FILM EVENT: The Tunnel Premiere in Sydney

I first heard about these guys through Peter Castaldi from Pack Screen last year when they first started the crowd funding business via their website. They end up raising their $135 K by selling frames online, which I think is a very clever idea.

My colleague and ongoing mentor Clint Logan (whom I first met at the IF Awards in 2010) first came across these guys 2 and more years ago when they were doing the rounds to get this baby of theirs supported and boy, they did come a long way.

Their cinematography was crisp and cut and merge of mix docu-drama was interesting to watch and with such a small budget, they managed to pull together a collateral of strong partnerships and stakeholders, such a the likes of Screen NSW etc...

It interesting to find out about their distribution plans (Bittorrent and apparently a deal with Showtime) and also what their future plans are as well.

So what is "The Tunnel" about? An Australian news team trying find out a string of mysterious disappearances related to an underground tunnel. In the midst, they discover some sort of monster/ghost/ evil being that is behind the mishap. Why there's a monster? I don't know but it so seems that its he government's fault in the conclusion.

There was a lot to learn about this event.

1. What a small Sydney filmmaker community base there is.

2. To make a decent good looking film, you got to know what will be working with.

3. Connections! Connections! Connections!

My reflections - about my "Quest"? The last 10 days I've been feeling utterly hopeless. I kind of reverted into thinking have I been on some sort of reckless high for the past year or something? Through the "Quest" I've learnt that I know "Jack" about Jackie or about films and am having to do the ABCs I,2,3 at literally everything. I seriously jumped the gun. Sometimes I'm even thinking deserving to do a "Quest" project.

The other day, my mum softly made a comment about maybe I should give up, its too hard to do what i do. Why don't i find myself a nice boy and settle, maybe go back to university and study teaching - something stable.

I thought about it, and then i would think about all the people I've met. In HK I got M.Leeder & B.Logan who followed their passions, took risks and escaped the predetermined. Then there's A.Szeto, who's an Asian- Aussie filmmaker who's abroad, making his own films as well and has never looked back.