SHOWTIME for MEN'S GROUP

I interviewed John L Simpson for Into the Shadows, late December 2007, and we spoke about Men's Group. From then on I had hoped the film would work for him and for those that took that leap of faith in the project and above all I hoped it would turn out to be a great film.

I saw it for the first time at Spaa Fringe 08 and it was very compelling. And it has now won a bag of awards at the INSIDE FILM AWARDS 2008. This is a great triumph for independent film and for the creative team behind the film!

It goes to show that if you want to make a film, do not take no for an answer, do not feel you have to be confined to the traditional ways of making a film. We live in an interesting time, when technology and film making culture is changing, anything is possible.

John L is working closely with independent exhibitors to find an audience for Men's Group and I hope he does. This is a film that all men should watch and will get something out of. The distribution and exhibition of this film is very telling of the market place for Australian films - there is none.

Well that is not entirely true, but it is very hard to find an audience for a low budget Aussie film and John L is a good example of how we as filmmakers can work with the distribution and exhibition industry and help find that core audience.

Glass Portrait

When Phil and I went the ADG last year we watched a screening of Scott Hicks new film, Glass, a portrait of Phillip in 12 parts.

It was quite a moving film, one of the best- if not the best documentary I had seen in YEARS! And I have been watching a lot of doco's of the past while. It was really interesting to hear from Scott, how he felt cast back to his early days of indie film making when making this film as he started with no real budget and some consumer video cameras. Kind of inspiring really, as Phil and I were just in the thick of producing Into the Shadows.

Well the film is about to come out in limited release around Australia. Its crazy to think that these days such a crafted film about an amazing composer can struggle to get screens, but that's a discussion for another day. What this film is also a good example of is a good website. Its easy to access, and even has clips for your i-phone.

Check it out, if you want an insight into a genius mind you won't be disappointed.