I was once commended on how positive this column is about Japan. But, here is something to give a broader picture: Let's look at the Tokyo Slum: I used to work not far from there many years ago. Follow this link to make a difference and donate to an organization providing food and housing to … Continue reading Hidden Japan
What if Greta Garbo made more films? (New VLOG)
One of the most enigmatic film stars of celluloid history, Greta Garbo went on a permanent hiatus from films in the early 1940s, only making the briefest of cameos in the 1980s with "Garbo Talks" with Carrie Fisher. But, what if she had made more movies? There were many offers over the years for her … Continue reading What if Greta Garbo made more films? (New VLOG)
Damien Bodie, Robyn Loau join the cast of animated short The Last Anomaly
Very excited to be able to announce this!
Robyn Loau.
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Neighbours actor Damien Bodie and Idiot Box star Robyn Loau have joined the cast of animated short The Last Anomaly, which also includes Adam J Yeend (Scary Endings: The Water Rises).
The Last Anomaly tells the story of Daniel (Yeend) who is stuck in limbo. He’s not good enough for heaven, nor is he bad enough for hell. When he meets with the Entity (Loau), Daniel must become involved in a battle of wits in order to be reunited with his lover, Joshua (Bodie).
The script was penned by Hamish Downie (An American Piano, Matcha & Vanilla), with Adrian Austin (former recipient of the FTO Young Filmmaker Fund), and Ross Ozarka (NZ-based animator behind Oops, I Murdered the Person the Person I Like Likes).
Downie is helming the short with Ozarka doing the animation in…
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Exclusive Interview With New Age Director Hamish Downie
I was recently given an in-depth interview by The BLXpress, and you can check it out here!
There are very few directors who have the courage and determination to turn their visions into exemplary artworks. While it is easy to demand marriage equality rights for the LGBTQ community; a positive portrayal of the said subject that evokes a thoughtful depiction is a rather difficult task. In the midst of this metaphorical worldview, we have one director who is trying to make a difference by mirroring his own cathartic experiences.
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Making Occupation: Filmmaker Robin Summons writes about his gripping new short
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Cinema Australia is proud to stream Robin Summons’ Occupation – a new short film about a therapist who is unable to leave her workplace where she helps abusive men.
Here, Summons writes exclusively for Cinema Australia about the making of his gripping, thought-provoking film.
Article by Robin Summons
Independent films commonly stem from a filmmaker’s concerns and obsessions. They can also be dictated by the filmmakers most recent output. The filmmaker may want to explore something completely different, ashamed of their last film or simply bored with a subject and approach. They might want to hone in further on a theme, kind of character, world, or technique. Occupation was very much a reaction to the last film I’d made.
Having most recently made…
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The Ultra Vivid Lament- Manic Street Preachers
Please check out my friend's thoughts on MSP's new album
Review: Silence
Please take a look at this wonderful review of my film "Silence" here
Impossible To Imagine (2019)
Here’s a lovely review from Chris Watt, who reviewed my short film “Silence” many years ago. This is for a film I produced, “Impossible to Imagine”
The notion of progress grating against tradition is at the heart of writer/director Felicity Tillack’s debut feature film, Impossible To Imagine.
It’s a gentle film, with a bittersweet undercurrent, that carefully crafts a love story about two complete opposites, Ami, played with a quiet tenderness and longing by Yukiko Ito , and Hayato, a charismatic, well-judged turn from William Yagi.
Ami runs her family’s kimono shop, in a working class area of Kyoto, where she also lives with her father (Kazuya Moriyama.) It’s a neighbourhood on the verge of being forgotten (even the school is closed) and you get the sense that time has stood still for this family, since the departure of the mother. Time is a factor in every element of life here. From the pace of the traditional tea ceremony, to the lack of business that threatens to see the family shop closed down, Ami finds…
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Christmas Carol drops from Matcha & Vanilla soundtrack
I'm excited to finally be able to share one of the songs from the soundtrack for my upcoming feature film, "Matcha & Vanilla". It's a Christmas Carol, which was written by Deron Renyolds and sung by my high school friend, Karen Hitchcock. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fhso77JKYCs Audio Video on YouTube
Still Life in Forward Motion: A Rock Memoir #4 – All for the Praise of Men
All for the Praise of Men: How it all started It's all my Mother's fault. She didn't intend to, but she turned my sister and I onto music. She was hoping to give us a well rounded education. She would take us to the Art Gallery, and lug us kids around. And we would grow … Continue reading Still Life in Forward Motion: A Rock Memoir #4 – All for the Praise of Men
Hamish Downie 