Tag Archives: award winning films

Actor Kevin Clayette is stuck in a dystopian future in ‘Doktor’

April 28, 2019 Lorraine Wilder Leave a comment

Kevin Clayette, photo by Lauren Orrell

As a seasoned and celebrated actor, Kevin Clayette still tries to approach his craft, and his life, from the mindset of a child, by always being open to and excited by new experiences, and to love and believe like a kid. With this approach, every time he steps onto a film set, he is excited by the opportunity to play make believe and tell stories. He gets to be that little five-year-old that is always inside of him, not caring what others think and simply enjoying his life. For this New Caledonia native, there is no greater sense of joy.

At only 25, Clayette has already had a formidable career, becoming a recognized leader in Australia’s entertainment industry. Audiences everywhere recognize him from the long running soap opera Neighbours, in which he played fan favorite Dustin Oliver, and in the award-winning feature film Emo the Musical, in which he showed off his versatility as a triple-threat.

Another hit on Clayette’s resume came with the 2015 science fiction horror flick Doktor. Shot at the legendary Fox Studios in Australia where many popular films, including The Matrix, have been filmed, this award-winning film tells the story of an ancient man who is awake during surgery, triggering an hallucination, but also an allusion of a disturbing new reality.

“I liked that even though this story is set in a dystopian world and therefore quite far fetched from our current reality, it deals with themes such as money and power that are very real in our world. By talking about the reality of those issues, of those vices, we allow very important conversations to happen. Projects like these make you think and question our society and yourself. It’s a very interesting topic to reflect on,” said Clayette. “What does money do to you? Would you rather live a happy and fulfilled but short-lived life, or a lonely but long life thanks to money and corruption?”

In Doktor, Clayette plays the lead character of Gulham. In the dystopian world, Gulham is taken from the ones he loves after receiving a mysterious phone call. During that phone call, he made a deal with the devil and agreed to give his life in exchange for his family and loved one’s safety. He is then mistreated and drugged and dragged into a room before the film’s big reveal. Gulham is very ambiguous, but he is a good man, trying to do whatever it takes to save his family and loved ones. He is very brave.

Clayette knew that as the star of the film, he had to put everything he had into creating an authentic and captivating performance. Every morning, he would go through the entire script and storyboard before going on set, and every evening after leaving he would focus on creating the backstory for his character, imagining what he had been through, and then visualise what the next day would look like.

Clayette also had to prepare for his many emotional scenes, needing to portray a devastated character who sacrificed his life and knew he would never see his family again. In another scene, he was dragged down a corridor on a leash like a dog, and he had to show that hopelessness just with facial expressions. Such a challenge was exciting for the actor, who exceeded all expectations.

“Everyone in the crew was absolutely lovely, from the director to the producer to the makeup artists. It was very challenging emotionally on many levels to shoot some of the scenes I had in the movie. I liked having to get in the mindset and shoes of someone that lives a completely different life than the one I have,” he said.

Clayette had to portray a vastly emotional and dynamic performance despite the role being action focused with minimal dialogue. Using only his body language, he put everything he had into the role, creating many intense and dramatic moments in the film that greatly contributed to its later success.

Doktor was screened at many prestigious international festivals around the world. It took home Best Experimental Short Film at the Cutting Edge International Film Festival and was also selected to be showcased within the open competition category of AACTA’s Social Shorts (the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts). Clayette still feels honored by the film’s vast success.

“I’m really proud of this project and the hard work that everyone put in. It’s incredible to know that independent movies with smaller budgets can still have such an impact on our world,” he concluded.

Actors, Film

Josh Futcher goes dark and withdrawn for captivating performance in new award-winning film

August 8, 2018 Lorraine Wilder Leave a comment

As a child, Australia’s Josh Futcher was extremely shy. He recalls it as “debilitating”, and at the age of eight, his mother put him in acting classes to get him out of his shell. That was when his life changed. He began to fall in love with acting, and when he first performed on stage, the shyness that plagued him all his life melted away. Hearing the audience laugh at his Dracula impression with a Transylvanian accent was cataclysmic for Futcher. He knew even as a child that he was meant to pursue acting for the rest of his life. That was the first time he felt truly seen, and now audiences around the world have seen his work and know his face.

“I come from a low-income household with a single mother. No one in my family has ever been in the entertainment industry. I have built everything I have achieved in my career from hard work and determination. I’ve known this is what I’ve wanted to do since the age of eight and have never looked back or doubted it since. I’ve not had help or handouts, other than the love and support of family and friends,” said Futcher.

Futcher is known for films such as Répetez S’il-Vous-Plait, Wedgetail, From Parts Unknown, and many more. He has graced the small screen many times in hit television shows like Conspiracy 365 and No Pink Cowboys, and his face is instantly recognizable in Australia from the viral campaign for Victoria Tourism “Remote Control Tourist”, winning international awards. There is little doubt as to why he has become such a force to be reckoned with in the Australian entertainment industry.

Earlier this year, one of Futcher’s latest films, Fatal Flame, won the Audience Spotlight Award at The Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema. The film, which premiered in 2017 at the L.A Shorts Awards, where it won Best Film Noir Film, has had a tremendous run at many prestigious international film festivals. It took home the top price at the Women’s Only Entertainment Film Festival 2017 and was a Special Mention for the Award of Merit at the Accolade Global Film Competition in Los Angeles.

“It’s a very rewarding experience to have a project that you had such a strong hand in from start to finish be as successful as it’s been. It’s been received with critical and audience acclaim since its release and I’m incredibly proud of the work,” said Futcher.

Fatal Flame follows Police Detective McDonald, played by Futcher, who is summoned by shady criminal Rico to a vantage point overlooking the wake for gangster Julian Blakley’s recently murdered father. Rico riles McDonald with news that Julian has corrupted his police colleagues; and ordered the death of McDonald’s informant. But McDonald, who suffers from PTSD, isn’t interested until he sees a mysterious beauty provoking a fight with Julian. As Julian tries to escape, McDonald is hot on their trail. But it isn’t Julian who interests him. Instead he pursues the enigmatic woman.

“I loved the fact that this man has gone through so much grief but is motivated to make sure it doesn’t happen to another innocent woman. He sees a woman being mistreated and he knows the man is no good, so he goes to warn her. I think he is a great man, with a care and respect for women. Not just as sexual objects. And in a time when so much harassment of women is being brought to the forefront – I feel this story shows men how a lady should be treated,” said Futcher.

In the film, McDonald suffers from PTSD after seeing his girlfriend murdered in front of him by a gangland boss, who discovered McDonald was undercover and betrayed him. This causes McDonald to be dark, quiet, and withdrawn, but the appeal of a magnetic femme fatale style character quickly peaks his interest. He can save her, like he wished he could have saved his girlfriend. Such a character had great appeal for Futcher, who is known for his improvisation and comedy, and gave him the chance to show off his versatility as an actor. He made McDonald a tortured soul with a dark past, but with a motivation to be better, which in turn made him human and relatable.

“I loved being able to sit in silence on the screen. As actors, we constantly feel we have to do so much to be interesting. It was so freeing to be still and silent and sit in the pain of my character. It taught me a lot about the power of stillness on screen and what it portrays for the viewer,” he described.

McDonald was originally written as a 50-year-old-man. However, after the Director, Janet Dimelow, saw what Futcher was capable of, she decided to re-write her story for Futcher to play the leading role, knowing that he was the actor who could make her film a success. For Futcher, being offered the role so early in the piece allowed him to be a part of the creative process from start to finish. He was able to have input into rewrites, and much of the creative choices for the film. In addition to this, he was appointed casting director early on, and was therefore able to hand pick the cast he wanted to work with. When it came to shooting, he took his producing hat off and focused on the role, giving the best performance he could. Obviously, his efforts paid off.

“I was excited to be the lead actor with of lot of creative sway in the pre-production, and all the way through the process,” said Futcher.

Fatal Flame is now looking into making a feature length film, with Futcher once again as the star. Keep an eye out for it in theatres next year.

Photo by Lachian Woods

Actors, Film

Actor Kevin Dary brings himself into his character with award-winning performance in ‘The Swamp’

May 21, 2018 Lorraine Wilder Leave a comment

Kevin Dary, photo by Brad Buckman

With every role Kevin Dary takes on, he brings a small piece of himself and merges it with his character. To transform into another person, he puts himself in their shoes, seeing what parts of his own life connect with theirs. He forgets who he is until he hears the director call “cut” and that is what makes him such a captivating actor.

“I see actors as toys for a director. It’s as if the director is this kid using his imagination and playing around, telling a story, and the actors are his action figures,” he described.

Having worked on many esteemed films, such as Pregoand Pandora’s Box, Dary has shown audiences around the world what he is capable of as an actor. His versatility is evident with every project he takes on, spanning across a variety of genres and mediums. This is exemplified yet again with his work on the 2017 drama The Swamp.

The Swamp was the first project where Dary had the opportunity to work with director Wenhao Gao, originally from China. He was immediately attracted to the script because one of the main themes for Gao was the perception of someone and the judgement from others that this perception brings. Dary played the main character, Vincent, who is accused of killing the dog of his neighbor. It is a dramatic and emotional film that encourages audiences to think outside of the box, not just about the story but their actions in general. Have you ever been in Vincent’s situation? Or have you been one of the accusers? This story, while extreme, does make you think, and not just through its shock value of a little girl’s pet that gets killed.

“I worked together with Wenhao, who also wrote the project, to bring a fully fleshed out character and I offered some of my personal experience in dealing with the way people look at you, for this is a subject that I know all too well, and I still face today,” said Dary.

The film premiered to a limited audience in The Burbank Studios, Burbank, in November 2017. The film was awarded an Award of Recognition, category Lead Actor, for Dary’s performance as Vincent, from the Best Shorts Competitions in March 2018, and the Gold Award for Best Short Film from the LA Shorts Awards in that same month. It will be continuing its festival run in June. Such success could never have been possible without Dary’s outstanding performance.

Kevin Dary as Vincent in *The Swamp*, photo by Mairi Sõelsepp

“Working with Kevin is very pleasant and a good experience. I was really happy to have him in my project as the leading actor. Kevin not only has good acting skills, but also his nice personality made our cooperation go well. Kevin has very good understanding of a script and his character. When we did rehearsals and polished the details, I felt that he really put himself into the story, not just to finish a job. As a director, it’s really important to be able to get some new inspirations and ways to make the characters vivid through communicating with actors. From his performance and feedback, Kevin showed me more possibilities of who and what his character can be, and how to serve the story better,” said Wenhao Gao, Director of The Swamp.

Vincent is the lead character of this film and the story is told through his point of view. Because of this, Dary knew the importance of his work and made sure to keep the audience guessing. Many scenes cater to this, with the lead character showing a lot of anger and confusion. Dary wanted to push this even further, choosing to yell in certain scenes to show he may be capable of anything, but also exude the emotion behind each action, showing that each reaction was very human.

THE SWAMP_POSTER — *The Swamp* film poster

“I remember that when I first read about the breakdown of Vincent, I was intrigued by the idea of this guy described as ‘not a slacker, not a bad guy, just has had a really long night’. When I got to take a look at the whole script and found out his motivations and what he was going through. The film is a great story about prejudices and stereotypes, with an ending that goes against the traditional Hollywood happy ending,” said Dary.

What was unique about this story, and Vincent’s character, is that by the end of the movie it is not revealed if he is guilty of what he was accused of. The writer and director however, told Dary he could make that choice on his own and then act with that choice in mind. What do you think he decided? You’ll have to watch The Swampto find out.

“I love tackling the idea of prejudices and preconceived ideas about people. As someone who has a different style than ‘the norm’, I have been prone to judgment from others. You get to witness how far people are willing to take their assumptions, just based on what they heard, saw, or even think they saw. Sure, it made me stronger in the end, but just like Vincent, I still suffer from that today and it can be hard to stay true to yourself when you feel overwhelmed. Getting to do a piece about that issue that is still dear to me felt good. It shows that while there still sadly is a need for such stories, the battle is definitely not lost as long as we stay strong,” he concluded.