** THE COLD HEARTS PAYMENT PORTAL VIA POZIBLE HAS CLOSED, BUT YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR FILM BY EMAILING [email protected] **

Pitted against the harsh terrain of Australia's Snowy Mountains, two colonial women haul a coffin to its final resting place, only to be confronted with a deadly surprise upon reaching their destination.

THE STORY

Cold Hearts is a short film written by Danielle Baynes & Yolanda Ramke. It follows the story of two sisters in colonial Australia as they attempt to transport a coffin to its final resting place across the treacherous Snowy Mountains. Bold and self-possessed, Orla leads the charge with an unwavering commitment, whilst her sibling, Bright, struggles to come to terms with the purpose of their expedition. When a deadly turn of events befalls them at their final destination, the strength of both women and the virtue of their true mission will be dangerously put to the test.

THE PROJECT

Cold Hearts came about as a result of a conversation we had over our shared desire to explore strength and nuance in female characters on screen. We were excited by the scope provided by the Revisionist Western to delve into complexities such as the liberation of minorities, themes of violence and lawlessness and questioning aspects of heroism and cowardice. We wanted to flip the gender stereotypes in the classic Western tale by assigning the typical male ‘Cowboy’ role a female perspective.

We have created Australian period characters who are resilient, intelligent and brave amidst a dangerous landscape and time. These rural pioneers were self-sufficient and hardened by the struggles of every day life. Many were stepping into physically demanding roles traditionally reserved for men.

First and foremost, our aim is to tell a thrilling and original story that will keep viewers guessing until the final frame. However, we also hope that our film will motivate audiences to express a hunger for more female-driven genre pieces, lending our support to the argument that such stories can be equally gripping, complex and physical. 

MOOD BOOK REFERENCES








THE CAST

Danielle Baynes - 'ORLA'

Danielle is an Acting graduate from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She has completed the Shakespeare Intensive certificate at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in the UK and went on to play Katherine in ‘Henry V’ at the Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre, London (dir. Peter Oyston). In June, Danielle was invited to complete the Actor Warrior program at the Stella Adler Academy, New York where she wrote and developed her new play ‘Bicycle’. In May, Danielle co-produced and appeared in ‘Zeroville’ for the Anywhere Festival Parramatta with her company Lies, Lies and Propaganda (dir. Michael Dean). Recent stage credits include ‘Tonsils + Tweezers’ (dir. Will O’Mahony) for the Crack Theatre Festival, 'Phaedra' for Lies, Lies and Propaganda, Tough Beauty by Finegan Kruckemeyer (dir. Claudia Chidiac), for Casula Powerhouse, Q Theatre and Monkey Baa, The Small Poppies and The Ham Funeral for the New Theatre, King Lear and Measure For Measure at the Old Fitz. Danielle is a noted animation and commercial voice artist, she can be heard as the voice of Tegan in ‘Ghosts of Time’, in ‘Sally Bollywood’ and has voiced the role of Princess Bubblegum and Levira in the live stage shows of ‘Adventure Time’ and ‘Power Rangers’.

Yolanda Ramke - 'BRIGHT'

Yolanda is a graduate of the Griffith Film School and has since been developing her own original material as a writer, director and actor. In 2012, her short screenplay Shelter secured Metro Screen's $15 000 Breakout Fund. The resulting film, in which she also played the female lead, went on to screen at the Academy Award® accredited Palm Springs International Shortfest, St Kilda Film Festival and Flickerfest. Her follow-up short, Cargo, which she wrote, co-directed and performed in, was a Tropfest finalist film in 2013. The film went on to achieve 9 million views on YouTube, a 'Best Achievement In Screenplay' nomination at St Kilda Film Festival and an impressive international festival run (including 7 Academy Award® accredited events). Yolanda is currently developing the feature-length version of Cargo in collaboration with co-director Ben Howling, Australian producer Kristina Ceyton (The Babadook), and US producers Russell Ackerman (Mama) and John Schoenfelder. Her screenplay recently won the inaugural Gateway LA prize run by Australians In Film and topped the annual Aussie List (Australia's answer to the Hollywood Black List and the UK's Brit List).

Marcus Graham - 'THE MAN'

AFI award winning and Logie nominated actor Graham, first gained wide acclaim while starring in the Australian TV soap E Street as 'Wheels'. He has been a professional actor for 28 years and has performed in over 70 productions in theatre, film and television. Marcus graduated from the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) over 20 years ago. Since then Graham has gone on to receive prestigious acclaim landing roles in several films including the David Lynch directed Mulholland Drive. On-stage he has appeared in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Blue Room and Les Liaisons Dangereuses for the Melbourne Theatre Company. His extensive television credits include Hiding, Underbelly, Crownies, All Saints, City Homicide, Good Guys Bad Guys, Home and Away and his AFI award winning guest role playing Jason Grubb in Blue Heelers. He can be seen in the upcoming series Jack Irish for the ABC.

Jeremy Waters - 'THE OFFICER'

Recent credits: Bondi Dreaming (Ten Alphas/ Downstairs Belvoir remount), Five Properties of Chainmale (Grifin Independent), Four Places (Outhouse), Lobby Hero (Dudley St Prods), Harvest, Jerusalem (2013 Sydney Theatre Award Nomination), The Pillowman (The New Theatre), Four Places (Outhouse), Scenes From An Execution (Tooth & Sinew), Little Gods (Mayday Playwrights’ Festival) and Crushed (Chester Productions). In New York City, he founded Outhouse Theatre Co. Dedicated to showcasing Australian theatre talent in the US, Outhouse successfully mounted productions of Ride, Mercy Thieves and The Boys. In 2014, Jeremy produced and appeared in the first Australian production from Outhouse, Four Places. He is currently appearing in The Aliens by Annie Baker at The Old Fitz.

THE TEAM:

Danielle Baynes & Yolanda Ramke - CO-DIRECTORS

April Tafe - PRODUCER
April Hannah was named after the characters in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters. She has since spent most of her life in love with the magic of film and the beauty of a good story. She is currently working in television for SBS as a Production Supervisor by day, and by night developing new projects. In the past 3 years April has been working with Sydney collective Soda Honey Films, producing short films that have received national and international film festival cred, including the Sydney Film Festival, Tropfest, Flickerfest, Palm Springs International Short Film Festival and Warsaw International Film Festival.

Daniel Foeldes - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Born and raised in Germany, Daniel relocated to Australia and completed a Master of Arts in Cinematography, his graduate film receiving the ‘West Australian Screen Award for Cinematography’ in 2008. He has forged a career in the Australian film industry since and has shot numerous short films and a feature which have screened at festivals around the world such as LA Shorts Fest, Palm Springs Shortfest, Seattle International Film Festival, Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Leeds International Short Film Festival, St Kilda Film Festival and Tropfest Australia.

Alicia Clements - PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Alicia is a costume and set designer who has worked between London, Sydney and Perth. Graduating from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2008, Alicia furthered her training in Paris and the UK through the support of The Australia Council for the Arts and the 2014 Kristian Fredrikson Scholarship for Design in the Performing Arts. Recent designs include After Dinner for Sydney Theatre Company, Hamlet for Bell Shakespeare, and Bajazet for Pinchgut Opera. In 2015 a selection of her costume designs will be shown in Moscow as part of the worldwide exhibition, From Russia With Love: Costume at the Turn of the Century 1990-2015. From 2009 to 2012 Alicia was an Associate Artist, and later Resident Designer with Black Swan State Theatre Company, designing numerous productions including Arcadia, The White Divers of Broome, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Madagascar.  She has collaborated frequently with Barking Gecko Theatre Company, designing Duck, Death and the Tulip; This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girls Does Nothing; Driving into Walls and its recent sequel ONEFIVEZEROSEVEN. Other contributions include set and costume designs for Lost and Found Opera, Deckchair Theatre Company, STEPS Youth Dance Company and Onward Productions, as well as supervising costumes at London’s Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and assistant designing on productions across the West End.

Shannon Longville - EDITOR
Shannon is a 2007 graduated of Murdoch University (WA), where she obtained a ‘Bachelor Of Media’. Following this, she worked for over 3 years at Elephant Productions concentrating on corporates, TVC’s and the Chocolate Martini TV series which aired on NITV. In 2012, Shannon relocated from Perth to Sydney after being accepted into the Australian Film, Television & Radio School (AFTRS). She graduated that same year with a ‘Graduate Diploma in Editing’. A keen fan of genre projects, Shannon cut 2012 Tropfest finalist film, Cargo, for which she was nominated for an Australian Screen Editor’s Award for ‘Best Short Film Editing’. She currently works as an editor for Beyond Productions.

Tara Webb - SOUND DESIGNER
An alumni of the Australian Film, Television & Radio School (AFTRS) where she studied ‘Sound Design’, Tara is accomplished in both film and post-production sound and has gained experience in sound design and music composition for both screen and theatre. Her work has received multiple awards, including recognition from the Australian Screen Sound Guild. As a member of the team at Huzzah Sound, Tara has cut her teeth on a number of high profile projects including feature films I, Frankenstein, The Sapphires, The Turning, Tracks, Backtrack and Mad Max: Fury Road. She was credited as sound designer on the acclaimed 2012 Tropfest Finalist Film, Cargo and currently works for Spectrum Films. 

Helen Grimley - COMPOSER
Composer Helen Grimley writes for screen, stage and concert hall. She is the recipient of a 2014 Women in Film and Television APRA AMCOS mentorship, through which she undertook a mentorship with composer Michael Yezerski. Recent credits include sound design for theatre productions Ruby Moon (Wesley Institute Theatre, Darlinghurst Theatre), Trapped in Mykonos (Seymour Centre), pitches for television advertisements for MasterFoods and Legacy (Clemenger), and original music for films: Woman in Chains (dir. Katie Found), For Love and Money (dir. Vanessa Dang), Illuminated (dir. Lee Mitchell), Wet Dreams (dir. Tim Blackburn), Chocolate Oyster (Feature film, Jaggi-Shute Productions) and Cargo.  Helen is a 2012 Screen Music Graduate of the Australian Film, Television & Radio School (AFTRS) and recipient of a University Medal in Music (UNSW). She is also a trained classical composer, sings full time professionally for the choir of St James King Street, and has received commissions for performing groups including Hummingsong Choirs Sydney.

PRODUCTION DESIGN REFERENCES

YOUR SUPPORT
As well as investing our own money, we are looking to raise $10,000 by the end of October to help cover the costs involved in making Cold Hearts. All of your generous donations will go directly to funding the essential production elements required to make a short film. This includes accommodation, transport, costumes and props, special fx make-up, food for the team and the camera equipment. We are also lucky to have an incredibly talented cast and crew on board to make this film and we are passionate about paying them! Therefore, a portion of the money raised will also go towards fees for these invaluable team members.

Cold Hearts Budget Breakdown:
Accom: $2,000
Travel/Transport: $1,000
Camera Gear: $5,000
Catering: $1,500
Art Department/Costume: $1,500
Crew/Cast Fees: $3,300
Special FX Makeup: $500
Permits: $200

TOTAL = $15,000

One of our biggest challenges will be the weather. Our shoot will be entirely exterior on location in the Snowy Mountains. Travel, access, transporting our gear between locations and physical strain on the cast are challenges we are factoring into our planning and pre-production stage.


Thank you so much for considering Cold Hearts as a project to support. We cannot wait to make this film and share it with you all. To stay up to date with the film's progress head to our Facebook page and click 'Like': www.facebook.com/coldheartsthefilm
Feel free to share our campaign with your friends and family too, we are so grateful for any support you can give!

Danielle & Yolanda