July 2010 Archives

THE WAITING CITY (2009)

Written and directed by Claire McCarthy

Starring Radha Mitchell, Joel Edgerton, Isabell Lucas and Samrat Chakrebarti

 

Ben (Edgerton) and Fiona (Mitchell) are a youngish Australian couple who travel to Calcutta to adopt a baby. Instead of a smooth well-organised process, they encounter another culture's bureaucracy and find the frustrations of waiting puts a strain on their marriage.

 

From the moment Ben and Fiona arrive in Calcutta, they carry with them a tension about the adoption. They are restless because their lives are on hold until they see their child and take her back home to Australia. They have waited for years and when they are forced to wait days longer than they expected, they are not mentally prepared for the increase in tension that this further delay causes.

Calcutta is utterly foreign to them, but in an attempt to gain further knowledge for their child when she gets older, they explore the city and it's culture. Fiona is also winding up a legal case she is working on, and therefore spends hours working on her laptop or Skyping her colleagues in Sydney. The serious cracks in her and Ben's relationship are revealed. And we are left wondering if the adoption will happen or even whether this couple are good candidates to raise an adopted daughter.

 

The plot of The Waiting City is light on incident. The journey of its characters is largely internal. However, I was fascinated by that journey. First time feature director McCarthy has created a solid and engrossing drama. Ben and Fiona's drive to have a child will be familiar to many and their bewilderment at dealing with an utterly foreign culture will also strike a chord.

 

To take a small and internal story and open it up enough to make a feature is a feat that many Australian independents don't achieve. McCarthy's success in doing this is due to a number of well-handled elements. The story has just enough meat on its bones to make it worth investing in emotionally. The performances of the two leads are very strong. Mitchell is often excellent in her movies, but not always in the right vehicle. The role of Fiona is perfect for her. Edgerton is a charismatic actor, who has played a number of similar-feeling roles, but the part of Ben is his best performance for a number of years. McCarthy's way of shooting Calcutta puts the audience right in the thick of things. You are not kept at a comfortable travelogue distance; rather you are thrust in the middle of the crowd and onto the street right along with Ben and Fiona.

 

The film's cinematographer, well known in Western Australian film circles, is Denson Baker. He was in Perth for The Waiting City's launch and later to do a master-class at the FTI. I had a brief conversation with him and mentioned how good it was to see an Australian film that worked. He, quite rightly, put aside my cultural cringe and said that he liked to think of the film as international.

 

This is the best way to consider it. We can be proud that a film made with Australian talent is this good, but perhaps more noteworthy is that it has the chops to be shown anywhere and doesn't rely on quirky Australian traits or our wide brown landscape as its hook. It's a character story that relies on craft and talent.

 

Obviously this is not a film for an audience looking for a vast tale of externalised emotions and death-defying actions concluding with giants orange fireballs in the night sky over Calcutta. This is a film of details, primal emotions and the threads that connect people, make relationships and create families. It deals with national identities and familial roles. If you like the idea of a movie where you join the dots and read what is implicit, then you could find The Waiting City very rewarding.

 

The film is currently screening at Luna Cinemas in Leederville. I rated it an 8/10.

 

 

Reviewed by Mr Trivia.

 

It sounds clichéd, but when I became a mother I saw the world through different eyes - the eyes of a protector.  Yes, I have been an older sister who has fought her brother's battles.  Yes, I have stood up for injustice I've seen in the world.  But there is nothing more powerful than the protectiveness a parent feels for their small, defenceless child.

On the surface, 'Cropsey' is an exploration of the mythology of the bogeyman:  That faceless threat that parents and other children perpetuate to make kids fear the unknown.  But the reality is that there ARE bogeymen (and women) out there that actually will hurt your kid if they get a chance.

This frightens me to the point of restricting my child's liberty.  I take her to the park and see some of the people hanging out there, and I can't imagine a point in her life when I'm going to feel comfortable letting her be in the vicinity of those people without me there.  One day I'm going to have to, I know.  But right now, after seeing this film, it might be when she's about 35.

Cropsey is a New York legend that kids told around camp fires in New York state for years.  After the gruesome discovery of murdered 12 year old Jennifer Schweiger in 1987, Staten Island is abuzz with reports of a real life Cropsey who preys on mentally challenged kids.

The prime suspect, Andre Rand, worked at Staten Island's infamous Willowbrook Mental Institution, a place exposed by a young Geraldo Rivera in 1972 for the degenerate treatment of it's young wards.  The footage is truly terrifying.

Rand is then accused of abducting and murdering another four kids from around the area.

One of the things this film raised for me was:  If my kid was abducted and murdered, how much evidence would I actually need to be sure they had the right guy?  It probably wouldn't be much.  And that's scary.

Cropsey screens again on Sunday at 1:30pm. 

I love a good film festival.  And it's more than just the films, it really brings out a sense of community.  One person has been there for pretty much every session, local filmmaker and projectionist extraordinaire Pete Gurbiel.  I asked him what he's enjoyed so far and what he's still looking forward to:

I was looking forward to THE LOST THING big time. I've been a fan of Shaun Tan's illustrations since he provided the cover artwork to Lotel's 2000 Album. The execution of the animation was spectacular, and lifted Tan's heady concepts right off the page - massive approval!

Things to look out for are THE LOVED ONES and NIGHT OF THE TRIFFIDS, shows you'll be hard pressed to catch on the big screen any time soon.

What's everyone else looking forward to?

It's on.  Tonight.  At the Astor.

If you're into animation then you won't want to miss this fantastic selection of short films. Included is Shaun Tan's 'The Lost Thing', which recently won the Yoram Goss Animation Award at the Sydney Film Festival.  You can view the trailer here.

Local animator Pierce Davison's short 'Backstage', which was produced as part of the Nick Shorts initiative is also screening.

Guaranteed good times tonight, Tuesday 13th July, at 7pm.  Ticket info online.

Also in animation news, local industry group WAnimate held their annual WAM BAM 48 hour speed animation comp on the weekend resulting in these four great short films:

The Pumpkin

Real Vampire

Bee Happy

Passion Play

Last night I realised how much I've been taking my hair for granted.  I don't dye it, I don't get it cut that often (note to self, probably should get it cut more), and I definitely don't burn it with chemicals to make it soft and bouncy.  Rev's opening night film 'Good Hair' exposed the multi billion dollar industry based around black women's hair.  If you missed it last night, it's screening three more times.  Details here.

But opening night is about more than just the film, it's also about the party.  Pics are now up on the FTI Facebook Page.

Friday night's pick?  Revel-8.

Saturday pick:  When You're Strange

Sunday pick: Howl

It's almost Rev time, one of the most exciting times in Perth because you can go to the movies every day for 10 days and see something amazing.

This year's lineup has an awesome selection of features, shorts and docos.  Thankfully those good people over at Rev have a list of 'Hot Sessions' on their website - make sure you get your tickets in advance for those films because they're close to selling out.  Ticketing information can be found here.

This year two Western Australian features have been selected to screen - A Day at the Oasis by Tim Beckett and Tim Lethbridge and The Sculptor by Christopher Kenworthy. 

ScreenWest is once again presenting Get Your Shorts On - a selection of some of the best short films produced in WA this year, and local shorts Rock N Roll Mud Wrestling by Mike Hoath and Backstage by Pierce Davison will be screening prior to features.
 
And don't forget, Rev isn't just a film festival - there's a conference as well with sessions on distribution, the state of Australian film and independent production.

Our Rev Hot Picks

Opening night:  Good Hair

Animation Showcase

Best of Domefest

Get Your Shorts On

One Hundred Mornings

The Loved Ones

American: The Bill Hicks Story


Probably best to get a gold pass.  See you at The Astor.

FTI spoke with renowned filmmaker Jon Reiss about his bestselling Think Outside the Box Office workshop, which runs in Perth as a part of RevCon. Reiss' workshop addresses methods of hybrid marketing and distribution for independent filmmakers.


You stress the importance of engaging your audience as early as possible. How early do you suggest and how are you engaging them?

I suggest either from inception of the filmmaking process - when you are going into pre production - no later really if you are able to. The process starts with audience identification - specific identification. NOT 15-25 year old boys/men, but something more defined than this. Then research as to how these people receive information, eg what if any social networks, blogs, organizations? And then start connecting with them in these places. All films are different and all films have different audiences who all consume information in different ways.

Has distribution changed in the time between your promotion and release of Better Living Through Circuitry and Bomb It!?

Yes, there are much fewer lucrative overall deals for filmmakers. Not that these were the best for all films or filmmakers. In addition consumption patterns have shifted and the internet has opened up huge opportunities for distribution and marketing to filmmakers.

Could you describe your distribution and marketing strategy for Bomb It!?

In a nutshell I created a split rights hybrid strategy in which I did my own theatrical release, partnered with a DVD company and sold the dvd and other merch from my website and created a very intricate parsing out of all of my digital rights. Marketing has been across numerous media and strategies from traditional press to affiliate marketing to street teams and everything in between.

Would you suggest that filmmakers create transmedia content alongside any feature length films they produce?

I think it's the future for film personally.  I think transmedia opens up so many creative doors for filmmakers - they should be jumping on it.  The possibilities are endless - it's the wild west for us.

How creative do filmmakers need to be about marketing their own content?

Very!

Do you have any other tips for independent filmmakers?

Create your own unique distribution and marketing strategy for your specific film. Filmmakers need to consider their goals, their film, their audience, their resources and the variety of rights are available to them which I have reclassified as Live Event/Theatrical, Merchandise and Digital. I also strongly recommend (especially if you don't like doing this stuff) engaging what I have termed a Producer of Marketing and Distribution. All of this is what the workshop is all about.

Think Outside the Box Office Workshop
Perth Art Gallery Theatrette
Saturday 17 & 18 Sunday July 2010
Check out our website for more information about the workshop and how to get involved.