BIRD is a 10-minute short drama, written and directed by Bonnie Moir, about a young girl who must find her voice in order to protect those who are voiceless. We are raising the money we need to be able to make the film, and would love your support in bringing this story to life!

Synopsis

10-year-old Abbie has a secret but is struggling to find a way to tell her pre-occupied single mother, Ruth. She begins collecting dead birds and leaving them where she knows her mother will find them. Alarmed by Abbie’s increasingly manic behaviour, Ruth must try to understand why Abbie is collecting the birds and where they are coming from. 

Director's Statement

As I’ve been developing this story it’s taken us down several different paths. But what has always stuck is Abbie’s silent strength and resilience. Abbie doesn’t need to be like everyone else in order to solve this mystery, in fact her very nature - silent, watchful and reserved - enables her to see things that go unnoticed by her mother and those around her.

I am interested in telling a truthful story, one that reflects a real family and their struggle to connect, to understand each other and to be heard. I’m also interested in telling a story about a voiceless character, someone who can’t communicate in the usual way - this is paralleled with the idea that the animals in our story are voiceless. Through Abbie, we find a sense of empathy and understanding for these birds. As we begin to understand Abbie’s motivation, we also begin to understand that Abbie herself is similar to these birds in her vulnerability and inability to stand up for herself.

BIRD should feel mysterious and a film that draws you in, like the unravelling of twine. Within this, I want to create a world where Abbie feels isolated and entirely alone in her crusade. We will get a sense of this through the visual language of the film and the sound scape. In the beginning, we will use static wide shots and negative space to create a sense of isolation within each frame that Abbie appears in. As the story progresses, the framing will become more intimate and the camera movements will be a lot more fluid. I also want to use the sounds of nature sparingly, but build it up so that as Abbie’s connection with her mother develops, so does our connection with the landscape and the birds. Through our resolution we’ll feel the presence of nature and Abbie’s connection to it.

The film is set in a newly developed growth area, in a housing estate where many new homes have been built but still remain unoccupied. We will be aiming for brutalist realism in the design approach for Abbie and Ruth’s home. It’s important that every space that our characters occupy feels true to life and also represents an environment in Australia that we haven’t really seen yet on screen. This is a middle class community of all different races. The houses are nice but feel empty and devoid of any character. There are wide-open plains and promise of new development but with that comes isolation, which echoes through to Abbie’s story.

I am really excited to tell this story and to share it with an audience.

Producer's Statement

BIRD is a 10-minute short drama that adds a dark twist to a coming-of-age story. It follows 10-year-old Abbie as she begins collecting dead birds and leaving them around the house in an effort to connect with her mother Ruth. Ruth is a shift worker, recently widowed and now faced with the responsibility of raising Abbie on her own. Abbie represents everything that Ruth both lives for and wants to run away from. She’s unsure what she’s capable of and whether what she’s doing is a reflection on what sort of mother she has been to Abbie. Ultimately the story is about this mother/daughter relationship and their journey to discovering themselves and each other, so whilst the point of view is predominantly on Abbie, we also play with introducing brief glimpses of Ruth’s perspective.

When Bonnie initially approached me in 2015, I was immediately taken aback by the script. What I loved and still love about it, is that is the story is intimate and contained, and yet packed full of raw, unnerving emotion that affects you in an effortless way. It feels like a real glimpse into a life that is both familiar and mysterious. I immediately put my hand up to produce the film and we have been working together since then developing and refining the story into a production ready script.

As emerging filmmakers, making short films is a crucial part of learning and also breaking into the industry. For me, what’s most exciting about producing this short film, is not just about telling a beautiful story that deserves to be told, but about supporting up-and-coming talent, fostering new professional relationships, and strengthening my own skills as an emerging producer.

With two headstrong, relatable but intriguing female characters at the helm of this story, we will target a primary audience of females aged 15+. Whilst the story is set in Melbourne, Australia, BIRD is a story that could be told anywhere in the world. It speaks to universal themes of family, identity, internal battles, and empowering the voiceless. We feel that will have both local and international appeal and will be aiming to premiere the film at top tier festivals around the world, such as Venice, Sundance, Cannes, Toronto and Berlin. We will take a tiered approach to our festival submissions, initially targeting high profile international festivals, such as Clermont Ferrand, South By South West, Tribeca, BFI London and Locarno, whilst also campaigning it at local festivals such as Melbourne, Sydney and St Kilda.

We will also design a significant online profile for BIRD by means of a website, social media pages, and eventually hope to make it available to watch on a SVOD platform, such as Amazon and Film Doo. Our plan is to begin its online profiling during pre production in order to develop an audience early on and take them on this journey with us.

The Team

DIRECTOR/WRITER - Bonnie Moir

Bonnie Moir is a writer and director working in Melbourne. Bonnie has an eclectic breadth of experience in film.  Her short film BRIDGE premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and has been an official selection at numerous festivals internationally, it was most recently included in the Maryland Film Festival, 2017. 

Bonnie has been mentored over the past two years by respected director Garth Davis. Bonnie assisted Davis' on his Oscar-nominated feature film debut LION, and subsequent feature MARY MAGDALENE, which was filmed in Italy and stars Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix. 

Bonnie is driven by a sense of realism in her work and a desire to tell interesting and diverse stories.  She is currently working on post production with Davis for the film MARY MAGDALENE, whilst developing various new independent film projects.

PRODUCER - Alice Willison

Alice works at Aquarius Films as an associate producer. She joined the team in 2015 as a producer’s assistant on Cate Shortland’s third feature BERLIN SYNDROME. Most recently, she co-produced the Stan Originals series THE OTHER GUY, a 6x30min comedy drama starring Australian comedian Matt Okine, Valene Kane (THE FALL) and Harriet Dyer (NO ACTIVITY, LOVE CHILD), which was released on Stan on 17 August. 

Previously she worked at TVC production company Exit Films as Production Coordinator, and was also Producer’s Assistant to Jane Liscombe (THE MULE) at Strike Pictures. 

Alice is currently in post production on a short film she produced for acclaimed TVC director Lachlan Dickie, funded by Warner Music Australia. In 2012, she produced and a wrote a short film called TRINKETS, which screened at CentreScreen, and was in Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner in 2013. She has also produced several music videos for Warner Music Australia, including The Kite String Tangle’s STONE COLD and ILLUMINATE, and Golden Features’ TELL ME. 

Alice has a bachelors degree in Film & Television from Bond University. 

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - Thom Neal

Thom Neal is an emerging cinematographer based in Australia. His work spans various mediums and is driven by story and character. Thom’s passion for visual story telling has been developed from his formative years working his way through the streets on his skateboard.

Coming through Swinburne’s School of Film and Television he honed his craft through short narrative projects and music videos utilising celluloid film.

Working now in both short commercial and long form drama, Thom has worked for clients such as Kirin, Ikea, Country Road and Reebok, while his short form work has screened in festivals internationally including BFI, SXSW, Tribeca and MIFF. Thom’s debut feature film, WEST OF SUNSHINE, is premiering in competition at the 74th Venice Film Festival. The Australian Cinematographers Society awarded Thom with the Emerging Cinematographer of the Year in 2014. 

EDITOR - Maria Papoutsis

Maria Papoutsis is a Melbourne-based editor working across a wide variety of genres in both short form and long form. With over ten years experience in post production, Maria is highly regarded for both her editing and assistant editing work - most recently assisting renowned editor Alexandre de Franceschi on Garth Davis features LION and MARY MAGDALENE, as and Jane Campion’s TV Miniseries, TOP OF THE LAKE.

COSTUME DESIGNER - Mia Veur

Mia Veur is a Freelance Wardrobe/ Costume Designer based in Melbourne, working on various projects from commercials, theatre, art, film clips and features. She has worked mostly on independent projects since early 2000's. Previously she worked with director Bonnie Moir on her debut short film BRIDGE, which premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - Neil Sharma

Having cut his teeth in the film industry as an Assistant Director on productions such as THE DRESSMAKER, DANCE ACADEMY series and MODERN FAMILY, Neil Sharma has had a well rounded on-set education.

He graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Arts, Media and Cultural Studies, before furthering his studies at AFTRS. Early in his career he was taken under the wing of Joanna Werner, joining her crew as she produced the critically acclaimed teen drama, DANCE ACADEMY. It was also during this time that Neil found a mentor in director Jeffrey Walker (ALI'S WEDDING, MODERN FAMILY, BANISHED, JACK IRISIH), serving as his assistant and attachment.

Neil has 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant director credits on a long list of productions such as LION, LOVE CHILD, A PLACE TO CALL HOME, JANET KING, CHILDHOOD'S END, HUNTERS and the forthcoming PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK. His extensive on-set experience and invaluable mentoring opportunities have put Neil in the perfect position to navigate a film production.

BIRD WRANGLER - Poor Old Souls (Kerrie Farnsworth)

Poor Old Souls is the lifelong hobby of taxidermist and dead animal enthusiast/wrangler Kerrie Farnsworth. Named for the moniker she gave her childhood chickens, she holds birds, particularly poultry dear to her heart. Poor Old Souls is primarily a taxidermist service but has recently branched out into animal corpse rental. DEWLP license number 14503626-TX.

The Cast

ABBIE - Miro Davis

Miro will be making her screen debut in BIRD.

RUTH - Lucy Moir

Lucy has worked with some of Australia’s best cutting edge theatre companies, studied extensively with some of the worlds' best acting coaches (including Larry Moss, Anne Bogart and Philippe Gaulier), and worked with some of Australia’s most talented actors and directors, most recently on Jocelyn Moorehouse’ film THE DRESSMAKER with Kate Winslet and Judy Davis and on Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy nominated director Garth Davis’ film LION, starring Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara and Dev Patel.

SEB - Damian Hill

Damian is an actor and writer who trained in Melbourne at VCA in 2001-03. He has starred in feature films including FELL, BROKE, THE BROKEN SHORE and PAWNO. Most recently he starred as the lead actor in the feature film WEST OF SUNSHINE, which will premiere at Venice Film Festival in 2017. He has also starred in numerous television shows, including THE LEFTOVERS, NOWHERE BOYS and CITY HOMICIDE.

SAL - Julie Nihill

Julie with 30 years award winning experience in many Australian feature films, mini-series, television dramas and numerous plays with MTC, STC and SATC, is widely known for her role in the multi-award winning BLUE HEELERS, as the publican Chris Riley. Her highly classical training with Trinity College in London, laid a strong foundation for the portrayal of many distinctly Australian characters and it was probably her portrayal as Jessie Bradman in the iconic BODYLINE that firmly established her in the Australian film Industry. Her most recent roles are Amanda in THE GLASS MENAGERIE for the Melbourne Fringe Festival and HOLDING THE MAN directed by Neil Armfield, HBO’s THE LEFTOVERS and Foxtel's mini series PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK.

As all of our cast and crew have very generously donated their time for free, the funds raised will be used towards on screen costs, such as props, costumes, locations and gear, and essential production expenses, such as rentals, permits, insurance and catering.

If you are interested in investing and would like to read a copy of the script and director's treatment, please contact me via my email.

The landscape of the Australian film industry is constantly changing and due to recents cuts in government funding, there are fewer and fewer funding opportunities that support emerging filmmakers, particularly in making short films. Short films are a vital enterprise that can help shape and refine a filmmaker's craft. Most commonly they are used as a calling card and provide an opportunity to showcase new talent. Recently there has also been a growing trend for studios and broadcasters to seek out short films as a way of talent tracking and scouting out potential feature film or television adaptations. But without support from government funding, the financial obligation of producing a short film often falls on the filmmakers, who often have very limited means of doing so.  Your financial support of this project will not only help to bring this story to life, it will also support the careers of emerging local talent, both cast and crew, by providing them with the opportunity to upskill, foster new professional relationships, strengthen networks with repeat collaborators, and showcase their craft to the world.