In Absence - Short Film (formerly The Family)

Logline:

Fault lines are exposed when the sudden death of a matriarch splinters a close-knit religious family. A quiet son on the threshold between childhood and adolescence must hold together the fraying threads of his family, before an emotionally charged misunderstanding sees him take the fall as a result of an existential standoff between his Father and a silent God.

The Film

We are excited to have started pre-production on our latest short film project 'The Family'. Our film centres around the trauma of a family split apart by the sudden death of the family matriarch. Told through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy we follow a Father/Son relationship and explore their responses to each other in the aftermath of tragedy.

This is a cinematic exploration of family and the threads that bind us together and asks the question - is family stronger than tragedy? While the film traverses difficult subject matter, it ultimately weaves a redemptive thread through the deep family connections that ultimately bind together and reveal what is most important.

This film comes from the grit of lived experience as someone who has gone through personal loss and grief. I believe this insight with all its vulnerability will move audiences emotionally as they examine their own closest relationships.

Cast

Our stellar cast includes:

Christopher James Baker (Ozark, True Detective, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D)

Jack LaTorre (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Nine Perfect Strangers)

Ron Kelly (Safe Harbour, Joe v Carol)

Murran Kain (Elvis, Ticket to Paradise)

What We Need

Filmmaking is the ultimate team sport. We have gathered an incredible team of gifted creatives to bring this film to the screen, but as an independent production, we need your help to push our film over the top. We have raised a significant amount of the budget through a combination of arts grants, our own personal financial investment and the in-kind contributions of many creative collaborators who have signed on to bring their creative talents to the project. This final round of funding will give us the capacity to take the production value of the film to the next level by giving that little bit extra, in time and resource, to craft a truly cinematic experience. We have commenced the casting process and will be making some exciting announcements about that very soon! The film is confirmed to shoot in mid August.

Your Go Fund Me contributions will allow us to:

Who's Involved?

Paul Nevison - Writer/Director

Paul Nevison is an award winning writer/director with over 20 years experience. Paul’s films have garnered international recognition with multiple Gold and Silvers at The Young Director Award at Cannes Lions in 2019 and 2020. Winner of best direction at Ciclope 2019 and nominated for best direction at Kinsale Sharks, 1.4 Awards and GZDOC. In 2022 he completed his first feature length film “Evil Good” which chronicles the story of a Phoenix Vice Detective as he battles against his own family in the Mexican drug cartels.

View Paul's directing portfolio here

Isobel Jones - Producer

Isobel Jones is a Queensland based film producer working in TVC’s, music videos and short films. Most recently she was a Broadcast Producer for global advertising agency Publicis in Brisbane, where she managed production across multiple platforms for clients such as BMW, The A League, Victoria Bitter and EA Games. Isobel’s short films have been screened at festivals around the world with “Six of One” screening at the 32nd Flickerfest in January 2023 and “Thea Goes to Town” which premiered at the Brisbane International Film Festival in 2021.

View Isobel's producing portfolio here

Bjorn Amundsen - Cinematographer

Bjorn Amundsen is an award-winning cinematographer whose clients include: Apple, Google, Nike, GE and AT&T. His short-form accolades include wins at the YDA, Ciclope, Kinsale Sharks. Bjorn works on commercial, narrative and documentary projects worldwide. He is represented internationally by Innovative Artists in Los Angeles.

View Bjorn's cinematography reel here

Brett Anthony Shaw - Composer

Brett Anthony Shaw is an American-born Film Composer, multi-instrumentalist and music producer based in Brisbane, Australia. He has earned a reputation for blending subtle elements of ambient, post-rock and organic folk textures into his neo-classical compositions. Over the past 15+ years of working in the music industry, Brett has produced albums for artists, released solo projects and worked on numerous projects for Film and TV.

Listen to Brett's music here

Where will the film be seen?

Once the film is completed, an exclusive private link will be shared with those who have helped support the project. The film will then be submitted to a range of prestige film festivals including SXSW, Tribeca, Berlinale, Cannes, Flickerfest, MIFF and St Kilda. Once the festival run is completed the film will be available to view online.

THANK YOU

This project is only possible with the generous support of our backers. We're excited to make this film and can't wait to share it with you. Thanks for being part of this family!