by FilmInk Staff
Three emerging WA creatives have turned limited resources, creative ambition and a shared determination to make films in Perth into a feature-length psychological thriller set to premiere at Luna Cinemas this November.
Because You’re Mine will make its Perth premiere on Wednesday 25 November, bringing together the local cast and crew behind the independent film and marking the next step in its journey towards film festivals and distribution.
At the creative heart of the film are three emerging Perth filmmakers: writer, producer and lead actor Shaun Gonzalvo; director and producer Lilliana Benger; and cinematographer and Director of Photography Reilly Stewart.
Together, they have created a psychological thriller that uses suspense and unease to explore something deeply human: grief, loss and what happens when losing someone also changes the way you see yourself and the world around you.
For Gonzalvo, who conceived the original story, the finished film is considerably different from the thriller he first set out to make. “The original idea for Because You’re Mine came from my genuine love for thriller films, particularly psychological thrillers,” Gonzalvo said.
“I wanted to explore grief, not just the experience of losing someone, but the feeling of losing yourself before the loss, and then trying to find your way back to who you are while you’re grieving.”
The film itself has an equally unconventional story.
Made without the financial backing or resources of a traditional feature-film production, Because You’re Mine relied on a small, multi-skilled local crew, crowdfunding, sponsors and a group of WA creatives prepared to find solutions when resources were limited. It also resulted in an unexpected change behind the camera.
Benger joined the project as an actor and co-producer before stepping into the director’s role midway through production at just 20 years old, despite having never directed before. Cinematographer Reilly Stewart remembers being struck by Benger’s instinctive approach to directing from her first day. “Lilliana came to set extremely prepared and had seemingly infinite creative ideas, but what really stood out to me was her unique approach to working with the actors,” Stewart said.
“She has a real ability to get inside the mindset of the characters and understand what they’re feeling beneath what we see on the surface.”
While Benger shaped the performances and emotional world of the characters, Stewart was responsible for translating that world visually.
The entire film was shot using anamorphic lenses, with darkness, deep shadows, distorted imagery, unconventional framing and contrasting colour temperatures used to reflect the characters’ changing emotional states. “Words like cold, trapped, dark, contrast and hope immediately came to mind,” Stewart said.
“I wanted the visual language of the film to evolve with the characters and their emotional states, while still maintaining an overall sense of unease and psychological tension.”
For the three filmmakers, completing the feature is also an opportunity to challenge assumptions about what can be created by emerging filmmakers in Western Australia. Gonzalvo said making the film in Perth with local cast and crew was a deliberate choice. “I didn’t want Perth to simply be a backdrop. I wanted it to feel like a Perth, Western Australia film, made by Perth people, with our own creatives given the opportunity to contribute their talent and have their work seen,” he said.
Stewart believes there is an extraordinary pool of filmmaking talent emerging locally. “There is an incredible amount of hidden talent across every level of filmmaking in Western Australia,” he said.
“I think we’re entering a really exciting era of storytelling, one where authentic, personal and creatively ambitious stories can be made outside of the traditional studio system.”
Image: Because You’re Mine leading cast and crew. Jesse Vakatini, Lead Supporting Actor; Shaun Gonzalvo, Producer, Writer, and Lead Actor; Reilly Stewart, Cinematographer & Director of Photography; and Lilliana Benger, Director, Producer, Supporting Actor.
