Why It Pays To Be Awesome

So you already that I was only planning to be at yesterday's industry day for an hour. Then only for another half an hour to see the stall holders. Then only 2 and a half hours to speak with them all. What I wasn't planning was staying until 4:30 to help out with the top 100 session being held at 3:00pm, a session I had not been asked to volunteer at and one I hadn't signed up for to do my assignment.

So what happened? Just as I was about to escape the Astor's ensnaring jaws, one of the girls from St Kilda pulled me aside and asked me if I knew that no one from Inside Film had arrived for the day's sessions. I was immediately stunned. Frantically checking the volunteer schedule, I realized the girl who was supposed to be doing Saturday afternoon was the same girl who bailed on the first session for the festival on Wednesday night and what ever her reasons were for not rocking up 4 days ago were obviously still impeding her.

The poor St Kilda girls had valiantly tried to do our job for us but obviously were struggling to do their own as well as hand out and collect our ratings slips in between. Without thinking about it, I immediately checked the schedule for the next day, knowing that the same girl was scheduled for Sunday as well, and called up one of the other volunteers to see if he could come in instead. Success. He was available and willing and promised me that he would be there for the afternoon.

I then grabbed the forms for the session currently screening and luckily had half an hour to organize everything for the collections before the audience emerged. It was an easy session and I quickly collected all the ratings and then prepared for my next mission - get home and back again in an hour with everything I needed for work. It was a challenge but I managed it in roughly that time frame and was back at the Astor before the next top 100 session.

Why am I telling you this? Because I am going to beat you, drown you, and smother you with this idea until it becomes second nature. You. Are. Not. Going. To. Get. Anywhere. In. This. Industry. If. You. Are. Not. Superwoman(man)

I may sound like I am being an arrogant b@#*h but if you know me well, you'll know that I don't speak that highly of myself. Ever! So why now? Because I know that my efforts to help out on Saturday were above and beyond what was expected of me and because of this, were significantly acknowledged. Both the organizers of The Inside Film awards and SKFF applauded me for my efforts and I know I will remain on their radar as someone who knows not only how to get the job done, but how to do it well.

You have to be amazing to stand out. You can not go through your life making mediocre films, writing mediocre scripts, or only just passing in your degree. P's may get degrees but they don't get jobs. Take note people: the film and TV industry does not take kindly to slackers and I am using my experience above to highlight this to you today. I hope this has been eye-opening for you.

(Since this post, I have been invited to volunteer at the Sydney Film Festival and am now traveling there on the 12th of June to help out.)

St Kilda 2011 - Top 100 Session 10

After frantically racing home to grab my work gear (long story, will explain later), I arrived back at the Astor just in time for the 6pm session. Why the rush? I had been looking forward to the session all day as Nash Edgerton's Bear would be screening again. I already love the film after only seeing it once before but the reason I was so keen to see it again was to witness the effect it would have on a new audience. These are the films I managed to catch during the session:

1. Dik
Absolutely hilarious. I would go so far to say that this is the funniest short film I think I have ever watched. Why? I really think in this case the film was just really well scripted and the narrative was definitely carried by the lead male. The film goes to show how such a small incident can cause a series of unforeseen events, the best subject matter for short films in my opinion. And just when you think its over, the film completely flips upside down providing the perfect ending. It wasn't perfect however with the camera work definitely wanting some attention and I really think the lead female could have been upgraded. All in all though, this would be a great idea for a future tv series, possibly for the ABC. dik

2. Share Path, Skate Path.
I could not have more praise for these filmmakers. The cinematography was amazing; their music composing was pitch perfect for the project(try saying that a few times over after a couple of bevies); and the subject matter was full of drama, was perceptive, and most importantly, was extremely engaging and interesting. It made you want to get up and go grab a skateboard to join this cool knot of kids pushing the WA government to get off their horses and step into the 21st century and I'm sure the film will garner heaps of support for their plight. To learn more, I found their website. Check it out. also, here's the trailer if you're wondering why I'm so obsessed.
SHARE PATH SKATE PATH Trailer from Skate Sculpture on Vimeo.

3. Bear.
You all know what I think about Nash Edgerton and Blue-Tongue films so I won't bore you by taking about how amazing they are (I'm saving that for the holidays when I plan on doing a complete review of their films). Yet again, they managed to completely stun the audience and keep them hooked to the end. Even though I heard some comments after the screening complain about the seemingly 'identical resemblance' Blue-Tongue's previously made short, Spider, most people who were unfamiliar with the work, and even those who did know about Spider, still enjoyed the entertainment this little short provided.

The theme of tonight seemed to fit well with the directions the filmmakers suggested the Australian film industry needed to take at today's industry seminar. Films like the ones I've just reviewed are just as entertaining as they are socially commentative. All of them are centered around great stories, great characters, and supported by even better filmmaking and editing techniques. There are so many films made in Australia which can not get this balance right and I think it is this reason which is holding the industry back. We need to learn that we have great stories to tell and we have amazing people who know how to make films. Now we just need to learn how to put the two together.

St Kilda 2011 - Top 100 Session 4

Starting off a little more disorganized then I would have preferred, I arrived at the Astor 5 minutes before the 6pm and had just enough time to hand out a few of the flyers. Thankfully there weren't too many people for the following session so that afterwards, it was much easier for me to go around and speak with people about the flyers.

I realized the other day that I should explain what it is exactly that I'm doing at SKFF. Contrary to popular belief (you would not believe how many people ask me where the bathrooms are), I'm not working for the Astor theatre of the festival itself. I'm volunteering for the Inside Film Awards, the people's choice awards run by Inside Film, Australia's most comprehensive guideline to television, film and online production. Inside Film comprises of both magazines and online platforms such as social media and their website. As a subscriber to their newsletter, I have been fortunate over the years to be exposed to the most up and coming news surrounding Australian film and TV production and it's how I got the volunteer job at SKFF last year. My role during the festival is really easy - each Top 100 session features all the short films that are eligible for the Inside Film Short Film Award which is announced in October each year. The awards ceremony draws hundreds of film professionals from various backgrounds and is an exciting event for the industry for this reason. The awards are voted by the Australian public. This means that they not only garner and interest within the Australian public to become aware of these films, but it also gives producers and filmmakers a greater understanding of the types of films Australians want to see. Shorts, docos, animations and features alike are all eligible for various roles and the ceremony is a great time to celebrate our diverse industry. At SKFF, its my job, along with the other volunteers, to hand out the ratings forms which the audience use to give their opinion of the films in the session they just viewed.

So there's the "brief" rundown of what I do and hopefully a better explanation of how it can all turn to merde quite quickly. Luckily, after my initial headless-chook impression, things calmed down enough for me to get everything organized for collection after the session and I managed to sneak into the screening. Of the films shown, here are my thoughts on the ones I got to see:

2. Muscles - I have been DYING to see this film for so long now as the DOP was an RMIT student in my course last year. The film also went on to Cannes which is inspiring in itself. In saying that, I have to admit I had higher expectations. The film was beautifully shot so all kudos to Ariel. What I felt it lacked though was that sense of drama. The film ultimately didn't really go anywhere and even though there was a pseudo-climax with the lead committing a heinous criminal act, the film left us with too many open questions for my liking. On a more positive note, the character development was spot on (something which I'm sure you're sick of hearing about from me) The dynamics set up within the family aren't selective to this particular narrative - they can be identified in many families around Australia and I think its for this reason that many people were able to relate.

3. Heirlooms - I'm not a massive fan of paint-under-camera style and cutout animation which was featured heavily in this animated doco. However, I think it was appropriate for the subject matter and well-balanced. There were times when you felt like you were reading a children's story book but that was countered with the real photographs which separated the stories which were the pinnacle of the film.

4. The Waterhole - This movie frustrated me in that first of all, the completely disregarded the advantage of using a better camera but more importantly, had some really lame supporting actors. The lead, played by Animal Kingdom's James Frecheville, was brilliant in depicting his character but the other guys just didn't cut the mustard. I think for what this film was about, the camera work and supporting cast just didn't evoke the right emotion from me and all in all, it could have just been made a lot better.

5. The Wendy-Lady - I didn't know until after the film that this movie was based on the Peter Pan character of Wendy. At the time, I found it quite difficult to connect with the watercolor animation (which was exquisitely made by the way) but after knowing the subcontext to the film in retrospect, the film has become even more beautiful for me. It was a very tender, innocent film which made you feel something, which is more than can be said for other films.

6. Everything is Super - I had been waiting for this film all season purely for the fact that it featured Underbelly's Gyton Grantley and Neighbours Pippa Black. Also because the film's tagline went "In a world full of Superheroes however, finding someone heroic is strangely difficult." It was an interesting concept which surprised me when the film didn't really seem to focus as much as I thought it would on the idea outlined in their blurb. I think if it had focused more on Black's character and created a solution which was more appropriate to her problems, it would have worked better. I am a person who enjoys closure however so it may have just been me. In saying that, the actors were brilliant and getting the chance to talk with Pippa after the screening, I learned that they shot in two days so a wonderful accomplishment all up.

I don't know why but I really wasn't in a great mood for the films tonight, hence my negative tone. I hope that I don't seem too put off by these films because I'm sure if was just the combination of their presentation that I didn't enjoy. As separate entities, I'm sure I would have enjoyed them a bit more. In saying that though, some of the ones I have written about I just was not a fan of but hey, we're all different.

Tertiary Education vs. Work Experience

After the seminar on Saturday, I wandered over to the Astor which was hosting the afternoon sessions as well as all the organizations with their stalls. I had a great chat with my tutor from RMIT about what my plans were for after graduation and I expressed my concerns to her about whether I should apply for a postgrad at the VCA or try my luck with the industry.

Her comments were rational and thought-provoking. She expressed her concern towards me getting into another program which could inevitably prolong my entrance into the industry(something I have been freaking out about for a while now). She did however acknowledge that the course could be another opportunity for me to meet others who have the same passion and engagement with the film and TV industry and who I would most probably work with again later in my career. Her comments reminded me of the conversation I had with Adam Elliott at his talk at RMIT on Monday. During this, I asked Adam what he thought about me going to VCA and he said that for the film and TV course, he would definitely recommend VCA. For the producing course however, he expressed concern over the fact that there had been some complications with the course in the past 5 years but that he was sure these had all been ironed out now. My tutor also mentioned these issues and whilst they weren't something to put me off the VCA Producing Postgrad, they were an important item to consider in my decision (unfortunately, neither person could shed some light for me on WHAT exactly these issues were so I can't elaborate sorry. This is why I didn't consider them a major factor in my thoughts on VCA) Adam did say that the success he was experiencing in his career today was due to his attendance at the VCA. So 1 point to the tertiary education team.

After speaking with my tutor for almost half an hour about this, I wasn't planning on staying at the industry day much longer as I had an assignment to go write but my tutor suggested I go speak with the girls from WIFTVIC, or the Victorian branch of Women in Film and TV. This organization are actually hosting a talk at RMIT on Monday so I thought it would be a good idea to go ask them about it. Realizing the opportunity I had accidentally stumbled upon, I realized I should ask the girls for their opinion on the tertiary education/work experience debate and they provided some useful insights. One of the girls explained that her progression in the industry came out of her internships at a local casting company in the USA and from there she went on to become a casting coordinator and then director. I asked her about whether she had attended any tertiary institutions during her career and other than acting classes, she said she hadn't. 1 point to the work experience team.

After this, I really was planning on leaving the Astor but on my way out, happened upon the VCA table and stopped to have a 'quick chat' with the guys on the chairs. Obviously, when I said I wasn't sure about whether I wanted to go to VCA or not, they had a vested interest in convincing me to go. They did a good job, I'll admit that they were convincing, outlining the many benefits to VCA such as the great resources available, access to some of the industries best filmmakers, and countless opportunities to gain contacts and future collaborators for my career, I was hard pressed to come up with reasons to say no. Another point to tertiary education.

They were all the people I spoke to for the day. So how do the scores tally up. Ok, so there weren't many points involved but VCA did come out on top. So why am I still hesitant to launch straight into applying straight away? The answer is simple. Before I began my career at RMIT, I was on a strong pathway to launching into the industry through the work experience and contacts I had managed to collect in 2008. This was relatively easy to do as Perth, where I was based then, is a small town and the film and TV industry was similarly proportioned. So essentially, it wad easy to get work because everyone knew each other. My time during this year was spread between working voluntarily and being employed with various production companies and as a freelancers for a range of projects. In October 2008, my employer at the time gave me the invitation of a lifetime - to work as his production assistant on his next big film. The only catch? Production had not been financed, scheduled or even planned so the chances of it not happening at all were high. I had already secured my place at RMIT however, during my final year at high school and the idea was I would be moving to Melbourne in 5 months time to commence studies.

I realized what I would be doing if I turned down the job offer so I travelled to Melbourne on my own expense to speak with the head of media at RMIT to ask for another 6 months off in order to remain in Perth and be available for the next film. I was told by his secretary that this wasn't an option and he would be unable to meet with me(after arranging a meeting either him weeks before) I returned to Perth extremely disheartened, scared and confused and spent the next 4 months trying to decide whether to ditch my place at RMIT and take the risky gamble of staying in Perth or, take the even riskier gamble of saying no to the job and moving to Melbourne. Needless to say, we all know which one I chose.

Why is this important to know in my decision for next year? I am still not convinced that the decision I made in 2008 was the right one. Yes, I have been exposed to so many opportunities here in Melbourne just from being immersed in a culture that supports such a large percentage of the film and TV industry but this is severely outweighed by all the other negative experiences I have had to deal with. I can not predict the future anymore than I can turn back time and change that decision I made nearly 3 years ago. Over the next 6 months though, I will be reflecting upon this decision to either commence another degree or to work in the industry and will document my findings here to avoid the mistake I made in 2008.

St Kilda 2011 - Industry Day Seminars

This was DEFINITELY the most inspiring day of the festival so far. For those of you who don't know, the SKFF Industry Day is filled with seminars and lectures on various topics from film funding to film making and also provides an opportunity for the various film groups around Australia to open up shop and talk about their organizations. Some of the people involved included the Australian Writers Guild, Australian Directors Guild, my own university, RMIT, and the VCA. The stalls are set up for people to come and ask questions about the various organizations, there role within the industry, and how they can join. Last year, I realize now I definitely did not take enough advantage of this day. These organizations are here specifically for you and for you to speak with them about all the questions you SHOULD have about them. The day allows for the easy exchange of communication between you and the groups rather than you having to call or email them to ask your questions which in turn, makes you less likely to ask. Here's how the day went for me:

12:30pm - First Seminar: AND NOW... WHAT? NEXT STEPS FOR SHORT FILMMAKERS.
I didn't read into the bio for this session too much before I rocked up and I was worried about being late too so really had no idea what to expect (the best way to go into a seminar) Hosted by Open Channel and moderated by Marc Gracie, the forum was organized to allow 4 key short filmmakers to discuss their pathways into the industry and what the next step is for them as content makers. These filmmakers included Andy Mullins (of Sand Hill Road films, director of the SKFF award winning Minnie Loves Junior); Rebecca Penniston-Bird (of Renegade Films); Glendyn Ivin (of Exit films and Director of Playground); and finally, Thomas Baricevic (of Jackson Black Films and director of Home)
All the panels members were invited to speak of their experiences with the industry and it was surprising to hear how differently everyone started out. Glendyn comes from a design background and worked as a graphic designer for 10 years before undergoing what he called "an early mid life crisis" at the age of 27. From there, he went on to do a postgrad at VCA, a move which he contributes to his success as a filmmaker (Glendyn won the Palme D'or in 2003 for his movie Crackerbag)

Thomas began his career as an engineer, then went on to study at VCA in the sculpture and then film courses. His Croatian background has influenced many of his projects and his films are considered to be highly multicultural works of art. Rebecca's career began when after having made short films for a while, Renegade films chanced upon her showreel and offered her a job. Since then, she has been working for Renegade as a Director/Producer, with the company's focus ranging from TVCs to Television series. Rebecca also studied the Bachelor of Arts at Melbourne University. Finally, Andy Mullins' career neither originated in tertiary education or filmmaking placements on film sets. Rather, his brother and him set up a line of pubs which helped to fund Minnie Loves Junior. Andy attributed his success with the film to the success he had in his hospitality business.

The remainder of the seminar consisted of Gracie guiding the filmmakers to speak about their experiences in the industry focusing on how they developed their own works of art and how they have then progressed to the level they are right now in their careers. Throughout the seminar, each person provided a few interesting tips for filmmaking. From Glendyn, I found out that most DOP's find it difficult to look at a script visually in the same way a director does. This means that for a lot of writers, he has found that many of them have their worked turned down specifically because "they can't see beyond the script." Andy spoke of the importance of having another business or career to support you financially during production. All of the filmmakers in fact mentioned how they had some other form of income separate to their filmmaking and how this was integral to them being able to finance their films.

I'm trying very hard to summarize everything I learned during the seminar but it is very difficult ad these guys just had one useful tidbit after another. In dot form, here are the other pointers the group provided:

- Q. What is a producer?
Glendyn - a producer is the person who finds you an elephant. The amount of money they have will determine how shiny that elephant is but you can bet on it that a great producer will go to great lengths to get you that elephant. "If you team up with a producer and become very tight, it can turn into a scenario where if you're not working, they're not working, and if they're not working, you're not working."
- Producer director roles are complimentary
Adam - Directors have to have an element of producer in them to get stuff done.
Thomas - worked with quite a few producers. At the start, you end up becoming a producer in order to get the ball rolling

- Q. . Career pathways are about material ideas but are also beyond materials as well. How do you find your material?
Glendyn- made a decision earlier this year that when offered a script, doesn't want to know how much money is attached. Asks himself, do I want to spend time making this? You choose to do work that you want to do not that you have to do. That work is going to be better than the work you have to do and better work will attract better work.
Andy - scenes, production going on inside his head. The way I look at the world, I am always asking, are people interested in this, would they pay for it, is it interesting? "Material comes to me in the format of is this commercial, if two people turn up, would they tell others?"(not verbatim)
- 'have to direct that film to make it the best film that anyone has seen for that script, not to further your career'
Gracie - the rigor of script is much greater. For young filmmakers, you have to be aware of how hard it is to get stuff put on screen.
Thomas - over the summer, was fishing for something to do. Spent a whole lot of time digging in the backyard. Found his material through that. Spent last four five months enduring to get this project off the ground.
Rebecca - "everyday is jam-packed with material." Rarely see that reflected in the script. She is a reluctant writer. Enjoys the process but doesn't have the passion to do it. Likes to find people who do have that passion.

Q. How can you progress from making corporate videos to making commercials?
Glendyn- the trick is, regardless of how good your shorts are, it doesn't make any sense to the ad world unless it is 30 seconds long. Cut your short reel down to 30 seconds to show that you can tell a story in 30 seconds. -(THIS IS A GREAT IDEA!!!)
- The industry overall, everybody is looking for the idea that you hopefully respond to on a personal idea, the more original the idea, the more likely people will respond to it
Rebecca - it's not a world of creativity. Ad world tends to ask you not to do anything too creative. They want to sell a toaster, thats all.
Glendyn - didn't make any money from ads for 3-4 years. Juniors at Exit films are freaking out because they can't see a way to make money either. Your bank balance goes down but the work stays there.

Q. When is it worth giving away your work?
Thomas - depends on how desperate you are to make a film. Have to protect your work at some point as well.
Rebecca - "if you're passionate about tennis, is that the best avenue for making a tennis film?" (questioner asked whether she should make film for Australian open film comp)
Gracie - in the real world, you generally don't want to hold on to your work. If you come up to me and say 'I have great idea but I can't tell you about it yet because I haven't worked out how to protect it yet', I'm not going to hang about till you have figured it out.
Glendyn - short films don't make money. It's more about the calling card.
Andy - Do it because the process of doing it is another film made. It's hard to get a seat at the table; scratch and crawl your way up to get that seat. Give your films away to get in.

Q. What is the next step after the short?
Gracie - it depends on how good the last film was. Nash(Edgerton) had to reinvent his career. His feature wasnt so good. He went back to making shorts and now he can go back to making another feature.
Glendyn - "I love making shorts. You either love it or you don't. I would just love to make another short."
Andy - It's easy. do something a little different to the last film you made.
Thomas - you will learn something from making the last film you made.
Gracie - the important thing about shooting film is shooting film.
Glendon- you feel so much better making a mistake on the films you care about then the ones you don't.

Q. Is it good to look forward to making features after shorts?
Glendyn - greatest experience of my life making a feature film. Not necessarily something I want to make again.

Q. Why don't people go see Australian films?
Rebecca - there have been too many disappointments. Once they see one bad film, that taints their experience. We need to be more ambitious
Andy- disagrees with the idea that Australians don't see Australian films. When they hit, they hit hard.
Gracie - making short films or features is about making other worlds. You can do it in ads, shorts, features. It's a way to make more lives. Whether the path to feature films is there or not, it's still a difficult one.
Glendyn- if that's something you really want to do, you have to do it. .

-working with and finding your crew:
Andy - where does the line blur in short films and docos for producer/director? Called up his line producer/editor/cinematographer and kept calling to say that he loved their work and wanted to work with them

So there you have it. A MAJOR summary of the seminar but hopefully you found some of it interesting/useful. And I'm going to say this again but you HAVE to take advantage of this sort of stuff going on in Melbourne. It's not hard to find out about seminars and events like SKFF happening in this great city - the key is just being open to finding it. Sign up to newsletters. Read Inside Film, Encore and ScreenHub to be up to date with the current events. And more than anything, get the website of your favorite director/producer/writer/crew on an RSS feed and know what is happening with the them and what they are doing. Being up to date with them will give you a better chance of communicating with them if you do get the chance to meet them at some point.

I'm going to leave you with a quote from the seminar by the host which I think sums up the main point of the day and I hope you take note:

Marc Gracie - "You make that path. No one ever, ever opens that door for you."

St Kilda 2011 - Top 100 Session 1

After arriving to the beautifully lit Astor Theatre, I hastly ran around the foyer looking for, well everything: Annie Helps, the marketing coordinator for SKFF; Anisha, the girl who was supposed to be helping me with the Awards forms; and the Inside Film box with everything I needed for the night. As well as this, I was extremely conscious of the fact that people were already queing for the first session and my window to hand out the forms was closing fast. Thankfully, at 7:25pm, I raced around hurriedly handing out forms left, right and center to everyone who would acknowledge, looking very red in the face and probably confusing a lot of people by trying to explain in one breath that "withoutanemailitsnotvalidandwhenyou'redonepleaseputitintheboxoutside." Hectic.

Then the blissful calm as I finally got to sit in on the session, my favourite part of the job. I missed the first and last films unfortunately as I had to pop back in and out of the theatre before everyone else did but here is what I did see:

2. Home - a bizarre story about a home delivery guy, Ryan, who is on the way to a delivery. In a character development which could have outrivaled Scorsese's Taxi Driver, the film finally arrives at Ryan's first delivery. Frank doesn't open the door which causes Ryan to go around the house to the backyard, discovering an unpleasant sight. The rest of the film deals with the idea of what could happen if you suddenly were able to completely acquire somebody else's life but personally, I don't think the filmmakers focused on the right aspects. The camera they used was very nice (a Canon Mark II 5D or something similar) but the shots were unimaginative and badly. All in all the film could have been a lot better I feel if they had either sped everything up or left our the last third of the narrative.

3. Stony Point - this was a really beautiful short and one that caught my eye in the program. The story focuses on two sisters visiting Stony Point, a small coastal town, in what we would assume is summer. There, the girls encounter a past fling and a disruptive, meddling city girl like themselves who enjoys playing with people's emotions. The film was just really sweet but not to the point where you would end up with type 2 diabetes at the end of it. Thanks to one of the characters, the film had an edge and suspense about it which had you thinking "what's going to happen next?!" The cinematography was also really beautiful with a nice coral colour scheme and great wideshots to show off the landscape which so many of us I think can relate to a past memory of family road trips to the middle of nowhere.

4. Minnie Loves Junior- I really didn't like Minnie Loves Junior and for that I am a little upset because I think the film had potential. For me, there was just too much of it I believe and had it been shorter, it may have been more entertaining. There were times for me unfortunately when I caught myself asking "when is this going to end?" I will say though that when it did eventually come to a close, the film finished really succinctly and with a super cute gesture which left the audience with the warm and fuzzies. There was a lot that could have been done with the setting in this film which I don't think was considered. A nice film but not my favourite by far.

5. I Make Coffee - This film was really interesting. Reading the blurb I had to stop myself from placing it in the "nobody-talks-to-me-so-I'm-going-to-make-a-film" category of filmmakers and I'm glad I did because it really wasn't that at all. The film was very character based which was great because our protagonist was hilarious. Using a unique form which crisscrossed between supposedly amateur film-making on a SD video cam and title cards matching to the dialogue, the film had a very fast pace about it which forced you to keep up. All in all it was just a really cute little spiel about a guy and his coffee shop and what was great was that him and his friends obviously had fun making it.

6. Beat - it took me FOREVER to work out who the lead actor was in this mini-short but I finally googled it out and it was none other than the prestigious Peter O'Brien (George Freeman from Underbelly for those of you who still don't know who I'm talking about.) I think it was because my brain was so preoccupied with trying to work out who Peter was that I subsequently did not follow the story properly and hence did not really get the film but I think there is another reason for this. The film opens in a seedy bathroom and two guys enter which automatically sets up a few thoughts. The film plays with these thoughts right up until the end when the twist comes in. However, it was the twist that threw me and it was only until just now that I managed to work out why the film ended the way it did (I'm not one for spoilers so let me know what your thoughts are when you see it) I think though the film needed to be just that little more clear about the ending and explaining O'Brien's character's unique talent so that the audience didn't leave the theatre completely dumbfounded (although I do feel really stupid for not having thought of my theory before now).

With all of these films, I just wanted to put it out there that these are just my own personal reflections and ruminations about the screening. There are a lot of factors that can influence someone's opinion about a film and I don't want my blog to be one of them. Go to the festival, see the films for yourself and hit me up with your thoughts. More to come on Friday.

St Kilda 2011 - Opening Night

WOW! What a start to what is slowly becoming one of my favourite Australian film festivals.

Entering the grand Palais Theatre out near Acland St out of the frosty Melbourne air, I was greeted by the same nostalgic wave that hit me last year, reminding me of my first attendance of the festival. St Kilda is special to me as it was the first film festival I attended when I moved to Melbourne and it has become a yearly tradition ever since. I was fortunate enough this year to score a double pass for my sister and I to attend the opening night and the two of us ascended to the second storey to meet up with a few of my other friends who were joining us for the night's festivities. The theatre was packed to the brim with people from all walks of the film appreciation life - filmmakers, actors, investors, producers, critics, fans and general members of the public who just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I even spotted my fair share of celebs including Eddie Perfect (Offspring), Stefan Dennis (Paul from Neighbours) and Gyton Grantley (Underbelly), although admittedly I saw him at Vineyards on the way to the opening, not actually in the theatre itself.

At 8pm on the dot, the chimes began and we made our holy ascent to the 'dress circle' or what I would coin more appropriately, the "stairs of hell." I don't think I had ever sat so far back from the stage before but even from there, we could still see all of the action. Finally, the lights dimmed and a familiar face graced the stage to welcome everyone to the festival. Shane Jacobson, Australia's most lovable loo cleaner, performed yet another brilliant MC job throwing in some gut-clenching one liners, a few eye-brow raising quips, but enough cheer and merriment to get everyone through the other, more dull (sorry, there is no other word for the Mayor's speech) introductions by the sponsors and organizers.

AND THEN, the films. Starting with Pop, the audience were exposed to the more subtle approach of film making. With no dialogue, our attention was drawn to the impeccable sound design and performances given by the 2 man cast as well as the beautiful cinematography featured throughout. There was a reminiscence of the sound-to-visual editing style seen in every Edgar Wright film but not to such a degree that its prominent. Rather, the film focuses on the beauty of communication through non-verbal means whilst exploring father-son relationships.

Next was the highly anticipated Suburbia, featuring Don Hany (Offspring) and what I had hoped would be an Underbelly homage. Not quite. Without giving too much away, the film portrayed the real life events of a man who uncovers a shooting in his own neighborhood. But that's about it. The film's focus on its technical elements (you really need to see the film in order to understand what I'm talking about) caused there to be a lack of detail undertaken with the script and plot itself. In the end, we just ended up watching Hany running a Northern Sydney suburb under the false impression that something utterly disastrous was about to happen. Rather disappointingly, it didn't and the film ended with a massive anti-climax which left many in the audience perplexed or unsatisfied.

From there we moved into the first animation presentation of the festival from the Berlin Film festival. A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation was an incredible story that was difficult to keep up with accompanied by some amazing computer-generated imagery. With a Tim Burton-esque feel, the film had great editing and narrative rhythm but lost its audience around the 4th Act.  Taken separately, the animation and the story are great elements. Together however, they were slightly confusing and possibly too ambitious for a short film. I would really recommend reading the script however if you can get your hands on it as it was fascinating trying to keep up throughout the screening.

The 4th film of the night was Beesting starring Brendan Cowell and another one of the films I was looking forward to. Like Pop (but less successfully), Beesting explores the relationship between a widowed man and his young son who both share the same affections for the boy's teacher. A little sneakily, the film flirts with the idea of the teacher having a crush on the son but that is quickly dissipated by the film's final act. Again, like Suburbia, the film finished at a moment I would not have have thought wise, neither focusing on the son's reaction to his father's behaviour to make us sympathisise with him, nor revealing a witty twist for the son to seek revenge. It was a film about nothing I would say and whilst there were some cute moments, it wasn't what I was hoping for. The sound mixing also pissed me off at times.

The SoundKilda entry for the night was Old Fitzroy, a beautifully photographer music video based on a story about one of Melbourne's most cultural suburbs and really if I were to award it any form it would simply be a photographic essay. The shots were beautifully retouched in a darkly contrasted black and white with a few focus pulls and long DOP(depth of field)'s thrown in here and there as well. It would be the sort of thing I would hope the City of Yarra would use to their advantage.

And finally, THE film of the festival, if not the year, that shook everyone to the core and turned their world upside down. Bear, the brilliant production by Nash Edgerton and David Michod, was a film I already knew would be amazing but what I wasn't anticipating was just how incredible these two men are when put in the same room together. Following a similar trajectory to Spider (for all of you familiar with their work but don't let that fool into thinking you can guess what happens in Bear), the film has that perfect blend for narrative development in the way it establishes character, mysteriously suggests the plot's direction, and then hits you out of left field with the twist of the century. I knew it was coming but even I was shocked by the ending and everyone in the audience was in rapture. It really was a brilliant piece of filmmaking and the boys at Blue-Tongue should be very proud.

To cap off the wonderful evening, I bumped into Adam Elliott outside the theatre again who I had gone to see speak at RMIT last night and got to have a nice chat with him about the films. So all in all, a great start to the 2011 St Kilda Film Festival and I can't wait for tomorrow's screening.