ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Mr. Postman is a VCA graduating short-film written and directed by masters student, Victor Araneda. It is a film about family, untraditional love, and growing up. We are a passionate cast and crew of 25 people who will be shooting around the northern suburbs of Melbourne in September. This will be followed by six weeks of post-production and a premiere screening in Melbourne at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in December 2016.

FILM SYNOPSIS

Mr. Postman is a gritty, coming-of-age drama about Samuel, a 35 year old postman who lives at home with his elderly mother with whom he maintains an unusual relationship. Shy and awkward, he has not learned how to socialise with others. His daily life is characterised by a monotonous routine of work and familial obligations. When Hannah and her young daughter, Chloe, enter his life his world is turned upside down and he finds within himself the confidence to change his old habits and take control of his life.

To stay up to date with the film, please like our Facebook page:

 https://www.facebook.com/MrPostmanFilm

Thanks for supporting our film!

Victor Araneda (writer/director) and Sonja Milovac (producer)

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

The best way to explain ‘Why I want to make this film?’ Is start with the infamous sentence ‘A long time ago’ in a country far far away called Chile. And as Charles Bukowski says in the novel “Post Office”… ’It began as a mistake’.

In my 20s, I was painting houses to make some extra money while I was at Uni. One of my clients was a lady, she was 50ish, married to someone that I never met, and mother of a 13 year old boy. When you paint a house you are “part of the family” for as long as it takes to finish the job. You have lunch with them, sometimes dinner, and make small talk with some of the family members.

One Friday afternoon, I was painting the walls of the living room. The boy just came back from school and he went straight to his room to play a new videogame on his Playstation. His mother joins him and took the control of player 2. I thought; That’s cool! My mum could never do that!

The days pass and while painting his bedroom I noticed something strange: the bedroom has no door. That makes the work much easier… and mysterious at the same time. When I finished the bedrooms I started with the kitchen and I had a long conversation with his mother. We talked about everything, the news, weather (of course) among other extremely interesting subjects. Suddenly, I had the idea to ask her about the door (or lack thereof) in her son’s bedroom. She, very relaxed and as if it were an everyday thing, answered: Oh yes, it’s because I don’t want him to have privacy.

In that moment, I knew I had to tell his story; of a reclusive introvert dominated by his mother. This time, in the shape of a Postman, one of the most lonely jobs ever (just like a house-painter).

“If my film makes one more person miserable, I’ve done my job”

- Woody Allen.

Kind regards.

Victor Araneda.

MEET THE CREW

Meet some of the people you will be supporting to make this film.

WRITER/DIRECTOR: VICTOR ARANEDA

Born in Chile, independent filmmaker Victor Araneda Jure has worked in Chile, Australia, and Philippines for the past seven years as a creative director in advertising, teacher, and filmmaker. Victor's work is influenced by life itself, always digging into the dark side of normal people. Since 2015, Victor is studying a Master of Film and TV (Narrative) at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. His first short film in Melbourne ‘Two Guys, One Body and a Golf Club’ was Officially Selected at ‘Striking Film Festival’.

PRODUCER: SONJA MILOVAC

Sonja comes from an arts and design background where she enjoyed numerous roles within the creative and fashion industries in Australia and Europe, spanning for more than a decade. Her passion for moving images has been engraved from an early age and has had a profound influence on her perception of life - as it is, itself, a moving image, constantly in action. She is engaged with collaborative creative projects within film, television, and commercial world. Her credits include 30 min short film, ‘Memor’, screened at ‘Festival De Cannes 2015 Court Metrage Short Film Corner’, theatre play ‘Little V’s Terrible Tea Party’ at 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival, TV Pilot for Discovery Channel Turkey. She is a current Master of Producing student at prestigious Victorian college of the Arts.

CINEMATOGRAPHER: JOEY KNOX

Joey Knox is a Director and Cinematographer working in narrative and documentary film. Growing up in rural Anakie, Knox began filming local mountain biking competitions at the age of twelve. His high school graduating documentary Downhill, was selected into the state’s Top Screen at the Australian Centre for Moving Image, and the prestigious National Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery. Knox is a graduate of screen and Media at RMIT and works as a freelance Cinematographer and Director in Melbourne.

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: ROSE RULE

Rose grew up literally in the middle of NOWEHERE, with NO TV! So naturally she became obsessed by art books and dead things she found on the farm. Somehow she ended up in the magical metropolis of Melbourne and through working as an artist, makeup and SFX artists, childcare worker and professional bar hopper. Rose has found herself on the exciting and blossoming career path of Production Design. She is mainly self taught, but has studied furniture design/construction and industrial design and feel blessed everyday that she has the BEST job in the world (she just wish the oz govt would stop cutting all our funding!).

WHY ARE WE ASKING YOU?

Films are collaborative creations that involve much blood, sweat and tears (sangre, sudor y lágrimas). Mr. Postman is no exception. This will be a film made by a group of passionate people who really want to tell this story. Thus, every dollar (or luca) counts, and we’ll be very thankful with anything you can give. Please consider helping us in whatever way you can to make this film a reality. We truly believe that our goal is quite realistic, with unique and rare rewards that you will enjoy. We want you to be part of Samuel’s life as much as we already are. 

Thank you very much.

Mr. Postman Crew.

Every dollar and peso will go into creating the world or Mr. Postman. Supporting a cast and crew of around 25 people for five days.

• Cast & Crew Catering for 5 days

• Costume, Hair & Makeup

• Gear Hire

• Locations

• Score

• Production Design and props

• Transport for Cast & Crew

• Submissions to Film Festivals

  
  

To be honest, everything related to this film has been a challenge. It’s like a videogame, with stages, obstacles, enemies, and friends. More like Wade Watts finding Halliday’s Easter Egg in ‘Ready Player One’. The first stage was the idea. Then, the process of write the first draft of the script, think about characters, locations, situations and so on. But that was the “easier” part. The “real” challenges started with the 1st day of pre production. Fortunately the best players were on our side, and so far it’s been a great experience. Scouting locations, casting actors, and crewing people willing to work just because they love what they do. However, we have one extra challenge, the main event and most important part of this process… make the film.