Our interview with the Sydney Film Festival's newest director, Nashen Moodley, reveals a determined man driven to share his love of world cinema with Sydney audiences.
Most can recall that skip-a-beat moment in the job interview where your prospective employer puts your knowledge of their organisation on the spot with the question, “What are the greatest challenges you might face in this job?” For Nashen Moodley, it seems his good fortune at being named the Sydney Film Festival’s newest director began before he even took the job. “Um, I don’t think they asked me that question!” he says with a laugh.
Not that the state of the international film festival circuit offers Moodley too many surprises at this stage of his career. The experience that the debonair 35 year-old South African has amassed – Head of Programming for 11 years at the Durban International Film Festivaland Director of Asia/Africa Programs for 6 years at the Dubai International Film Festival, to name just two of his high-profile credentials – ensures the unfurling of his fresh perspective on one of the Asia Pacific region’s key cultural events will be fascinating to watch.
“I think the challenge of all films festival is how to stay relevant, [defining] what makes film festivals important,” he tells SCREEN-SPACE in the week prior to the launch of the 59th edition of the SFF. “Sydney is in a great place in terms of attendance, but it is now about making this communal experience more impactful, more powerful than it has been in the past.”
He will draw upon the respected status of the SFF internationally to help achieve this aim. “We’ll be bringing more international guests to the Festival and creating more opportunities for international filmmakers to interact with the local Australian industry, so that synergies emerge from that contact,” he explains. “These are the important factors, not only for the visiting filmmakers and the local industry, but also the audiences. That’s what makes a festival a festival. Not just a series of screenings but a discussion about film, about creating an environment where cinema takes centre- stage.”
It is this balancing of the Festival’s key strengths in the eyes of the world film sector and ensuring local audiences are satiated over the 11 days of the Festival that is the professional tightrope Moodley walks. “I don’t think the two can be separated, or prioritise one over the other,” Moodley states. “In order to get the films we need for the Festival, we need to have strong relationships with overseas sales agents and producers and the local film distributors. But, at the same time, once we secure those films, we need people to watch them and to have a pleasant viewing experience.”
He understands that his professional future is linked inexorably to both the long- and short-term success of his SFF tenure. He openly admits that the Opening and Closing Night films – the hipster-cool Sydney-set dramedy, Not Suitable for Children, starring Ryan Kwanten (pictured, left) and the droll American indy, Safety Not Guaranteed (cast pictured, below), respectively – skew younger, clearly signalling a strategic consideration to attract new patrons.
“We need to secure a future audience for the festival. All festivals need to do that,” Moodley admits. “But with those two films, I also think they are really great films and will make for great Opening and Closing night celebrations. Both are also from first-time feature filmmakers, which is very exciting for me, introducing new talents to audiences. Both these films tick a lot of boxes.”
The vast knowledge of the Asian and African film industries Moodley’s experience affords him has also influenced the 2012 programme. A sidebar in honour of Japanese studio Nikkatsu’s centenary, a 5 film Focus on India strand and rarely-glimpsed films from Senegal (La Pirogue; Today), Cambodia (Golden Slumbers) and Qatar (The Virgin Copts and Me) undeniably reflect the Festival Director’s influence. But he wants it made clear that those films are screening because they meet the high standard he sets for all Festival entrants. “Those films are not included so that I can tick off some international quota,” he states, bluntly. “[This role] is about bringing the best of international cinema to the Sydney Film Festival, and the best of international cinema includes film from Africa and Asia. It is not a great agenda of mine to increase Asian or African film at the Festival, it is just that I believe the Festival should have a broad geographical representation. I believe the programme is fairly evenly balanced.” (below, the Festival Director previews the full programme)
When asked what he would like analysts to say about his first year in the Festival Director’s chair, Moodley says, “It’s not so much what someone might say but what they do during the Festival.” He understands the importance of the Sydney Film Festival to both the Harbour City’s filmgoers and the state economy. “If all the cinemas are full, all day every day, that would make me extremely happy.” But Nashen Moodley also wants to engage the intellects of a population that proudly embraces its arts culture. “I want people to find the selection really interesting and challenging. If they see 20 or 30 films, I don’t expect them to love every film. I want them to hate some as well. That’s what happens at film festivals; that’s what I enjoy about film festivals. If that happens in the end then I’ll be very, very happy.”
Courtesy of the official Cannes Film Festival website, winners from all major categories of this year's often contentious event reflect upon the moment their professional lives changed forever...
Michael Haneke, winner of the Palme d'or for Love (Amour) (pictured, above, with stars Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant). The story I tell is based on the promise my wife and I made to each other: not to separate in a situation like the one in the film. We see that all the time and it is a widespread problem. I experienced it in my own family and that is what pushed me to make the film Love.
Matteo Garrone, winner of the Grand Prix for Reality (pictured, left) I have not read much of what has been written. It was a surprise for me because I know there were many beautiful films. The Competition was tough but I am very happy because the Grand Prix will help the film to reach a wider audience.
Ken Loach, winner of the Jury Prize for The Angels' Share(La part des anges) (pictured, right) We realized that if we spent time with people like the ones in the film, they have such optimism that it makes us happy. To speak truthfully about things, you have to present them in the form of comedy.
Cristian Mungiu, Best Screenwriter for Beyond the Hills (Dupa Dealuri) (pictured, left) I am very happy to have this award, a little surprised because it is the longest film in the Competition. I kept on changing the dialogues, the actresses helped me a lot, we tried to give it a continuity.
Carlos Reygadas, Best Director for Post Tenebras Lux My work comes from the desire to create, to share, to find fraternity in the world with you. I was asked if I was not sad because many people did not like my film. For many filmmakers, the goal is to please. That is not my goal. Mine is to be able to express myself with absolute freedom and to be able to leave someone with something.
Mads Mikkelsen, Best Actor (pictured, left) It was a big moment for me and for the film. One cannot be a good actor in a mediocre film. During my stay, I didn't have a chance to see other films, but there is a lot of work to do in Cannes! Put me in the Jury and I will come to see films!
Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur, Best Actress inDupa Dealuri (Beyond The Hills) (pictured, above) The rhythm is different in film; after two months of shooting, here we are with this award, it’s incredible.
Benh Zeitlin, winner of the Caméra d’or forBeasts Of the Southern Wild (pictured, right) For almost everyone who contributed to the film, it was their first film. We had worked very hard on small projects, short films in the past. We wanted to make this with friends, as a family. You never know, when you make a film, that success could come like this.
L. Rezan Yesbilas, winner of the Palme d'or - Short Film for Silent (Sessiz-be Deng) It was amazing to be there, even before the ceremony. This is the second time that Turkey has won a Palm.
The Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury headed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and including Arsinée Khanjian, Karim Aïnouz, Emmanuel Carrère and Yu Lik-Wai, has awarded the 2012 Cinéfondation Prizes during a ceremony held in the Buñuel Theatre, followed by the screening of the winning films.
The Cinéfondation Selection consisted of 15 student films, chosen out of nearly 1 700 entries coming from 320 film schools around the world.
The producer of one of the most acclaimed films of all time reflects on a deeply personal work and its legacy.
“People always say to me, ‘when you get to the NBA, don’t forget about me’. Well, I should’ve said back, ‘if I don’t make it to the NBA, don’t you forget about me’.”—William Gates, Hoop Dreams
The ongoing celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of the New York Film Festival have been a boon to cinemagoers on America’s east coast. The Film Society of the Lincoln Center has begun screening highlights from the Festival’s first half-century, with works such as Jane Campion’s The Piano, Cristi Puiu’s The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and Manoel de Oliveira’s I’m Going Home getting all-too-rare big-screen showings in the lead up to the 2012 edition, which begins September 28.
One of the most anticipated events of the retrospective season will be the June 5 showing of Hoop Dreams, director Steve James’ 1994 documentary that followed William gates and Arthur Agee, two African-American basketball hopefuls as their lives took divergent and fascinating paths. The New York Times picked the 170-minute film as one of the 1000 greatest films of all time; it would be voted the greatest documentary of all time by the International Documentary Association.
Attending the event will be James and producers Peter Gilbert and Frederick Marx (pictured, right). Speaking to SCREEN-SPACE from the offices of his production company Warrior Films, Marx welcomes the opportunity to reflect upon a work that has touched millions. “In many ways it was the first of its kind. That combining of documentary methods with fiction strategies, of trying to combine verite documentary style with Hollywood story-telling structure and pacing,” he recalls, citing the interwoven dramatic flow of the story as being ground-breaking. “It is a longitudinal study combining dramatic sports action with sociological detail, stylistically different from talking heads and B-roll films like the UP series, which I deeply admire.”
Aside from the enormous critical acclaim (it has a 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating) and award season goodwill (it won Sundance and National Board of Review honours, amongst many others), Marx (pictured, left) most clearly recalls the impact the production had on the lives of Agee and Gates. “I remember returning from one interview with William and telling Steve we're doing William a great service by being there as confidantes,” he says, “just wanting to hear his truth and feelings as opposed to most people who were telling him what they thought he should do.” Both played some minor-league seasons but neither achieved NBL status. However both still provide inspiration for many - Gates as pastor at Living Faith Community Church in Chicago; Agee as a motivational speaker with his start-up initiative, ‘Hoop Dreams: Control Your Destiny Curriculum’.
Gates recently told basketball website Slam.com, ““It’s all about choices. That’s what I try to get across to my own kids and the kids we serve at my church. It’s about empowerment and choices. Instead of a basketball scholarship, get an academic scholarship. Broaden your horizons.” Frederick Marx agrees, bemoaning the fact that Hoop Dreams did not foster a greater degree of understanding and assistance for America’s inner-city youths in the long term. “Things are worse today,” he states, bluntly. “The socio-economic realities of many urban African-American families are far worse and the exploitation of athletes starts now in grammar school. They're rated in spec sheets like horses are, starting in 5th or 6th grade, at ages 10 to 12.”
Hoop Dreams screens June 5 at The Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theatre at 6.30pm.
Debutant festival director Nashen Moodley reveals his line-up for the 59th Sydney Film Festival before an eager throng of media, industry and political personalities.
The 12 features battling it out in the Official Competition strand of the 2012 Sydney Film Festival are particularly diverse, with only the glaring omission of any UK films from the line-up standing out. It is the most notably divergent path that newly-appointed Festival Director Nashen Moodley (pictured, below) has taken in his first year in charge; all other programming choices appear to safely reflect the same dedication to international cinema that his predecessor, Claire Stewart, adopted whilst in charge and which helped drive audience numbers and reinforce the events global relevance.
The Festival Jury, led by actress Rachel Ward and to be announced in full over the weeks leading up to the Opening Night on June 6, will be asked to cast judgement over the following dozen, chosen because they adhere to the guidelines which dictate they demonstrate ‘emotional power and resonance; are audacious, cutting-edge, courageous; and go beyond the usual treatment of the subject matter’: ALPS.Greece | 2011 | 93 mins Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Screenwriters: Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou | Producers: Athina Rachel Tsangari, Yorgos Lanthimos | Cast: Aggeliki Papoulia, Aris Servetalis, Johnny Vekris. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD.USA | 2011 | 92 mins Director: Benh Zeitlin | Screenwriters: Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin | Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn | Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry. CAESAR MUST DIE. Italy | 2012 | 76 mins Directors, Screenwriters: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani | Producer: Grazia Volpi | Cast: Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano, Giovanni Arcuri. DEAD EUROPE.Australia | 2012 | 84 mins Director: Tony Krawitz | Screenwriter: Louise Fox | Producers: Iain Canning, Liz Watts, Emile Sherman | Cast: Ewen Leslie, Marton Csokas, Kodi Smit-McPhee. GANGS OF WASSEYPUR PARTS 1 AND 2. India | 2012 | 160 mins x 2 Director: Anurag Kashyap | Screenwriters: Anurag Kashyap, Syed Zeeshan Qadri, Akhilesh Jaiswal, Sachin Ladia | Producers: Anurag Kashyap, Sunil Bohra, Guneet Monga | Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chaddha, Tigmanshu Dhulia. THE KING OF PIGS.South Korea | 2011 | 97 mins Director, Screenwriter: Yuen Sang-ho | Producer: Cho Young-kag | Cast: Yang Ik-june, Oh Jeong-se, Kim Hye-na. LORE.Australia, Germany | 2012 | 109 mins Director: Cate Shortland | Screenwriters: Robin Mukherjee, Cate Shortland, Rachel Seiffert | Producers: Benny Drechsel, Karsten Stöter, Liz Watts, Paul Welsh | Cast: Saskia Rosendahl, Nele Trebs, André Frid. MONSIEUR LAZHAR.Canada | 2011 | 92 mins Director, Screenwriter: Philippe Falardeau | Producers: Luc Déry, Kim McCraw | Cast: Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron. NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS.Brazil | 2012 | 131 mins Director, Screenwriter: Kleber Mendonça Filho | Producer: Emilie Lesclaux | Cast: Irandhir Santos, Gustavo Jahn, Maeve Jinkings. ON THE ROAD.USA | 2012 | 140 mins Director: Walter Salles | Screenwriter: José Rivera | Producers: Charles Gillibert, Nathanaël Karmitz, Rebecca Yeldham | Cast: Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen. TABU. Portugal, Germany, Brazil, France | 2012 | 110 mins Director: Miguel Gomes | Screenwriters: Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo | Producers: Sandro Aguilar, Luís Urbano | Cast: Teresa Madruga, Laura Soveral, Ana Moreira, Carlotto Cotta. TODAY.France, Senegal | 2011 | 86 mins Director, Screenwriter: Alain Gomis | Producers: Eric Idriss Kanango, Oumar Sall, Gilles Sandoz | Cast: Saül Williams, Djolof M’Bengue, Anisia Uzeyman.
Opening Night honours have been bestowed upon Peter Templeman’s Not Suitable for Children, a cancer-dramedy set amongst Sydney’s Inner-west hipsters and starring Ryan Kwanten. Closing the Festival will be the US independent release Safety Not Guaranteed (pictured, above), directed by first-timer Colin Trevorrow and described by the Festival guide as “a surprising and very funny sci-fi comedy with heart.” That the Festivals’ most high-profile slots are programmed with decidedly younger-skewing films suggests that Moodley is determined to keep the Sydney Film Festival (and his tenure) relevant to future generations.
The Dendy Organisation has re-signed as key sponsor for the Australian Short Film Award category, which contains films that have already found favour in Berlin (Matthew Moore’s Julian and Billie Pfeiffer’s Bino), the South-x-Southwest Festival (Marieka Walsh’s The Hunter) and Cannes (Michael Spiccia’s Yardbird). Eight factual films will contest for the Foxtel Australian Documentary Prize, won last year by Sophie Hyde’s and Bryan Mason’s Life in Movement; the scheduled works include Despite The Gods, Penny Wozniak’s character study of director Jennifer Lynch, and the world premiere of Utopia, the latest from SFF veteran Bruce Petty (Leisure, 1976; Global Haywire, 2007).
Also returning are other award categories such as The Community Relations Commission (CRC) Award, given to the film whose content best reflects Australia’s multicultural diversity, and the popular Showtime Movie Channels Audience Award, reflecting the punter’s Festival favourite (won in 2011 by Shane Meadows’ This is England ’86). Announced at this morning's program launch was the 2012 Peter Rasmussen Innovation Award winner – Justin Wight, honoured for his multi-platform, trans-media project Double Happy vs The Infinite Sadness.
The breadth of films on offer over the 2012 event is statistically staggering - 157 titles: 56 features, 40 documentaries, 32 short films, 14 retrospective titles, 18 world premieres (11 features, 7 shorts), 107 Australian premieres, 30 Australian productions (5 features, 7 documentaries, 18 short films) and films from 50 countries in 48 languages. Experienced Festival goers will know that high-profile entrants can disappoint and bolters can unexpectedly emerge from the pack to win over unsuspecting patrons. With that in mind, the Best of the Fest on paper would include Nadine Labaki’s follow-up to Caramel, Where Do We Go Now?; Israeli writer-director’s Nadav Lapid’s Tribeca hit, Policeman; Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair, which return from the Berlinale with Best Actor and Best Screenplay honours; Gerardo Naranjo’s Mexican thriller Miss Bala; How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radner’s second indy feature Liberal Arts, starring It-girl Elizabeth Olsen (star of SFF 2011 hit, Martha Marcy May Marlene); from The Netherlands, Sacha Polak’s existential sex-vs-love dramedy, Hemel (pictured, below); Russia’s winner of Venice’s Golden Lion award, Faust, from director Alexander Sokurov; and, the world premiere of the Australian film, Being Venice, from writer director Miro Bilbrough.
The iconic State Theatre is back in all its glory after the 2011 event had the venue space truncated due to renovations. Film’s afforded the opulence of one of Sydney’s last great theatrical venues include Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, Michael Haneke’s Amour, Ken Loach’s The Angel Share, Rachel Perkins’ Mabo, Oren Moverman’s Rampart and Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights.
In addition to the first-run features, sidebar offerings will include a retrospective of Italian great Bernardo Bertolucci, a selection of classics from the library of 100-year old Japanese studio giant Nikkatsu, and a focus on the independent cinema of India. The influence of Moodley’s past-life as Director of Asia/Africa Programs at the Dubai International Film Festival can be strongly felt in that regard. Variety critic and genre buff Richard Kuipers returns to program the ‘Freak Me Out’ strand of horror and fantasy films, which this year includes works from France (Alexandre Bustill and Julien Maury’s Livid), the US (William Friedkin’s Killer Joe), the UK (Keith Wright’s Harold’s Going Stiff) and Japan (Shunichiro Miki’s The Warped Forest).
SCREEN-SPACE will be covering the events of the day as they unfold, with blogs, reviews and interviews being uploaded morning and night over the course of the Festival’s twelve days.
Anyone who has heard the man's boisterous laugh will themselves giggle to hear Peter Galvin described as the industry's 'quiet achiever'. But the eclectic 28 year film industry career he has carved out for himself has often been in the selfless service of others. As a film journalist, his byline has appeared in many publications, notably The Sydney Morning Herald, Inside Film and, currently, online at SBS Film; he is well into his second decade at the prestigious Sydney Film School, where he is Head of Screen Studies; and, spent three years programming the iconic Popcorn Taxi events. He kindly sat down with SCREEN-SPACE to discuss his latest short film, Kelly's Blues (he's made four), a few days after it's premiere at the iconic Randwick Ritz cinema in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
Peter, the film has a strong, vivid feel for the period in which it's set, the semi-rural world of 1970's Australia. Why did you choose that landscape and decade?
The story came out of my life. As someone famous once said, all fiction is a form of disguised biography. But Kelly’s Bluesis fiction. There’s no one to one relationship between me and the characters and events, the time and the setting. To take two examples, I did not grow up in the country and I wasn’t an only child. Another is that I have no sense memory of 1974 at all. But I would say that Kelly’s Blues is very much an emotional biography.
I liked the kind of filmmaking possibilities it presented. I liked the challenge of doing a version of the 70s on a low budget. But it wouldn’t be kitsch, nostalgic, and we couldn’t afford spectacle for its own sake. And it’s cheaper in the bush – one doesn’t need to ‘dress’ a paddock for 70s period!
But the setting will inevitably evoke melancholy and I think a receptive audience will respond by remembering unique, personal connections of their childhood.
I wanted to convey the feeling that what you are watching is a memory – that the story is of an older man (a man much older than me by the way!) looking back to a formative moment in his life. There’s only a faint suggestion in the final cut, but I think it’s there.
So selection of time and place for the story is very personal in two ways; one was that I was I trying to work out certain feelings about my childhood – the need for a special friend as a refuge from a family life that was not especially emotionally nurturing (true or untrue that was how I felt). It had to be 1974 because Ray’s aggressive, abusive style of parenting would be addressed in a very different way in a 2012 setting. Indeed, in some ways it would be the plot. So it’s no accident the movie is set in an era that’s pre-feminist, pre-therapy. It’s part of what it’s about.
And it’s a child’s point of view; all events in a way are being filtered through Marty’s consciousness, which is full of fear, curiosity and a sort of severe sense of good and bad/right and wrong. It’s an ironic approach. Marty reads his parents fears and regrets as a lack of understanding and a rejection. I think it makes the audience feel a little gutted; they think ‘Gee, I wish they could just break through and help each other’.
The setting also invokes memories of the famous Renaissance period for Australian cinema; it could very easily have come from that time. Which Australian filmmakers have influenced you in general and Kelly's Blues in particular?
I didn’t make it under the sign of Oz 70s cinema. It’s an era I happen to know well. For 12 years I’ve been teaching a course on it! But I like The Devil’s Playground. I like the Last Wave and The Plumber. The Mad Max Movies. More recently I like very much The Proposition, Noise, Mullet and Animal Kingdom. None of these pics were anything to do with Kelly’s Blues.
(Pictured: Galvin, far right, with cinematographer Donald McAlpine and director Cathy Henkel, at The Australian Director's Guild Awards, 2011)
I talked a lot, during pre-production, about taking the curse off the scripts apparent ‘Aussie Drama 101’ feel. Still, I think I know what you’re talking about. On the surface, in synopsis, and even the script, Kelly’s Blues seemed to fulfill some casual expectation of ‘Aussie-ness’ and a certain kind of low-key, naturalistic, elegiac mood we often associate with Australian cinema of the late 70s and early 80s era. Though that’s a critical cliché that’s worth arguing about.
Was there a stylistic reference point to which you adhered?
I went into it knowing the style would be very active, very aggressive. In preparing the film I watched a lot of Hitchcock and Michael Mann and some Scorsese. The idea was for me to absorb and develop visual storytelling strategy’s that would imply that what we see and hear is leaping from the psyche of Marty. I imagined a somewhat surreal, very tense, un-easy mood. The final cut is not a thriller.
I can see those influences in the film’s craft and your filming and framing choices, though the story is far gentler, more humane, than those great directors are known for.
Originally the script had more mystery and it was disciplined in a very severe way like a suspense picture; very planned, very precise. It was conceived as very subjective; the camera would be Marty in a way and I never wanted it to stop moving! Unfortunately we ran out of money and we couldn’t afford a Grip. Some of these basic ideas remained. I ended up using almost imperceptible digital zooms; very slow tilts and pans. I called the style ‘revenge of the tilt’. It was a way to get energy into the shot.
From the first pre-production meeting to its recent premiere (at Eastern Sydney's Randwick Ritz theatre), how long did you spend on the film?
About seven years. I had the basic plot outline by mid 2005. But the roots of the piece go way back to my University days. Then I wrote a very similar story. It was about a little boy, about 6 years old who forms a friend ship with the old man next door. The old man turns out to be a war criminal. But its premise was near identical to Kelly’s Blues; a child and his special friend; his attachment to a character that is on the surface toxic. The irony is that this unlikely friendship is a form of liberation for both characters.
Describe the down-times experienced by a short-film maker, such as when finances dictate that production slows or the commitment or intensity wanes?
The intensity never waned for me. There’s no down time. Post-production slowed on Kelly’s Blues because it took a long time to find the right editor and there was no money. Ultimately we found Anthea Hewett who was perfect. I think you might be talking about the major thing that pursues any so-called ‘no-budget’ filmmaker – the need to lead and encourage enthusiasm from colleagues, crew and third parties.
Exactly.
That’s not a trial. It’s just a question of managing people’s expectations and understanding their needs. One can tell from the start when one is meeting crew or a service provider and laying down the production scenario we use; that there’s no money or little money – whether they’re going to stay the course. When people ask me, once they learn there’s no money, “what’s in it for me?” I do not have an answer. That’s such a personal thing. They’re talking about their lives…what they’ve done, what their aspirations are…only they can see whether participating in the production of the film will make a meaningful contribution to their personal and career development. But I don’t find these issues troublesome and difficult. I’m a very practical filmmaker.
Where did you source the obviously accomplished crew and technicians that have resulted in such a quality visual work?
Right now its practical to make movies with my pals, many of them graduates of Sydney Film School where I’m Head of Screen Studies and have taught since 2004. Some of the crew were film students, or had only recently graduated. Some of the crew though were pros; like art director Hayley Stephens and production designer Paul Finch. So was the Gaffer. The cinematographer Ross Giardina, an AFTRS grad and SFS grad, was I suppose, then, right at the beginning of his professional career as head of the photography department. But he was very experienced, had worked in the pro environment.
Most of the crew and post-production crew were friends and by the time we shot I was very close to the actors, too. It’s a nice way to work. What I’m saying is that in most cases everyone not only wanted to be there; they found they’re own personal way to contribute to the work. They were involved. And that involvement was not based on cash reward. I can’t tell you what it was that drove them, I can’t speak for them.
So the cliché of the low-budget film-maker suffering for his art didn’t manifest over the many years of Kelly’s Blues’ production?
It’s self-indulgent to talk about how ‘tough’ this is. No one asked me to make it. There’s no sponsor to answer to, no patron. I wanted to make a film and I will keep doing so in these terms until I feel the need to pursue a more conventional path. I cannot go on forever relying on my own finances! But it’s unseemly to complain or even to talk about ‘struggle’. Also friends contributed to the budget. I had invested, as had producer Ulysses Oliver and associate producer CC Williams, a lot of money and time and effort. It has been and remains a major pre-occupation; even though since shooting it I’ve made another film, Shanghai and am in pre-production on a new film, The Outskirts of Love. Shanghai will be ready in August. I hope to start shooting Outskirts in October this year.
I'm intrigued as to the nature of the on-set relationship you formed with your two leads, Alana Ferris and the boy Hugo Larsen (pictured, above). They are called upon to invest in some very intense scenes; what role does the director play when those shooting days finally arrive?
It’s interesting the way you phrase that question; I tried to avoid too much talk and too much ‘relationship negotiation’ on set. By the time we shot my role was actor management; having them prepared and ‘real’. In a way the ‘directing’ as I think you are imaging it, happened in pre-production, rehearsals, conversations long before the shoot. This was a directing method that grew out of an understanding of how the film would be shot; in only a few days. I knew there would be the desire to move quickly from shot to shot since the script was long and complicated. So in a way the on-set experience was simpler than you might think.
The degree of information about Kelly that Alana conveys in her screen time suggests a great deal of back story was afforded her character.
I started working, loosely at first, then with great intensity as time wore on, with Alana (pictured, left) a full year before we shot. I wrote an entire biography, thousands of words, for Kelly. We both learned what we could about Borderline Personality Disorder - the malady that afflicts Kelly – with the help and assistance of Dr. Gary Galambos. Though it’s never named in the story BPD was crucial; one of our ambitions was to create a sympathetic portrait of a mentally/emotionally disturbed character; the sort of character who in movies, is often seen as a ‘problem’ or some sort of ‘savant’. Indeed the title is ironic – her ‘blues’, her BPD, enables Kelly to see Marty’s agonies with tremendous insight; and of course Marty has great empathy for Kelly. But Kelly has no understanding she’s made a difference to Marty’s life; and Marty being a child is not conscious of the role he played in enabling Kelly to get on with her life.
Was Hugo’s understanding of Marty’s emotional state as profound? Is creating a deep character history pertinent when directing a child actor?
Hugo wasn’t an actor, though he did acting at school. I just mean he wasn’t a professional. His parents, old friends of mine for some twenty years actually volunteered to take on the burden of ‘explaining’ much of the more difficult material to Hugo. He’s a very grounded, sensible, bright kid and very happy. My role was to make him feel safe. I prepared him by simply spending time with him. The intensity came out of his eyes, his stillness. Viewers feel uncomfortable because they know and understand the potential danger Marty might be in. For Hugo it was simple; I lot of the time it was a matter standing, walking and moving very slowly. It had nothing to do with an intellectual or emotional grasp of what was going on in the story. One time I asked him what he thought of Marty. He said he was – and I quote – “an idiot”. That was a relief! That kind of distance on the character told me how to direct him. On set it was about really practical stuff; keeping him focused, interested. He hung around with the crew. He was shy of Alana, though he liked her, and I used that in the movie. Though he was great, he’s a kid and in the more intense scenes he wanted to laugh! I directed him on set a lot of the time by talking him through a take; like old silent film directors!
Finally, describe the relationship you have with your film at this point.
Well, I’m quite proud of it. I think it’s moving. It’s not the movie I imagined. But it’s a good version of what I wanted to do. I love the music by Patrick Nellestein and Andrew Plain’s sound design, and the special effects and colour grade work by Lee Launay and Ulysses. The performances are touching. But I see my mistakes. But I don’t want to talk about them because now we have to get the film out to the public and it’s unseemly to jump all over your own work. I learned a lot.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 8:11AM 
“I think the challenge of all films festival is how to stay relevant, [defining] what makes film festivals important,” he tells SCREEN-SPACE in the week prior to the launch of the 59th edition of the SFF. “Sydney is in a great place in terms of attendance, but it is now about making this communal experience more impactful, more powerful than it has been in the past.”
He understands that his professional future is linked inexorably to both the long- and short-term success of his SFF tenure. He openly admits that the Opening and Closing Night films – the hipster-cool Sydney-set dramedy, Not Suitable for Children, starring Ryan Kwanten (pictured, left) and the droll American indy, Safety Not Guaranteed (cast pictured, below), respectively – skew younger, clearly signalling a strategic consideration to attract new patrons.
“We need to secure a future audience for the festival. All festivals need to do that,” Moodley admits. “But with those two films, I also think they are really great films and will make for great Opening and Closing night celebrations. Both are also from first-time feature filmmakers, which is very exciting for me, introducing new talents to audiences. Both these films tick a lot of boxes.”
