latest news
Geoffrey Rush Joins Tropfest
The acclaimed actor and newly-crowned Australian of the Year, Geoffrey Rush, will be a key player in 2012’s Tropfest activities.
Naomi Watts To Play Princess Diana
The Aussie actress is set to play the people’s princess in an upcoming film that chronicles the final two years of Diana’s life.
Sullivan Stapleton Signs On To ‘300’ Prequel
The Aussie actor has beat out the competition to land a role in the upcoming blockbuster.
James Cameron Loses Long Time Australian Collaborators
Producer Andrew Wight and cinematographer Mike deGruy lose their lives in a helicopter crash.
search the site
newsletter
Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter
A Sincere Facade
Chinese writer/director tackles new Australian feature film drama in gutsy style.
Camille Chen's distinct approach to filmmaking is slightly unconventional. She is bold, intuitive and open-minded, and for the debut of her feature drama façade she is asking actors to perform without a script.
Following the success of her short film Conscience (2009 Cannes Short Film Corner), Chen continues her search for raw emotions with a unique process that encourages actors to embrace their roles and develop authentic dialogue and genuine expressions. Preparations for façade involved a series of long discussions and intense workshops that will allow characters to evolve naturally on-screen.
"I interviewed the actors, basically had these long chats with them about their characters and encouraged them to build their characters from scratch," says Chen. "‘What if the scenario is this?' ‘How would the character respond?'"
"[The storyline] has definitely evolved through my work with the actors," she continues. "I treat this as a unique approach, and now I cannot imagine a better way of working with actors... As soon as we rehearsed a scene I took out the dialogue completely from the script."
Ah, the script! Chen's original script remains unseen by the actors, despite filming already underway in historic Subiaco, Western Australia. And with the dialogue removed, it reads more like a string of short punchy directions.
"It demands a lot of commitment and honesty and openness from the actors. It's about allowing the actors to trust their instincts and this is exactly the approach I have with the crew as well. I need to be able to allow myself to trust the people around me; that they can be intuitive, creative, open, daring and bold in their choices. I want this to be a very open and creative process."
The story of façade begins during a Christmas holiday, a spotlight cast on an Australian family immersed in their individual lives. James (James Hagan), the self-proclaimed ‘theatrical type', enjoys the overdue revival of his acting career; his wife Susan (Nicolla Bartlett), who relinquished her performance ambitions over 30 years ago, watches over their three daughters: Nina (Nina Deaslley) the widowed mother of two young children; the successful actress Anna (Melanie Munt) who is married to an emerging filmmaker; and the youngest daughter Christine (Arielle Gray), who is pursuing a medical career despite her promising acting talent.
When Susan's breast cancer metastasises, the pain reaches out for the family and thrusts the characters into a confronting whirlwind of deeply-suppressed feelings. What truths will surface? What facades will be exposed? It's a heartfelt story that Chen says ‘will shed light on our fears and desires'.
When Chen speaks about her organic process, she ends each sentence with a contagious laugh, an enthusiastic reflex highlighting the sincere and candid nature of her filmmaking. She makes it personal and she makes it intimate. While she points out the absent parallels between the characters in her film and her real life, she does admit to the definite link between her personal and creative lives.
"I find this film to be a reflection on changes. It is really me coming out as me at this very moment - as a person, as an individual, as a woman, as a mother, as a filmmaker, as an artist - and looking back on all the life-affirming moments and events; to really contemplate on what constituted the changes in me and how I responded to them.
"My film is all about emotions, and when I say "emotions" I'm not talking about sentimentality."
And this is how Chen works: a courageous style of filmmaking that sets up façade to be a raw story, with the added layers of anticipation and intrigue.
facade is being produced by Bolderpictures, an independent film production company established by Chen and executive producer Peter Thomas. With offices in Perth and Shanghai, façade is Bolderpictures' first major stride towards creating highly marketable and quality feature films for Western and Asian markets.
"As a first-time feature director, I have said ‘let's not make a perfect film'. This is going to be the best film that we can make as a team at this very stage of our creative and professional lives," says Chen.
Again, that contagious laugh.
"But I knew from the onset that it will be something special."
façade is expected to be completed in May 2010.
Photo by Jason Thomas.