The Unknown Land is a story about a writer in his late fifties who lives with his wife, a concert violinist.  He lives close to an old disused gold mine. He is a crime writer who is tackling a new genre of the paranormal nature. He has developed writers block and has immersed himself into his backyard gardening, when one day he digs up a little golden dragon.  In a short matter of time the object takes a hold of him. He is told by a local jeweller to put it back where he found it. He decides not to heed the advice. What happens next is quite unfortunate. The story is set against the history of the Chinese gold miners in Australia.

 

History of the project

Over the last summer the idea came to me whilst I, myself was gardening and thinking about ideas and what to write a film script about. I live nearby to a gold mine and thought to myself what would happen if I uncovered something in the ground that had some monetary value and it took a hold of me. The idea of obsession was one that I wanted to tackle. Also with the recent worldwide mining tragedies and the environmental issues that are confronting us, I had thoughts about the consequences that that may befall us if we keep taking and not putting back in. The Unknown Land is in a sense an allegorical story about peoples relationship with the land.

 

Support

The money raised will be used to pay for production costs such as:

a) Equipment hire (camera & lights), location fees, art direction, food and and the general well being of the crew.

b) Copies of the DVD film for supporters of the project.

c) Film Festival submission and fees.

d) Premiere screening at a venue for the supporters.

 

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Key Creatives

 

 

Thomas Baricevic - Screenwriter/Director

Thomas began his days as an engineer and later studied sculpture and film at The Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia. His first short film, shot on super eight, ‘Ghost of Wannawong’ screened at The Buenos Aires International Film Festival in 1997. Since then he has written/directed and produced short films, international documentaries and music videos, including the award winning documentary ‘We Live through These Times’ about students protesting against educational funding cuts in arts education. He was also invited to speak on The Art of Short Film at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, USA 2003. Thomas has been a jury member for the Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards 2009, co-founded Short Trips and Fitzroy Shorts monthly short film festivals that ran collectively over eight years, which showcased local and international short filmmakers, screening over 1000 short films in his capacity as a curator. 

 

Thomas currently works as a Producer/Director with Video Education Australasia, they produce educational documentaries. Following on from the recent success of the short film HOME. The Unknown Land is the next foray into the world of paranormal drama. Please visit www.jacksonblackfilms.com.

 

Gus Kemp - Cinematographer

Gus Kemp is a cinematographer who has worked on over 40 music videos and a bunch of documentaries, including “Strange Birds in Paradise” which he shot in West Papua. For his work on this documentary he as received a nomination for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY with the Australian Film Institute 2010. His background is architecture, lighting and music. He’s shot a feature documentary, but is working towards that first dramatic feature. Check out his site at www.guskemp.net.

Kurt Breitenmoser -  Producer 

Kurt has been in the industry for the last 21 years.  He studied at the Cape Town Film and TV School for two years and started as an editor in the South African Airforce. His career turned to television where for the next couple of years he spend his time editing and producing on-air campaigns and eventually started directing numerous commercials, and inserts for various actuality programs. He also directed several documentaries including the Daewoo Cape to Cairo documentary, which aired in South Africa.  In 2000 he relocated to Australia and continued to expand his portfolio and started producing and directing short films. He has been involved in independent short films ranging from documentaries (Damo) to horror (Snap) and drama (Desolation Angels).  Recently he has been producing and directing over 50 educational videos, overseeing them from concept, execution and completion.

His passion and love for film is what drives him to continue telling stories.Kurt Breitenmoser has been in the industry for the last 21 years.  He studied at the Cape Town Film and TV School for two years and started as an editor in the South African Airforce. His career turned to television where for the next couple of years he spend his time editing and producing on-air campaigns and eventually started directing numerous commercials, and inserts for various actuality programs. He has been involved in independent short films ranging from documentaries (Damo) to horror (Snap) and drama (Desolation Angels).  Recently he has been producing and directing over 50 educational videos, overseeing them from concept, execution and completion. His passion and love for film is what drives him to continue telling stories.

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Help us achieve our goal of making this project as well as  laying the foundations for a more ambitious feature film project on the horizon.