Screen Tasmania is offering a broad range of funding opportunities to encourage local production. I investigated whether my short film, which is based on Tasmanian history and set on the island’s coast, may fit into their short film category. I called Screen Tasmania and discussed my project with them and they were very encouraging of my story idea. They suggested contacting Zoot Film Tasmania to discuss putting a funding submission together for 2006.
I’m very keen to develop networks with the Tasmanian industry and in the long term I want to be able to contribute to their screen culture and production industry. Perhaps one day set up my own media production company. It’s a very small industry but there are some talented creative practitioners. It’s a reality however, that a lot of young Tasmanians leave to pursue opportunities not available to them on the island. I have four other siblings and only one of them is currently living in Tasmania. My parents also travel between Melbourne and Hobart with properties in both states. I too feel torn for years between Hobart and where ever it is that I’m living.
The idealist in me would love to shoot the film in Tasmania. It somehow feels more convincing to shoot a story where it originated. I can picture the location…the fibro shack with broad verandah and the dirt track that leads down to the beach. The dunes with the marrum grass and the scrubby bushland that extends behind. Having a strong connection to the Tasmanian landscape has influenced my vision for the film, the sense of isolation and remoteness, which is inherent to many Tasmanian beaches and people’s experience of living on an island. This sense can be difficult to recreate on the outskirts of Melbourne.
On the other hand it’s difficult to justify spending a lot of money, time and effort on a short film. The pragmatic part of me thinks that I should just set aside a block of time and get on with it. My friend’s sister has a fibro shack at Sandy Point and she’s offered for me to use it for my shoot. It’s still not local; it’s about 3 1/2 hours from Melbourne so there would still be the logistics of getting there.
I have so many different projects that I work on that I often think perhaps it’s better to put my energy into developing a strong script and teaser for my short film and then approach producers to assist me with the production. Otherwise I risk spreading myself too thin with nothing that I produce being the quality that I aspire too. Over the past year I’ve found myself with my fingers in too many pies and I’m not sure if I can sustain this without compromising the other things that I value like friends and family and getting out of Melbourne and spending time in the bush.
Perhaps this is just an excuse. I really struggle with the perfectionist in me who has a vision but doesn’t yet have the tools or resources to realise it and is reluctant to make something that is compromised. This is a constant challenge for me regardless of what it is that I’m producing. My work always has to meet my own high expectations and get past my own self-critic before I can put it out there. I don’t want to be precious about my work and my short film is supposed to be a small creative project. I’m also searching for possibilities and forget to place boundaries on my work so they keep evolving to much more involved than what they started out as.
My short film compared to my other projects is much more personal and perhaps more creatively fulfilling. I find that my personal projects are always the first to be put on the backburner but then I suppose we have to pay the rent somehow. I’m sure my experience isn’t unique. The reality is that most people don’t have the luxury of focusing on a single creative project. I don’t know where that leaves me. I’ve explored more possibilities and yet haven’t resolved how to move forward with my story.
