Se7en Questions with Filmmaker
Andrew walsh
Who are some of the artists or some of the works
that inspired you to get started in this field? Of today’s current artists, who do you draw inspiration from?
I can tell you right now the three films that compelled me to start writing 13 years ago: American independent films Henry Fool by Hal Hartley, SLC Punk by James Merendino and an Italian comedy called Ovosodo directed by Paolo Virzi.
None of these films were hugely popular at the box office but they were wild, unconventional, deeply heartfelt and personal. What they did achieve was to speak to a generation of outsiders all over the world and inspired them to put pen to paper and create their own art reflecting the world around them. I was part of that wave and proud of it. I still am.
Ironically, I seem to be drawing inspiration from everything but cinema at the moment. I can’t even tell you the last Hollywood movie I saw and enjoyed.
I’ve always been an avid music fan. I own way more albums then I do DVDs. Right now, my favorite is an English band called The Tindersticks. The singer, Stuart Staples, is a genius. I love the way he says a few words in the songs which draws you into this vast fictional world that feels so familiar but also like venturing into the great unknown.
I’m also reading a lot. Currently going through the work of Brett Easton Ellis (American Psycho) and Kurt Vonegutt (Slaughterhouse Five).
On a local level, my collaborators peers and friends here in my city of Melbourne definitely continue to keep me motivated to create better work. Ivan Malekin, Sarah Jayne Portelli, Matthew Victor Pastor, Darren Downs are a few great directors that keep me on my toes.
What have thus far been some of the negatives of being an indie artist in your field?
There are so many obstacles it’s difficult to put into words. It’s one of the toughest industries in the world to gain a foothold in and you can be the most positive, resilient person but the bullshit eventually wears everyone down. Constant rejections, lack of critical recognition, no financial stability. I believe there’s an audience out there for every film but finding and connecting with that audience isn’t easy.
In this digital age there a lot more avenues and opportunities available then ever to express yourself but it’s difficult to be heard when your voice is being drowned out by all the white noise. It’s also especially difficult being a creative in a conservative country like Australia, where it’s constantly being crushed around you day after day.
Still, at the end of the day I have no regrets. When I was 17 I made a vow to dedicate myself to this path until the day I die. There is no plan B. Loneliness and struggle are the prices you have to pay for freedom.
A brief moment of that freedom is worth a lifetime of failure.
What have thus far been the positives of being an indie artist in your field?
Well, it’s about perspective. I have absolutely no support from the arts bodies within the Australian Government. When I was younger they knocked me back for funding so often I just stopped applying. I’ve lost count of how many film festival rejections we’ve had.
With Hollywood being almost 9,000 miles away there are no wealthy investors knocking on my door. All my films have been funded by myself and what little money I make from my day job.
When you’re on the fringe of the industry from the outside looking in its easy to look at it in a negative way and give into being a victim. The way I see it when there is no hope. There’s no compromise. I’m free to make the films I want to make and tell the stories I want to tell. I don’t need permission from a government funding body to go after the stories I want to go after. I don’t have executive producers meddling behind the scenes and pressuring me to change the content to suit the market place in this increasingly politically correct climate.
I don’t represent any corporation or political party. My films represent Andrew Walsh.
What have been your favorite completed projects to work on up to this point? Can you tell us a little bit about them?
Well that’s a tough one. They’re all my Favorites! I suppose it’s best to start from the beginning. When I started out, like most artists I had a voice but no idea what I wanted to say. Then I went through one of the most difficult times in my life and for the first time ever I stopped writing about other people and turned the lens on myself and begun writing about my own struggles and experiences.
Out of this came my debut, The Comedian. It was a very intimate film about a troubled stand-up comedian with a dark secret preparing for the performance of a lifetime.
It went onto premiere at the 2011 Cannes Short Film Corner which was mind boggling as up until then I’d never even directed actors before let alone held a camera!
Although it made no festivals in Australia it had a very successful season playing at Underground film nights , Arts events, and warehouse parties in Australia and New Zealand.
Six years later, to this day it still gets played occasionally. I think its held up so well because when you come from such an honest vulnerable place audiences can relate to it on an emotional level.
Since then, I’ve made four more short films of various genres mixed with that self autobiographical formula which has done really well and helped make a name for myself, but The Comedian will be always be dear to my heart. It changed my life.
What projects are you currently working on or have planned for the near future?
As I write this we’re currently completing my fifth short film, I Miss The War, which we shot back in 2014. Its strangely poetic that the script only took four days to write but the project itself has taken nearly four years to complete.
It’s the most personal and complex project I’ve ever embarked on. It’s a comedy about three sisters who reunite on the anniversary of their late mother who died nine years earlier and all hell proceeds to break loose.
I wanted to use comedy as a bold unorthodox way to explore topics that most people would rather leave swept under the carpet: Mental health , the effects of childhood trauma, suicide and addiction are a few. The main cast are three very complex and funny female characters that explore these themes really well in a very subtle nuanced way. There’s also a very unique take on Aboriginal Australia which you rarely ever see or hear from. That’s why I’m confident its going to do really well.
I MISS THE WAR will be released mid 2018.
Aside from that I’ve been developing what will be my feature debut as a writer and director. The project is called THE SHALLOW END. It’s a fast paced black comedy about four friends from the wrong side of the tracks who throw a disastrous homecoming party for their enigmatic leader who has suddenly returned to town after disappearing for three years.
Shot in crisp black and white and taking place mostly in a rundown neighbourhood dive bar, we witness as the four characters wreak blind emotional havoc as they anxiously wait for their beloved leader to arrive and the audience is helpless as they witness these guys’ hilarious and often self-inflicted fall from grace before reaching a shattering climax that will provide clarity and redemption to some, but ultimately destruction for all.
It touches on the possibilities and limitations of friendship, male vulnerability and the agony of unrequited love. In Western society, by the age of 30 you’re supposed to be married with kids, own a house and have a stable career and all the characters in the film are really struggling with these roles, which is what I think will make it so relatable to audiences.
With its very razor sharp structure and rapid profound and profane dialogue is remnant of some of my favorite English films like 44 Inch Chest, In Bruges and Withnail & I.
At the moment, I’m developing and workshopping the script with some really talented local actors and am hoping to shoot a trailer and some proof of concept scenes later this year in a bid to market the project and raise funding for the shoot.
I’ve also completed another script which will be a feature length adaptation of my earlier short Empire Of Nowhere, which I intend to direct in the future.
Where do you see yourself in a few years and what would it take for you to consider your career a success?
In a few years I definitely would like to get out of the city and live a much more peaceful quieter existence. Hopefully making my career sustainable, as I continue to make these micro-budget feature films.
I don’t measure success financially. I have no illusions about this. I’m probably going to be working for the rest of my life. I’ve made my peace with that.
I think success can be measured by the quality of the work you create and the passion you bring into it. I’ve got a small but significant body work that I’m proud of.
Every time I put pen to paper I get excited like it’s the first time. I still get that buzz every single time I step onto a film set or go into the studio to edit.
Getting that joy, wisdom and satisfaction out what you do. That is how I would define success.
If you couldn’t do this anymore, what career path do you think you would have followed and why?
It would be a toss up between robbing banks or becoming a veterinarian.
