INTERVIEW: Matthew Zeremes

With his self-funded feature Burke & Wills, Matthew Zeremes proved to be one of Australia’s most determined new filmmakers. He talks to ITM about how all the hard work is paying off.

You made Burke & Wills on your own life savings and loans. Did that seem like your only chance of getting the film made?
Absolutely. I guess it was more about having a chunk of money and realising that I could actually do make a proactive step in my career than grinding away and saving up to make this film that had been gestating for years.

As a DIY filmmaker, it must take some ingenuity to balance your vision for the film with the economical constraints. How did you get around some of those difficulties?
I think the real strength of Burke & Wills are the perceived constraints. I firmly believe that these have given the film an edge and resulted in a film quite different to the mainstream. We only had 20 rolls of film to shoot the whole film. So each scene had to be one shot and most of the time one take. We had to figure out really interesting ways of keeping the frame of an eight minute scene without a cut interesting. Things like an 8 minute zoom out from a close up while two characters sit and talk sound a bit risky but they were thrilling to do.

Only having nine days to shoot the whole thing meant that we all needed to be on a game. Funny thing was, it actually didn’t feel rushed.

When Burke & Wills was completed, where were you hoping it’d be seen?
My mum’s living room. The film has by far exceeded my initial expectations. However, throughout the editing process I began to realise we had made something that I thought was really interesting and engaging.

How was the experience of having the film premiere at Robert De Niro’s Tribeca film festival? Were you able to be there?
Yeah, I was flown over there and put up. It was just brilliant. I felt like a movie star. People were really excited about our film. New York is really excited about the festival. We had four screenings that sold out. It was really well reviewed and received. Great parties. Free stuff. A very exciting time.

You recently starred in another low-budget Australian film All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane. It seems there’s solidarity between filmmakers working on a grassroots level?
I guess so. I think there is probably more of an awareness of people working on the same kind of level as they take an interest in how films can be achieved outside the more conventional model.

Can you tell us a little about the new film you’re shooting Mei Li Johnson? Is this a solo directing effort?
No. The name has changed too. It’s now called Within The Four Seas All Men Are Brothers. It’s actually a three way collaboration. We wrote, directed and produced it together. Not the most conventional approach, but it is a way to get the film made. We were all on the same page and it was actually quite a good process. We have shot it and are close to locking of the edit. It’s a thriller set in Sydney over one day. It’s kind of told Rashomon style. We see the same story from different perspectives. I’m quite pleased with how it is turning out. It really exploits some of the interesting locations in Sydney city – Chinatown, alleyways and The Rocks.

Did the premiere of Burke & Wills at Tribeca help in opening any doors for your next film to be made?
Not really. Well not from funding bodies anyway, but on another level it did. We had a reputation, or a reference point, which made casting and crewing the film a little easier. I guess people took us seriously and knew that we weren’t just a couple of young dudes mucking around. Tribeca was good in the sense that it has created awareness about us as filmmakers.

I hope that the latest film is successful so that people take more of interest in us as filmmakers and offer more support. But I think it is all about taking steps and Burke & Wills was a considerable one. I don’t think that we have proven ourselves though, and that people should be throwing money at us. But I do want to get to a stage where people acknowledge the hard work and DIY approach.

Congratulations on the nomination for Best Australian Newcomer at this year’s 2008 Movie Extra Filmink Awards. Do you still feel like a newcomer?
I don’t know. To be honest I haven’t really thought about it. It’s nice to be acknowledged in some respect. Perhaps I am a newcomer to the wider consciousness. I have been doing this for a little while now but it still all feels fresh. Which is nice.

As clichéd as this question is, you’re abundantly qualified to answer it…what advice can you impart for any prospective Australian filmmakers?
If you believe in it do it.

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