By Travis Johnson
Australian actor, producer and director Martin Copping has just about finished his feature directorial debut, The Dunes, and has turned to Kickstarter for completion funds.
This isn’t Copping’s first rodeo. Although familiar from his roles in the likes of Blue Heelers, Neighbours, Good Guys Bad Guys and Ocean Girl, he’s been making his own stuff since 2005, including the shorts Jackpot, Number 2, The Countdown, and Platform 4.
Billed as a psychological thriller, The Dunes follows an LA Times journalist who returns to his hometown in Australia. There, he runs into a figure from his past who threatens his entire existence. The film has underlying themes exploring substance abuse, something which has impacted Copping’s life – indeed, he wrote the script as an ode to his mother, who passed away last year due to an alcohol related illness.
Copping plays the lead role and is joined by Tim Phillips (Animal Kingdom, Once Upon a Time, Secret Circle, Neighbours), Jacinta Stapleton (Molly, Schapelle, Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS), Maria Volk (Wolf Creek 2) and Gregory J. Fryer (The Sapphires, Red Billabong).
Check out the Kickstarter campaign here.
