Beth Armstrong

Have you ever locked your sister or brother out of the house, mashed their face into the carpet or licked an ice-cream all over so they can't have a bite?

This film is an honest, humorous and painful study of the unique relationship between a sister and brother spanning four decades.

Sibling relationships are intense. You share a house, genetics, parents, family idiosyncrasies and the torments of growing up, yet despite all these similarities you can be polar opposites. Siblings can push your buttons in ways that no one else can, no matter your age or status. The simplest comment can instantly revert you to your emotional teenage self.

Cruelty, laughter, jealousy, protectiveness and blood-boiling fury are part of the experience but reflecting on the years spent fighting my brother invariably has me in stitches. I don't know it was that funny at the time but for some reason it is now. Time, and having my own children, has brought a deepening appreciation.

This story begins with Jack and Rosey at five and six-years of age then leaps forward to their violent teenage period, onto fraught post university years and finally lands in their late thirties at a crisis point for Rosey.

Please help us to finish this story, which has already been filmed, so that it can find a wide audience around the world. For the sake of sisters and brothers.

The shoot
The story was filmed over five days in late September 2013 in the inner West of Sydney, working with a professional, talented and committed cast and crew who contributed their time. We are seeking support for post production costs in order to finish the film to a professional standard and secure necessary licensing rights. This way we can submit it – and give it the best chance - at major international film festivals around the world, first stop Cannes, Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals.
This is a hugely ambitious project, principally the casting because of the time-frame spanning almost forty years, a challenge for a feature length film let alone a short. The siblings are each played by three actors. Casting was done by Natalie Wall and Nikki Barrett at Barrett Casting resulting in a wonderful and experienced cast.

Cast
Kate Box, Josh McConville, Xenia Goodwin, Callum McManis, Coco Giles, Phoenix and Levi Morrison
Jane Allsop, Taylor Ferguson, Anna Mowry, Ben McIvor and Lachlan Jones

Writer and Director
Beth Armstrong is a freelance director based in Sydney. Beth graduated from the Australian film television and radio school in 2005 and has made a number of prize winning shorts including a short documentary. Beth's short feature, "Cheek to Cheek" was made in association with Screen Australia winning amongst other awards Best of the Festival at the prestigious Palm Springs Film Festival in America. Her short drama, "Danya" picked up awards both in Australia and abroad including Best short at the Boston Motion Picture Awards, Carolina and Jackson Hole film festivals (USA), Best Fiction at Tirana (Albania) and Best short at Canberra Film Festival (Australia). Her work has screened on television in Australia and Canada. Beth works with boutique production company, Two Little Indians directing commercials. Beth was funded by Screen NSW to write a draft of a feature script also based on her family. This short film is a precursor to her feature project. Beth's commercial work can be seen at: www.twolittleindians.com Beth's previous short film drama, Danya at http://www.switchtv.com./videos/373/

Producer
Anastasia has been a producer in the Australian Film industry for over 15 years, running her own feature film production company and has been involved in the highly successful Love and Other Catastrophes, Strange Planet and You Can’t Stop The Murders, the first Australian Film to be acquired for distribution by Miramax for Australia/New Zealand. Anastasia has also produced numerous TVC’s and digital content for online.
Anastasia is a graduate in Banking and Finance at Monash University in Melbourne. She also studied at UCLA’a Extension Courses “Story Analysis & Development for Film & TV” as well as “Exploration of Mythology, Culture & Identity in the Arts and Media”.

Director of Photography
Tom Gleeson is an award winning Director of Photography equally familiar with film and digital formats. This month he was awarded a Gold Australian Cinematography Society Award for the opening credit sequence on the television drama series, "Redfern Now." Tom has worked with many styles of production from television and Commercials through to feature films, with extensive shooting experience throughout the world. Tom has shot five features including “Ned” (Theatrical release May 2003) and “Suing The Devil” starring Malcom McDowell and Tom Sizemore 2010. Tom has also worked as cinematographer on other features most recently George Miller’s Oscar winning “Happy Feet.” Tom brings an innovative and unique style to each production. www.gleeson.net.au

Key Creatives
Art Director: Tylah Pratt
Costume Designer: Ally Mansell
1^st AD: PJ Dunlop
Makeup/Hair: Rachel Coenen
Sound Recordist: Martin Pashley
Continuity: Mila Gisbert
Casting: Nikki Barrett Casting
Extras Casting: Aardvark Casting www.aardvarkcasting.com
Editor: Jason Diffin www.theloop.com.au/jasondiffin
Sound Designer: Luke Mynott www.sonarsound.com.au
Composer: Biddy Connor www.biddyconnor.com
Titles Designer: Siobhan Bowers www.bonbowers.blogspot.com.au/
Visual Effects: Karl Jenner

The funds will be used to pay licensing fees for 'film festival rights' for a Mondo Rock 1980's music track, “Come said the Boy” and short clips from renowned American television shows, “Get Smart” and “Gilligan's Island”. We also require funds to help cover the costs of editing, sound design and sound mix, musical score and recording, colour grading, titles design and some initial marketing to cover film festival entry fees.

The music on the clip from the film shown on this page is by composer, Biddy Connor. Biddy's a wonderful composer and if we can raise the funds we can work with Biddy and musicians to record a beautiful and quirky original soundtrack.

Maybe you'd like to contribute in deference to your sister or brother or simply to support this artistic venture. We're truly grateful for any assistance and would love you to be part of the film and join us at our cast and crew screening to celebrate.

We will finish this project, we've come too far not to and feel it has the makings of something special. However without these additional funds it's going to take much longer in order to find the money and get into editing, sound and grading suites, which means delaying our application to film festivals and limiting release opportunities. Our biggest obstacle is the licensing fees for our 1980's scenes where 16-year-old Rosey dances to an infamous track. In their teenage years Rosey and Jack are latch key kids and in Australia watching old American television series in the afternoons was par for the course. It's a nostalgic fact to which many people will relate, so in order to use the appropriate clips we must pay licensing rights. The fees are substantial even when specifying film festival use only. If we aren't able to raise the necessary funds we may have to look at replacing with lesser known footage, which is more affordable but creatively won't have the same impact. We also want to record a great score and detailed sound, as it brings so much value and emotion to the story.

Please contribute as much or as little as you can. All support is very much appreciated.