What is it?

The Kingdom of Doug is a 15 minute psychological thriller written and directed by Victoria Thaine.

It’s about:

A devoted cult gathers in an ice-skating rink to mass suicide. All are complicit but one. At the eleventh hour a young woman called Josie begins to doubt her faith in Doug, her charismatic cult leader.

Why tell this story?

I think the general public have the idea that someone who could find themselves in a cult must have something wrong with them. Similarly misguided are people who think the worst drug addicts and the most derelict homeless are from the underclass. Every human is susceptible to any one of these plights and I think this is what is at the core of The Kingdom of Doug. I want you to see how Doug can get you so easily in his crosshairs, and then, before you know it, you’re in a place you never expected to be. The film is an entertaining story, but also educational. And, at the end of the day, it’s about someone in an oppressive situation who’s found the courage to take control of their life. That’s something almost all of us can relate to in some way.

Who’s telling it?

Victoria Thaine - Writer and Director

Victoria is predominantly well known in the industry as an actor with nearly a decade of experience on Australian film and TV. In 2008 she was nominated for a Silver Logie for Best Actress in a television series for her lead role on ABC’s Rainshadow. She was also nominated for a Film Critic’s Circle award for Best Actress for her lead role in the feature film The Caterpillar Wish. She has appeared in guest roles on Rush, Rake, Wilfred, Blue Heelers, All Saints and had support roles in the telemovies Small Claimsand BlackJack. Her feature film roles include support roles in Gone, Son of the Mask, 48 Shades, The Night we called it a Day and The Loved Ones which won the Audience Award at Toronto Film Festival in 2009.

www.victoriathaine.com

Naomi Mulholland – Producer

Educated at Deakin University, Naomi is an up and coming independent Melbourne producer. In 2011 she worked as Production Manager for the second series of ABC comedy, Lowdown, and Ten's AFI award winning police drama, Rush (Season 4). Naomi has also worked on the following feature films: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Red Hill, The Wedding Party, Rush Hour 3 and Ghost Rider as well as locally made productions: The Pacific, twentysomething, Australia’s Brainiest Kid and City Homicide.

Stefan Duscio - Cinematographer

Stefan is one of Australia’s hottest young cinematographers. (my words not his!). He has shot four feature films, including the recently released Working Dog title Any Questions for Ben and at last count, 30 short films, 23 music videos and countless television commercials. All this and he’s still in his twenties with a baby face. As well as having all the technical talent, Stefan has an innate understanding of story telling and how the camera moves to serves the story and not the other way around. Which is the best combination of skills you can get in a cinematographer.

www.stefanduscio.com

What are our plans for the film?

Short films are the calling card for our next generation of talented producers, writers, directors and actors and creative. They showcase their work and help them break into the industry. Some of the biggest names in film started making short films: Stanley Kubrick, The Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese all cut their teeth on short films. In Australia, many of our promising directors got their big break this way. David Michod, who directed last year’s Animal Kingdom first made his name directing short films that screened at many international festivals. Luke Doolan’s short film Miracle Fish was nominated for an Academy Award. In 2008 Julius Avery’s short film Jerrycan won the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival.

Similarly, we hope that The Kingdom of Doug will be as successful on the international market. We’ll be applying for the all the big-name festivals, both in Australia and overseas.

It doesn’t stop here

The Kingdom of Doug is a story that deserves to be told in a longer format. Victoria is currently developing this into a bigger story – for television or film. The short film will act as a wonderful trailer for something much larger and as relative newcomers as filmmakers, will hopefully prove to the big decision makers in our industry that Naomi and Victoria have some serious filmmaking chops.

How much do we need?

To make a 15 minute film, where everyone gets paid properly, costs in excess of $100,000. Luckily we have a network of friends in the industry and small businesses who will help us out for the love of it, and because they believe in the project. However, in order to make a film that is worthy of being on the international film circuit, we still need a substantial amount of money to pay for camera equipment, editing, sound design, locations, colour grading and some crew and cast. If we could raise $10,000 that would be amazing and we will be applying to Screen Australia for funding to assist us with the post-production of the film. As this campaign moves along we’ll give you specific details about how we’re spending your money. If we raise over $10,000 we could certainly put it to good use and again, we’ll be completely transparent about that.

Why should you help us?

It is only through supporting work such as this that you can help actors, directors, cinematographers take the necessary small steps to work their way up the ladder and get exposure. You could be helping the next Cate Blanchett, the next Fred Schepsi, the next Eric Bana. And with the huge number of Australians working overseas that is not far from reality. There are over 5000 film festivals across 6 continents. You may not see short films at your local cinema, but they are the perfect calling card for our next generation of filmmakers.