Phoebe Gittins DigiSPAA 2012 Interview

Phoebe Gittins DigiSPAA 2012 Interview

DigiSPAA feature film competition has announced the finalists for its eighth annual competition run by the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA). Four finalists were chosen from the array of independent filmmakers in Australia and New Zealand who entered the competition this year. The finalists will be vying for the prestigious SPAArtan Award that offers a recognised career boost, $15,000 cash, $20,000 worth of post-production, a guaranteed screening of the winning film on the Movie Extra channel and a return trip to the 2013 American Film Market (AFM).

Antony I. Ginnane, co-curator of DigiSPAA said, 'For eight years now I have looked forward to September to sample the always exciting collection of new independent works that emerge from entrants to DigiSPAA from Australia and New Zealand. 2012 did not disappoint and the four finalists are, frankly, amazing. They come from NSW, SA and NZ and are a demonstration of what talent and enterprise can achieve."

The 2012 DigiSPAA feature film competition finalists are:
The Astronaut, Written, Directed and Produced by Adam Lemmey and Meredith Calthorpe.
Kemi, Written and Produced by Daniel Okoduwa, Directed by Michael Kang.
The Sorrows, Written, Directed and Produced by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
Final Move, Written, Directed and Produced by JD Cohen.

'The Astronaut, is a stylish blend of Godard and Wong Kar Wei. A doomed love story unfolds over the 30 days before our hero departs on a space voyage to Mars – from where he cannot return," continued Antony I. Ginnane.

The film portrays how, during his final days on planet Earth, the Astronaut - Christian (Curtis Fernandez), returns to his childhood hometown. There he meets Elise (Sarah Bishop), a local girl going nowhere and with lost ambition. The two form an unlikely connection that will set them on a new trajectory through their unknown universe.

Kemi, entails the conflicts and dramas of a community of African immigrants and refugees that have settled in Blacktown (Sydney) in the last 12 years, told primarily through -Kemi', an unemployed Nigerian immigrant teen girl who unknowingly wrecks havoc in her community through gossip.

Antony I. Ginnane said, 'Kemi is a blazing cocktail of the romantic, the criminal and the bizarre as Ghanian and Nigerian immigrants mix it up in downtown Blacktown. Primitive, almost Fuller like in tone – yet wondrously funny."

'The Sorrows is a new and exciting twist on the haunted house genre as an edgy girl and her boyfriend leave London for a weekend stay at the boyfriend's home in the country. Getting there is easy – getting out is hard", said Antony I. Ginnane.

Growing in the shadow of her parent's mental illness, Sarah (Oona Chaplin) only ever wanted to be -normal'. Now, in her twenties, an unexpected pregnancy pushes Sarah deeper into the arms of her boyfriend Henry (Austin Hardiman), who she believes is the key to a -normal life'.

'In Final Move, an obsessive cop is kicked off the force as his relentless search for the serial killer and missing victims (including his daughter) drive him crazy. This is David Fincher light – with a mordant humor" said Antony I. Ginnane.

In the film, Detective Nick Mathers (Richard Carwin) lost everything in the pursuit of a killer: his wife, his eldest daughter, his girlfriend. A year later, and the Grandmaster wants to finish the game and when he takes Nicks younger daughter, Lisa (Chelsea Giles), as a piece on the board, the game becomes much more personal.

The finalist's films will be available for viewing online through AFI TV and the winning film chosen by a panel of industry judges including: Renee Brack - Producer and Presenter, Geoff Brown - Executive Director of SPAA, Daniel Scharf -Producer and Creative Agent, John L. Simpson – CEO, Titan View and Antony I. Ginnane – Producer and International Sales Agent.

The winner will be announced at the SPAA Conference taking place at the Central Pier, Docklands in Melbourne from 12 – 15 November 2012.

Interview with Phoebe Gittins

Phoebe Gittins is the writer, producer and director of The Sorrows.

Question: What is The Sorrows about?

Phoebe Gittins: -The Sorrows' is about a young woman, Sarah (Oona Chaplin), who is taken to the country by her new boyfriend to meet his over-bearing mother. Sarah has never considered herself to be normal, and as her battle with sanity unfolds a real life danger emerges – unbeknownst to Sarah, the two are mysteriously related.


Question: What inspired you to write The Sorrows?

Phoebe Gittins: To be completely honest, writing -The Sorrows' was a very -inorganic' process. The idea did not stem from a deep-seated desire to tell this particular story but was created (in a very short amount of time!) to serve the purpose of under-taking a feature film. Writing -The Sorrows' was a wonderful training ground – and it was a script that, although underdeveloped, held enough promise and intrigue to attract our incredible cast and crew. I feel this was owed largely to the scripts fresh take on genre with a focus on character as opposed to gore.


Question: How did you go about being the writer, producer and director for The Sorrows?

Phoebe Gittins: -The Sorrows', is essentially a student film – it's our graduation piece. Arty and I attended a film school in London together, and as the end of year rolled around we wanted to push ourselves beyond the short film format. With the encouragement of another student (an executive producer on the film), the directors of our school agreed to us combining resources to attempt a feature. The whole experience affirmed that writing and directing is something I wish desperately to pursue to the end. Producing the film, however, was out of necessity – with no money we of course had to stretch ourselves thin.


Question: How did you go about casting actors and actresses?

Phoebe Gittins: By hook and by crook! We had our hearts set on many actors for certain roles from the beginning, Oona Chaplin being one of them. The moment Oona agreed to play our leading lady was our first tangible spark of excitement. We decided to approach talent ourselves with the script and were frank about our intended shooting schedule – we figured it best to get all the cards on the table up-front! We were just surprised by the response, it was really positive. We also held auditions through which we found our leading man, Austin Hardiman – -The Sorrows' was his first feature. We also cast my brother, Calum, who at the time was attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Having been to a handful of his school productions, we were exposed to a pool of extremely talented young actors – a few of which we also managed to attach to the project.


Question: What was the most challenging aspect of The Sorrows?

Phoebe Gittins: Having no budget makes everything that little bit more stressful than it already is. We were working with an impossibly tight 12-day schedule, which rolled over into very long days and nights. As such we were very conscious of keeping morale high. When people are giving their skills and time for nothing it is so important to focus on the little things you can do – especially keeping everyone well fed! We were so lucky and thankful for the entire team of people we wound up working with - it made for a far easier task than anticipated.


Question: Overall what has been the best part of The Sorrows development?

Phoebe Gittins: Seeing it have life, so to speak. Arty and I never dreamt it would evolve beyond a manic shoot in London and a one-off screening to our classmates. Returning home to New Zealand, we received a huge amount of encouragement to take the film further and were offered mind-blowing support that enabled us to film a few necessary pick-up's and to finish the film to the highest possible quality at Park Road Post! In saying all this, as clichéd as it sounds, I guess the relationships we developed were truly the best part of the process.


Question: How does it feel to be a finalist for DigiSPAA 2012?

Phoebe Gittins: Fantastic. It's a privilege – why else do you make films if not to share them? To be given any platform with which to do that is a wonderful opportunity for us.


Question: What motivated you to enter DigiSPAA 2012?

Phoebe Gittins: A few members of the New Zealand Film Commission sat in on a cast and crew screening, their response included a huge amount of encouragement to enter DigiSPAA.

Question: What or who originally inspired you to work in this industry?

Phoebe Gittins: My parents. My mother is a screenwriter/producer and my father is an actor/stage-director. My parents fearlessly encourage my brother and myself to follow the unstable paths we have each set our hearts on. I suppose they know full well it was their fault for exposing us to such an infectious world. My mother kept my mind filled with the most beautiful stories growing up - I was never short of reading material, as such I quickly fell in love creating my own stories. Having teamed up with Arty has enabled me to have confidence in the directing world also.


Question: Are you currently working on another project?

Phoebe Gittins: Yes – a thriller set in New Zealand. Arty and I have chosen to work together again and we have a first draft that we are very excited about. We also hope this time to secure some actual funding which would allow us to experience an entirely new chapter of filmmaking!


Interview by Brooke Hunter