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Australian Actor In Competition At Sundance
Aussie actor Michael Piccirilli stars in Obselidia, which premieres in competition at Sundance 2010.
Leading the Aussie's sunlit march to Sundance 2010 is an underworld criminal thug, Jessica Mauboy and Missy Higgins making their acting debuts and a persistent swarm of cane toads. The light is shining brightly on these three feature-length films - Animal Kingdom, Bran Nue Dae and Cane Toads: The Conquest - in the build up to the influential US film festival in late January.
Also, in contention to take out one of the many awards are three Australian shorts - Glottal Opera, My Rabit Hoppy and Young Love.
But Australia's involvement doesn't stop here! Joining the march later this month will be actor Michael Piccirilli. Piccirilli's leading performance in US indie film Obselidia will be seen by over 50,000 people attending the 10-day festival, which kicks off on January 21, 2010 in Park City, Utah.
Selected from1,058 submissions in the US Dramatic Competition main category, Obselidia will be screened alongside 15 other feature-length films. Filmed in near Death Valley in Los Angeles, Obselidia tells the charming story of George Samuels, played by Piccirilli.
"It is a character driven story about an introverted librarian and door-to-door encyclopaedia salesman who is out of step with time, fixated on collecting things that society en masse finds obsolete," explains Piccirilli, back in Australia. "George decides to create his own "Encyclopaedia of Obsolete" things and in the process meets a vivacious silent-film projectionist. From there on the film evolves into a sort of road trip with a shade of a love story."
After moving to LA with his family a couple of years ago, Piccirilli's casting for Scottish writer/director Diane Bell's debut feature film came from a chance encounter with Bell's Irish husband, Chris Byrne, who is one of the producers of the film. "He had a Hemingway book under his arm, a bit of the rascal in him and just kind of stood out from the usual LA crowd," says Piccirilli. "I think I just needed a fix of some expat banter. To cut a long story short, we got on, he had me in mind as a possibility for this film his Scottish wife was writing to direct. We had lunch at their place and the rest is history!"
Before leaving Australia, Piccirilli worked on Home And Away, plus a few guest roles on other television and low-budget films, such as Shane Abbess's Gabriel (2007). Piccirilli arrived in LA just in time for Hollywood's five-month writers' strike and a recession, and has since found guest roles on 90210 and other short films, before landing his thought-provoking role in Obselidia.
"Filming Obselidia was a truly great experience. The cast and crew that Diane and Chris pulled together were just incredible. We were definitely on the lower end of the budget spectrum (understatement) and that really pulled everyone together...a lot of the crew camped under the stars," says Piccirilli. "Like any film there were insurmountable odds that we had to overcome daily, but the crew tackled them with technical proficiency and good humour (most of the time!).
"Diane Bell is definitely an actor's director; it felt more like we were rehearsing a play than making a film and this is the dream for any actor, but all too often it doesn't happen that way. To know what kind of person Diane is, you just have to see the film because everything about it is her. For me it was what filmmaking is all about: a bunch of people all working together, overcoming obstacle after obstacle to make something creative, beautiful and substantial."
Piccirilli is currently in Australia - out bush actually - a trip which he admits is long overdue. This Christmas was his first trip home since moving abroad. Speaking about the other Aussie films in the festival, Piccirilli believes that "there is definitely something different going on when you watch an Australian perform or direct. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is, but maybe that is the beauty of it. There is an ever present earthiness...maybe a stripped down performance to the scene's essence, mixed in with a bit of the larrikin."
With six films selected for Sundance, plus a film from Australian director/writer(s) Nick Tomnay and Krishna Jones, and cinematographer John Brawley [The Perfect Host], Piccirilli is probably right. There is something reassuring about his relaxed comments. "America is a different beast to Australia. People basically look the same but behave differently and that takes a little time to get used to."
For the next two weeks, Piccirilli plans on spending some time in the sun - swimming and catching up with mates - before heading back to LA, Sundance, LA, and then "my next trip back to Oz."
For more on the Sundance Film Festival head here and for more on Obselidia go here.