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Member LoginAustralian short film makes it to Hollywood
13 October 2004
A 15-minute film made in the western suburbs of Melbourne is one of only two Australian shorts showing at the Hollywood Film Festival on 16 October.
The highly competitive festival screens both domestic and international films and offers emerging filmmakers the chance to be seen by the leading production companies in Hollywood. Its Gala Ceremony draws more than 1,200 attendees and ‘A-list’ celebrities, including Australians such as Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts.
Made over 10 months with a tight, privately funded budget, Timed Call is a Sci-Fi thriller by writer-director Matthew Macknamara and will screen alongside 22 other short films during the seven-day festival. Timed Call also recently won an award at another U.S film festival, Dragon*Con.
On the surface, Timed Call can easily be considered a sci-fi thriller. However, digging under the surface of the film reveals the perils of one of life’s most perplexing emotions: regret.
'The film explores the dilemmas people face when they are given the opportunity to change the past,' said Matthew.
'Shot over five days, Timed Call was always going to be a challenge to bring to film. It has a complex screenplay with many twists and turns, intricately choreographed fight sequences and subtle special effects and sound design — everything an aspiring filmmaker lies awake worrying about at night,' he said.
Among the cast of Timed Call is Reg Gorman, a well-known Australian actor who starred in the long-running series The Sullivans. Playing the lead characters are Phillip McKechnie, who has appeared in stage shows such as Breathe, and Tracey Mathers, who worked for three years with Wanton Productions, a women’s theatre group she co-founded.
Among the crew is Marcus Herrick, who has edited two finalist films in Australia’s prestigious Tropfest Film Festival in 2003; Dale Cornelius, who composed the score for the recent Australian comedy hit ‘Strange Bedfellows’ starring Paul Hogan; and John Brawley, who won Best Cinematography at Tropfest in 2001 and was also nominated for a Best Cinematography A.F.I award.
The film’s producer, Katrina Fleming is travelling to Sunset Boulevard to attend the screening at Arclight Cinemas on Saturday 16 October at 1 pm.
http://www.hollywoodawards.com/
[release from 21century]