WILLIAM

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Synopsis

William tells the story of an indigenous sideshow magician, whom
on his taxi ride home, encounters an unwelcome passenger, forcing
him to revisit a past he would rather forget.

Director's Statement

William tells a simple, poignant story about survival in a society where
violence incubates in those assigned to protect us; the father, the
police, and the government, and the personal consequences of racism
and violence on William, a Murri aboriginal, who unconsciously uses
the power of magic as a device to communicate and transform his
destiny.

In William, magic becomes a subtle metaphor for transformation, a
device to control aspects of our lives that are uncontrollable. It is when
the reality of life seems impossible and bleak that we turn to
superstition to restore our dreams. Thus William makes the journey from
innocent, to victim, to Wiseman.
I wanted to tell the story in a visually interesting and heightened way
but at the same time not overwhelm the performances. It was important
for me that the performances were naturalistic and not theatrical. This
contrast of truthful performance and stylised setting creates an
interesting atmosphere in the film, one that should give you a feeling of
disparity and unease.

To create this vivid atmosphere, William was shot almost entirely in a
studio using the technique of rear projection. Partial sets were
constructed and backgrounds were photographed and filmed in ways,
which suited the scenes. For instance the forests’ immersion in red
during the beating of Neville Zak. The use of this old fashioned
technique allowed creative freedom to manipulate scale, colour and
movement. Most importantly it leant a subtle weight to the narrative
themes of memory and perception as the film deals with William’s world
that is both familiar and foreign to him. At times the film has a
subjective quality that was enhanced by this technique. This was a way
to externalise the internal turmoil and joy of the character.
The challenges were numerous on the film, ranging from finding three
indigenous actors that could play the same character over 60 years,
interpreting John Brumpton’s script (considering my previous films
were my own scripts), eliciting good performances from a large cast
and overcoming the great technical challenges of working in a studio.
However thanks to an amazing crew and cast the making of the film
proved to be the most happy and satisfying experience directing a film
thus far.

Eron Sheean
DIRECTOR

Festivals & Awards

• Melbourne International Film Festival 2006
• Flickerfest 2007
• Sundance Film Festival 2007

Technical Information

Title: 'WILLIAM'
Duration: 17 mins
Shoot Format: HD Video
Preview Copy: DVD All Regions
Screening Format: HD Cam and/or Digital Betacam
Sound: Dolby® Surround
Country of Origin: Australia
Language: English
Year of Production: 2005
Completion Date: 2006
InvestorsProduction Company: Australian Film Commission, Film Victoria,
Captive Films
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Full Height Anamorphic

Key Cast & Crew

DIRECTED Eron Sheean
WRITTEN John Brumpton
PRODUCER Peter George
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Anna Howard ACS
EDITOR Geoff Hithchens
MUSIC Anthony Pateras, Chris Lawson, Frank Tetaz
SOUND DESIGN Emma Bortignon
HAIR & MAKE-UP Christine Miller
PRODUCTION DESIGN Joseph Kiely
COSTUMES Jill Johanson

WILLIAM Tom E. Lewis
YOUNGER WILLIAM Michael Longbottom
YOUNGEST WILLIAM Mark Coles Smith
DARCY John Brumpton
FELICITY Pamela Young
YVONNE Lillian Crombie
NEVILLE Greg Stone
BRIAN Kane McNay
KELLY Rebecca Moore

Media

For further information please contact:

Peter George
Producer
Mob: 61(0)411 300 474
E: pmgeorge@bigpond.com

Eron Sheean
Director
Mob: 61(0)421 792 172
E: eronsheean@optusnet.com.au

Tom E. Lewis as William
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John Brumpton as Darcy
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Greg Stone as Neville Zac
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Lillian Crombie as Yvonne
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