Ludwina's Blog

Red Tent Radio Ep #27 featuring Multi Award Winning Australian Film Director, Michael Rymer

Face to Face | Film | Red Tent Radio | Michael Rymer

I'm your host - Ludwina Dautovic and I'd like to invite you to access our FREE weekly Business Podcast Show for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs at www.RedTentRadio.com. Each week we feature a successful business owner who will share their experiences and insights and show you how you, too, can create a successful business. We have a business coaching segment where we create solutions to small business problems and a techy segment teaching you technology tips to make your business experience easier. You can download all past episodes including this week's show at Red Tent Radio

A native of Melbourne, Michael Rymer studied directing at the University of Southern California where his short films earned him the Warner communications scholarship for directing. He made his directorial debut with his screenplay Angel Baby wich premiered at Sundance in 1996 and earned seven AFI awards including Best Picture. Best Direction, Best Screenplay as well as best actor and actress. Other credits include In Too Deep, Queen of the Damned and Battlestar Gallactica.

Michael’s current work is Face to Face, an independent, feature length film from Australia’s most acclaimed playwright David Williamson. The film has won 20 international film awards including best independent feature at the Santa Barbara international film festival, best movie at Monaco, Mexico, Newport Beach and the list goes on.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Michael Rymer

Be warned, this is a little movie, with big ideas. With all the strife in the world, human nature being what it is, and history not really offering any positive examples, I’ve often wondered if there’s any way out.

When I see the terrible violence that’s inflicted on one generation against their enemies, ensuring the next generation will dish out the same in kind. I just look at neighbours and work colleagues and wonder, “If we can’t get past these smaller grudges and animosities, what hope do we have for the bigger ones?”

I came upon this when an old friend was trying to explain this revolutionary work he was doing – he then emailed me a copy of a play that David Williamson had written on this very material. When I read the play, I laughed, I cried – I couldn’t believe that I could ever care so much about such an ordinary scenario. I said to my friend “This is really amazing, but the ending’s a bit hard to believe. There’s no way these things work out so... completely.” My friend responded, “Actually, they almost always do. And if not so completely, at least the individuals take away some new personal skills and understanding”. “But if this really works, then you’ve cracked the way to solve global conflicts.” My friend shrugged humbly, “That’s what we’re hoping, yes.”

Here is a system that actually works. By systematically exposing each person to one other and forcing them to see the consequences and effects of their actions, the characters are able to transcend their own subjective view, and understand that they are part of a “tribe” where everyone’s actions affect everyone else.

I grew up watching David Williamson movies, Don’s Party, The Club, Traveling North, Gallipoli, Emerald City, and this particular play, Face to Face , I believe, is one of his best. Using real cases, David somehow transmuted this wonderfully raw, real material into an almost perfectly structured play that unfolds with enough twists, reversals, and surprises to fill three movies. He has created a gallery of characters that are so real, so recognisable, yet never stereotypical or pat.

The paradigm for a picture like this is Twelve Angry Men : a film I first saw in high school. Twelve guys in a room, but with some great, great acting and blocking, you never feel claustrophobic, because you’re seeing a great story unfold, well told.

We’ve opened up the play, with flashbacks to the key events – but we want to keep the focus on what’s happening psychologically. But I’ve resisted going too far, because I want to preserve the pressure-cooker intensity necessary for these characters to open up. This is a film that demands the camera go from face to face – the landscapes of this film are the actor’s faces – the special effects are the emotions rippling across their eyes and mouths. Not all films have to be the same – there’s room for very visual films and there’s room for films like this. If I do my job right, no one will even notice.

The people who showed up for Kenny and The Castle will come to see an Australian film about authentic Australians. In the international market, I see round the festivals, markets and art houses, that there’s an increasing appetite for stories that don’t rely on sensationalism, prurient excesses and gimmicks. But our real hope for this film is that, like Twelve Angry Men , Face to Face will have a long life in Law Schools, Civics Classes, high schools and community centres around the world. And who knows? Maybe a small movie can change big things.

Social Media Matters & Business Coaching Segment:
Instead of our usual Social Media Matters and Business Coaching Segments, we’re going to do something a little different. Aaron James Lee will be interviewing me about how I market and promote red tent radio. It’s filled with strategic marketing strategies that have helped to get Red Tent Radio on page one of Google.

To subscribe to the show go to: Red Tent Radio

Posted by Ludwina Dautovic on 13th September, 2011 | Comments | Trackbacks
Tags: Ludwina Dautovic, Small Business Podcast, Women's Business, Red Tent Radio, The Red Tent Woman, Australian feature length film, Face to Face, Director, Michael Rymer

The trackback URL for this page is http://www.theredtentwoman.com.au/trackback?post=24808902

Trackbacks

There are no trackbacks for this post

Comments

There are no comments for this post

Ludwina's Blog

Tags

Ludwina's Blog

Red Tent Radio Ep #27 featuring Multi Award Winning Australian Film Director, Michael Rymer

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Trackbacks

Comments

Post a Comment