by FilmInk Staff
Starring Damian Hempstead, CJ Bloomfield and Bella Green
Sydney filmmaker and actor Damian Hempstead is stepping behind the camera for the first time with BACKFOOT – an independent Australian short film blending the intensity of Sydney basketball culture with an emotionally grounded coming of age drama about forgiveness, redemption and family.
Produced through newly launched production company Damo & Tim Productions, BACKFOOT stars Hempstead (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), alongside CJ Bloomfield (Mortal Kombat 2, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) and Bella Green (Last King of the Cross).
Set against the backdrop of competitive basketball, the film follows a young Sydney prodigy forced to choose between pursuing a life-changing U.S. scholarship opportunity or staying home to help save his struggling family.
Drawing heavily from Hempstead’s own 12 years competing in representative basketball across Australia and AAU tournaments throughout the United States, BACKFOOT aims to authentically capture a side of Australian youth culture rarely explored on screen.
“Basketball has played a massive part in my life growing up.” Hempstead said. “I always felt there were incredibly cinematic and emotional stories within that world that Australian film hadn’t really explored properly yet – particulate around the pressure young athletes carry off the court.”
The film also marks Hempstead’s writing and directorial debut after more than 15 years working professionally as an actor.
Stepping into directing while also carrying the lead role was definitely challenging,” Hempstead said. “But because the story was so personal to me, I knew I had to be the one to tell it.”
Produced independently outside traditional funding pathways, BACKFOOT was made possible through Supavest Studios’ innovative, non-traditional funding model. The project reflects a new generation of Australian filmmaking, driven by entrepreneurial creativity, community support, and direct audience engagement.
The project blends stylised basketball sequences with grounded emotional storytelling, placing equal focus on mentorship, family dynamics and personal redemption.
“More than anything, I wanted the film to feel honest,” Hempstead said. “Not just visually, but emotionally. A lot of the story comes from real experiences and people close to me. I wanted the basketball sequences to feel authentic and grounded, with as much captured in-camera as possible, and I wanted the emotional moments to feel raw and uncomfortable, because that’s often where the truth of a story lives.”
BACKFOOT | Short Film | Damo & Tim Productions
OUT NOW ON YOUTUBE
