Natalie James

BURROW - Behind the Scenes from Benjamin Morgan on Vimeo.

WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?

Directed by Natalie Erika James, and produced by Harry Gao, BURROW is a short film that will be shot in Beijing, China as a collaborative effort between students from the Victorian College of the Arts, the Beijing Film Academy, and industry professionals. In order to make the film a success, we are aiming to raise $3000 by the 8th of July (just two days before out shoot) to help cover the costs of art department, gear hire, paying local actors & crew, and definitely not bribing police.


THE STORY


Burrow is a dark, coming-of-age film about a university student in Beijing who struggles with his first romance in the face of nightmarish anxieties surrounding his mother. Over a disorientating 24-hour period before his final exam, Dewei learns about the paradox of control – the more we fight for control, the harder it is to maintain.



Although it has universal themes, Burrow is a culturally specific story. It poses the question of how the post-90s generation of Chinese youth deal with the unrealistic standards and social pressures that arise from the ever-growing middle class and economic boom.



Burrow is about the paralyzing nature of self doubt and expectation, and the primal responses we have to our fear of failure. We’re passionate about telling this story using horror elements, to allow the audience to share in the experience of dread and anxiety within the darkness of the cinema. Dewei’s externalized fear is his mother, whose seeming omnipresence and interference weighs on him like a predator. The pace of the film will oscillate between still unease and mad momentum to reflect Dewei’s repression and erratic frustration.


HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DO THIS?


We are flying to Beijing in mid-June for a month of pre-production, before a five day shoot in mid-July. Over the course of a month, we will immerse ourselves in location scouting, casting, prop sourcing, and everything else required to pull our film together.






We plan to shoot in a variety of locations including:
- University campus grounds, dorms, and classrooms
- Taxis
- Beijing streets and alleyways
- A love hotel, private karaoke rooms, and nightclubs





We have a core Australian team flying over with us, so it will be a truly international crew of both Chinese and Australian filmmakers.



Director: Natalie Erika James



Natalie is an Australian-Japanese filmmaker who spent most of her formative years in China. She began making films while undertaking the International Baccalaureate in Shanghai, and won Best Film at the Shanghai Student Film Festival for Reverie in 2008. She has a Bachelor of Film and Television from the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts, a faculty of the University of Melbourne.
In 2011, her film The Venting Place won best film at the St Kilda Film Festival, Under the Radar competition. Her graduate film, Tritch, premiered at the Palm Springs International Shortsfest in June 2012, and has screening in various international film festivals around the world, and most recently at the 2013 St Kilda Film Festival.

Watch the official trailer for Tritch:


TRITCH (2011) Official Trailer from Natalie James on Vimeo.


Producer: Harry Gao
With a background in cinematography, Harry is a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy undertaking a Masters of Producing at the Victorian College of the Arts. He brings to the project an extensive knowledge of working in China as well as valuable insight into the lives of Chinese youth.




Director of Photography: Charlie Sarroff



Charlie is a talented cinematographer and camera operator based between Melbourne and LA. He makes up one-third of recent Trop-fest winners, Truce Films, and has shot numerous award winning music videos, short films, TVCs and TV docos.
Check out his showreel below:

Charlie Sarroff - Cinematographer - Showreel from Charlie Sarroff on Vimeo.


Sound Recordist: Robert “Chum” Li


Director & Producer's Assistant: Benjamin Morgan


Steadicam Operator: Glenn Clayton



1^st AC: Thomas Formosa Doyle




The final film will premiere in December at ACMI in Federation Square as part of the annual VCA Film and Television screenings. It will then be sent off to a variety of Australian and international festivals.