearances from rock sensation Courtney Barnett, local punk trio Cable Ties and Sikh-Australian slam poet Sukhjit Khalsa, No Time for Quiet joins a group of girls and gender-fluid youths as they discover the empowering strength of music through a GIRLS ROCK! camp in Melbourne.

GIRLS ROCK! is an international network of independent arts and feminist social justice groups, with a focus on running band camps that provide girls, trans and gender non-conforming youths a supportive safe space to grow and express themselves via music. The volunteer mentors (including Barnett, Camp Cope and Cable Ties) and young participants of the first Melbourne-based GIRLS ROCK! camp offered directors Hylton Shaw and Samantha Dinning extraordinary access to document their experiences.

When we first meet these youngsters – aged from 12 to 16 – there are plenty of nerves: for some of the students, mental health is a pressing concern and making friends is not easy; others are trying something brand new for the first time, having never picked up an instrument before. It’s a joy and a privilege to watch these very different young people bond, find a sense of belonging and identity, and discover their voices over the course of the week-long school holiday program and beyond.

Produced by Philippa Campey (Bastardy, MIFF Premiere Fund 2008) and supported by the MIFF Premiere Fund, No Time for Quiet offers a remarkable insight into contemporary teenage lives, and an optimistic message of inclusion and acceptance.

Contains suicide themes