By Esther Lauaki
Werribee’s water treatment plant is the backdrop for a homegrown movie that will feature in a new short film festival next month.
Out of Range will screen in the inaugural SBS Short Film Festival, one of 14 films from Australian creatives of varied backgrounds.
The film, one of two in the festival shot in Victoria, is about a father who decides to take his estranged son fishing – but when the car breaks down, he realises the engine isn’t the only thing that’s broken.
Out of Range writer and director John Harvey said he created the film because he had been disappointed by the portrayal of indigenous men in the media.
“I was thinking about how indigenous men are portrayed on screens,” Harvey said.
“Indigenous men that I know, such as my brothers, my uncles and my friends … where was my story reflected?
“Max, played by Aaron Pedersen, and Levi, played by Araluen Lee Baxter, get stranded on high ground sitting in their dinghy perched on the car … it became a metaphor for how they feel in life.
“I loved how the image of them in the boat, surrounded by crops, allows a subtle clash of political, colonial, and familial themes.”
The festival, which will air from September 13 to 15, includes dark comedies, dramatic soap operas and heartfelt documentaries.
Details: bit.ly/2Z6578C
