by Nadine Whitney
Avarice has just been nominated for a West Australian Screen Culture Award. Congratulations! How are you feeling about the nomination?
“WA has a small but vibrant film industry comprised of many talented filmmakers, so it feels nice for my film to be selected.”
What was it like making an action thriller set in Perth right now?
“Well, like any film, it’s 10% fun and 90% hard work. Avarice was no different, although we had Covid added to the mix, so it was a challenging film to make. I was lucky to have an enthusiastic cast and crew, who all delivered.”
Avarice features great fight choreography. Can you tell me a bit about how your actors prepared and what it was like shooting it?
“I was fortunate to secure the services of Peter West who is an experienced stuntman with some forty years’ experience in the film industry, so with his guidance and a fair bit of rehearsal we were able to pull off all the stunts safely. The cast were terrific, in particular Gillian Alexy (Kate), Alexandra Nell (Reed) and Alex Fleri (Jim), who were always up to the challenge.”
Kate is going through a lot even before things get out of hand. Can you tell me a little about your character development for her?
“A protagonist is a key character in a story who has a mountain of hurdles to overcome, both internal and external and that’s certainly what Kate faced. The more challenging you make it for the hero, the more the audience cheers for them when they rise up. Kate’s character did go through a lot of development over the years as we refined the script. The script went through about ten rewrites over four years and I wrote the last couple of drafts which added the major personal loss for Kate at the end of Act II, which then propelled her to wipe out the bad guys in Act III.”
You’ve made Perth look like a large metropolis. Lots of people don’t think of WA in those terms. How important was it to you to represent the city as an International city where the events could happen?
“I just wanted to reflect the reality of living in a major city in Australia, which is not that different from any other major city in the world. It makes the film feel more relatable for international audiences. I’m also setting up the subconscious fear that some people have; that unexpected dangers can arise when moving from the city to the country.”
You are shooting on a limited budget but get great results. What are some of your tricks for making a film look slick?
“Thank you! I like my films to look vivid and slick. I’m not a fan of the washed out, desaturated look which often makes more expensive films seem like they were shot on a cheap and nasty camera. Key elements to make the film look slick; shoot with a high-quality camera (we used the Sony FX9 which shoots amazing footage even in low light), use high quality lenses (Cooke, Zeiss or Canon), work with a great DOP like Dave Le May and spend time in post-production making sure the grade looks as good as it can.”
Are there any directors whose work really resonate with you when you are conceiving and shooting a film?
“The film directors I really admire are those that can make quality, exciting and fresh films on low budgets, like the early work of Gareth Edwards, Patrick Hughes, Edgar Wright, and James Wan.”
There are more genre films getting attention in Australian cinema recently. How do you feel about that shift?
“Overall, Aussie filmmakers punch above their weight and are particularly good at making genre films that travel. So, it’s good to see, hopefully that trend continues!”
Avarice is in select cinemas from December 8, 2022
