Poppy (6min, 2004)

Billy's been waiting for Pop to come home all morning, so that they can go for a drive through the surrounding farmlands.

As Pop tells Billy about the crops they pass, his soft, wizened voice helps his grandson drift off to sleep.

Poppy is a gentle story that mixes sweet nostalgia with a lovely surreal twist. Beautifully shot with rich saturated colours and a wonderful handling of light, it really shows off the North-East Tasmanian landscape and reinforces the fact that Tasmania has a huge variety of unique locations for film making.

Ghostland - (6 min, 2002)

Ghostland is a heartfelt meditation on one young man's relationship with Tasmania.

Illustrator Leigh Craven takes us on a journey that is both joyful and melancholic, as he illustrates the Tasmanian condition in a wonderfully visual piece of film making.

Ghostland is dripping with atmosphere and pathos, and Craven's hand-drawn animation is complimented perfectly by the eclectic music from Shemozzle.

Also notable for being one of Screen Tasmania's earliest supported productions, Ghostland is an insightful and emotional portrait of our island state. Highly recommended viewing.

2011 Amplified Music Video Competition

The 2011 Amplified Music Video Competition Screening was held last last night at the Grand Poobah in Hobart. With 21 entries it was a very strong field and the panel of judges (Rebecca Fitzgibbon from The Mercury, Andy Wilson of Zoot Film Tasmania and Zane Pinner of SilverTongue) were blown away by the quality and variety of the clips.

Congratulations to the winning band Pikelet with their beautiful stop motion clip by film maker Alex Machin. The runners-up were Enola Fall, The Scientists of Modern Music and Incarcerate.

Congratulations also to Amplified 2011 and Wide Angle Tasmania Inc. for organising a great night - we're looking forward to next year already!

Check out the winning clip!

Pikelet-Pillow Castle from Alex Machin on Vimeo.

He Sure Can Swing (7min, 2004)

Jimmy O'Shea is an out of favour swing dancer who turns up at a local shindig despite being warned off by the gangster-types who control the dance halls for the big boss.

The gangsters want to keep Jimmy away from the Big Boss's minxy daughter, Betty Sullivan.

But Jimmy is a man with a plan - and a great pair of dancing shoes!

He Sure Can Swing is a fun little film shot in a polished noir style. The sinister overtones draw you right in and there's some great moves on display by the swing dancers.

Director Tim Logan is now one of the state's most well-known comedians and has helped reinvigorate the local comedy scene by initiating a variety of regular events, while many other participants in the film have gone on to be major contributors to the Tasmanian independent film industry.

Nice work guys!

Back from the Dead (1996) - Tasmanian feature film

Before he was owner/operator of two Hobart waterfront restaurant's - the Drunken Admiral and Mummaluka's - Craig Godfrey wrote and directed Back From The Dead (1996). Shot around Port Arthur and Hobart, it deals with that perennial Taswegian archetype, the cannibal convict, in (what was then) a pretty novel way: a horror musical. 

Summary:
June 1837: mass murderer Kavendish escapes from the Port Arthur penal colony and, after committing several acts of murder and cannibalism, vanishes...

in the present day, a scientist and his student are experimenting with past life regression, using the dim-witted Corbet as their subject but the spirit of Kavendish lives on and possesses Corbet, leading to more violence and brutal death.

Unfortunately it comes off a bit like one long fart joke. Think early Peter Jackson smothered in Beavis and Butthead's impression of Benny Hill. It gets some laughs, but not a lot and though it looks really good - the costumes, locations, sets look pretty authentic in the 1837 sequences - it is let down by pretty bad sound (at least on the vhs copy I watched it on). 

I saw this about eight years ago, but I remember thinking at the time that Godfrey's direction and sense of timing was quite good - it was the script that let the film down, which is a real shame.

The thing that becomes clear when watching this film is that it was a pretty huge effort by a lot of people and anyone interested in local film will definitely get a kick out of it.

It's supposedly available from Dragon Film Entertainment, but I can't find a link. It used to be available for hire at Sandy Bay video. Pretty sure Craig still lives in Hobart though...

Here's a review of  Back from the Dead on sexgoremutants and another on digital-retribution

Back from the Dead

Country of Origin: Australia
Year of Production: 1996
Running Times: 89 mins

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Pocket Money Productions Tasmania
Producers: Craig Godfrey
Co-Producers: Tony Francis, Mark Tomlinson

SCRIPT
Script: Craig Godfrey

DIRECTION
Director: Craig Godfrey
1st Assistant Director: Angela Franca-Meloni

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Mark Tomlinson
2nd Unit Camera / Grip: Ken Robinson
Gaffer: Gordon Nutt
Best Boy: Red Beard
Grip Assistant: Michael Jordan
Camera Assistant: Scott Harwood
Stills: Ken Mellers (thanks Walter)

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Editor: Dan Yeomans
Assisted By: Paul Yeomans, Jim Henry
Edited At: Winning Post Productions, Tasmania

MUSIC
Music / Performed By: Tony Francis
Song: Tony Brennan (Wapping Song)
Song Performed By: Tony Brennan, Damian Stolp (Wapping Song)

SOUND
Sound Recordists / Editors: Sonic Solutions
Sound Editor: Stewart Long
Assisted By: George Goerss, Mal Huddleston, Wayne Rowlands

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Liz Goulding of Making Faces
Location Make Up: Nicole Frith
Location Make Up Assistant: Tracey Mcnamara
Period Wardrobe: Kate Stephens
Period Uniforms Made By: Rose Solomon

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Fly Blown Torso FX
Computer Graphics: Kevin Gleeson of Imagine It
Pyro Technician: Werner Ihlenfeld
Assisted By: Simon James

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Designer: Liz Goulding
Props Makers: Ken Godfrey, Glen Clarke
Props Painter: Noel Hammersley-Cave
Set Builders: Jon Bowling (Aspect Design), Bob Dicakson (Half Twist Design)
Carpenters and Painters: Tim Allen, Red Beard, Richard Bladel, Noel Hammersley-Cave, Mark Linhart, George Sutherland, Andy Machen
Specialty Set Painter: Michael Sladd
Art Department: Tony Francis, Andy Machen

MISCELLANEOUS
Production Assistant: Angela Franca-Meloni
Caterer: Marcus Marriot
Best Bonk: Ivor Bigsnatch

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Cheers To: Pullers Arms boozers
Many Thanks To: Nigel Kidd, the 'Gildert and Sullivan Performers' and all those wonderful extras who helped create old Wapping Town lynch mob
Many, Many Thanks To: Leonie Godfrey, Andy Machin, Guardians of the Historic Site of Port Arthur, The Astor Grill, Hobart City Council, Cascade Brewery, Playhouse Theatre, Glen and Rose, Southern Cross Network, Ken and Dorothy Godfrey, Grant Godfrey, Francis Family, Machin Family, Mellers Family, Scott Reynolds, Advantage Tours Port Arthur, Lee Hobba, David Stewart Autos, Tasmania Police, Melissa, Scofield, Wreckair, Tas Medical Supplies, Jerry Stam, Grove Country Meats, Fisheries, Tony Fox, Brent Fraser, ABC Television, WIN TV

STUNTS
Stunt Driver: Craig Sehre

CAST
Tim Aris (Kavendish / Corbet)
Genevieve Morris (Ruby)
John Xintavelonis (professor)
Josephine Lee (mother)
Chris Baz (Lunas)
Graham Richards (Cecil)
Sybil Edwards (Sky)
Luke Swan (Fish)
David Hadley, Marcus Marriot, Collin Dean, Paul Cooper, Asley Law (Port Arthur guards)
Gareth John, Ian Gordon, Franz Docherty, Michael Hibbert (guards with stretcher)
Michael Lowenstein, Philip Stary, Werner Ihlenfeld, Peter Miller (guard house guards)
Kate Chessells (Astor Grill waitress)
Bob Dickason (dentist)
Col Machen (patient)
Max Keal (ukulele player)
Brierlie Godfrey (cart girl)
Noel Hammersley-Cave (whaler)
Rick Mourant (squashed convict)
Red Beard (shit bucket man)
The Volunteer Artillery (red coats)
Craig Anderson (innkeeper)
Allulshus Wong (Chinaman)
Brad Wilson (thug)
Shenna Franklin (maid)
Sebastian Godfrey (innkeeper's son)
Kevin Williams (horseman)
Duke (horse)
Mal Huddleston (surgeon)
Rene Knott (chicken plucker)
Roy Goode (drunk)
Geoff Stubbings (policeman)
Michael Sladd (butcher)
Paul Beard (blacksmith)
Tony Brennan, Damian Stolp, Michael Fortesque, drummer (God bless, whoever you are!) (pub band)
Danny James, Carl Pepper, Mal Huddleston, Kenny 'The Wonderdog' Robinson, Richard Pepper, Roy James, Paul County, Pamela John, Col Machen, Ben Chaffey (lynch mob)
Gail Friswell (landlady)
Tildy Platt (Corbet's mum)
Anthony Harwood (little Corbet)
Grant Godfrey (doctor)
Minka Gillian, Lyndall Pitchford, Jane Anderson (prostitutes)
Betty Davidson (fortune teller)
Greg Hind (busker)
Marcus Marriot (pizza porker)
John Fisher, Greg Hall (truckies)
Kate Johnson, Roy Gilbert, Brierlie Godfrey, Jackie Moore (ghosts)

  

Youth Arc Short Film Festival - Hobart

Friday 26th of August 6:30 - 8:00. FREE EVENT
Youth Arc 44 Collins St, Hobart

Introducing the work of young film makers from Queenstown, Burnie, La Trobe, Launceston and Hobart; The Youth Arc Short Film Festival showcases recent films made by, and in collaboration with, young filmmakers. They are films that cut across genres; capturing the diverse approaches that filmmaking embodies in a digital world. Films that exemplify the vision and awareness of fledgling artists with a desire to retell, react, make light of, counter and question.

For more information contact
Amanda Midgley
6231 5150
Midgleya@hobartcity.com.au




via Freya Sant

Getting A Head To Get Her (7min, 1995)

Richard Gear is a - somewhat eccentric - handyman and inventor who's in love with his neighbor, the fiery Miss Appropriate. When Miss Appropriate throws out her cheating boyfriend, Richard decides to take a chance and declare his love.

Made in 1995 by David Pyefinch, Getting A Head To Get Her is a delightful tale of love and the inner workings of the mind - with a genuinely surprising twist of suburban steam-punk !

This quirky little story is one of our favourite short films to come out of Tasmania and we can't implore you enough to check it out.

David Pyefinch is currently shooting his next short film, Showing the Ropes, as part of Screen Australia and Wide Angle Tasmania's Raw Nerve Initiative - we can't wait to see it!

Extras Required (Hobart, Short) Dibs

Extras WANTED for short film - Dibs!!

To be shot at HOBART COLLEGE IN AUGUST 2011!!!

We are looking for people, who would like to be involved as EXTRAS in this Tasmanian made short film, supported by Screen Australia and Wide Angle Tasmania. This is a great opportunity to be apart of a professional short film that when completed will tour national and international film festivals.

We are looking 20+ extras (a mix of Males and Females) aged around 15 to 20.

We would need you to make a commitment for the following shooting dates:

SATURDAY 13th - 9.00am Call (ALL DAY)
SUNDAY 14th - 9.00am Call (ALL DAY)

LOCATION:
The scenes will be shot at Hobart College, Olinda Grove, Mt Nelson.

CLOTHING REQUIREMENTS:
 It is important for all extras who are attending to wear:

BOYS: Grey school trousers or shorts with pull-up socks, white button up shirts and black ties,

GIRLS: Black skirts, white button up shirts, black ties, and either white or black socks or black stockings.

For more information and/or register your interest before Thursday 11th of August please contact Daniel James on 0407 773 102 or at daniel.jamesdirector@gmail.com.au

via Daniel James