A close knit group of university graduates are left at a crossroads as they are forced to face themselves and wrestle with harsh truths in order to find their way forward.

Suburban Wildlife is an Australian feature film that tells the story of four friends in the week following their university graduation. Facing the rupture of the group with the departure of their best friend, they distract themselves from the looming responsibilities of adulthood by any means necessary. As the boundaries between real and surreal blur, they each are faced with decisions that will define the rest of their lives.

A film that is uniquely Australian, Suburban Wildlife is funny and sad and hopeful, all at once. It will be the first feature from Imogen McCluskey and Béatrice Barbeau-Scurla.

Why we want to make this film

We grew up not really seeing a coming-of-age film told in an Australian voice. We could look to Britain or America, or anywhere else in the world, but were left lacking a film that reflected our experience of reaching adulthood in this hilarious, beautiful and bizarre country. We had Muriel’s Wedding and the relatable banality of Porpoise Spit, or Josie Alibrandi’s adventures in ‘90s Sydney, but that was about it.

So Suburban Wildlife is a coming-of-age film set in an Australia that we recognise. The suburbia of hot tarmac, brick houses, and messages scribbled on footpaths. Spending sweaty summers at public pools, joyriding at night through empty streets, and dreaming of being anywhere else. The feeling of living on the largest nation island, somewhere that feels so far away from the rest of the world. The feeling of being lost and young and scared. Sunburn and stretchmarks and peeling skin and bruised knees.

This film is about seeing real bodies on screen and a cast that reflect the multiculturalism of Australia, as well exploring different sexual relationships, and characters dealing with mental illness. It is a film about the joys and absurdities of life. Our only hope is to make people feel less alone, to reach out through this film in some small way. We want the film to belong to you and us, and everyone who watches it.

Suburban Wildlife is being produced by a collective of strong young women wanting to show a life on screen seldom seen, we have a unique vision and need your help to realise it. 

About the Film

Long time friends Louise, Nina and Alice celebrate their recent graduation with hectic partying, joined by their friend Kane who is the only friend not to attend university. Louise’s imminent departure for London adds to the underlying tension within the group, and as the boundaries between real and surreal blur, Louise devises an intervention to save their final days together. They embark on a road trip to regional Australia, and upon returning home face the reality of her departure. They are left, a group of suburban animals, on the threshold of their lives.

About Us

Writer/Director - Imogen McCluskey 

Imogen McCluskey is a writer and filmmaker based in Sydney. Her work has appeared in The Ladies Network, Overland, Anywhere Theatre Festival, and has been shortlisted for the Monash Undergraduate Prize for Creative Writing in 2015. Focusing her creative work on exploring women’s voices, and the intimate – sometimes absurd – reality of individual experience, Imogen has made over five short films, with ‘Last Act of a Dying Horse’ premiering in December 2016 at ‘In The Palace Festival’ in Sofia, Bulgaria. Her short films ‘Fish’ and ‘Fern’ are currently in post-production.

She is a student at AFTRS. This is her first feature film.

http://imogenmccluskey.wixsite.com/mysite

Showreel: https://vimeo.com/194930972 

Writer/Producer - Béatrice Barbeau-Scurla

Béatrice Barbeau-Scurla is a filmmaker from Sydney, Australia. She is constantly trying to expand and create new horizons for film. Her first short film was made in French and won second prize for the Alliance Française Student Film Competition in 2009. She has been making films every year since. Combined with her passion for writing, Béatrice has been production manager on a 20 minute short film, producing many of her own shorts and recently working as producer’s assistant to Raquelle David of Damsel Pictures.Béatrice’s works tend to focus on the absurd, funny and painful corners of human existence.  Her most recent short, Psychostasia, is the intense fever dream of an artist trying to not become a slave to his own creativity.

http://beabarb.weebly.com/

Producer - Sophie Hattch

Sophie Hattch is a filmmaker based in Sydney. She has produced 3 short films and on worked on 7 others as production designer, editor and assistant director. Sophie has a desire to tell meaningful stories and create films that can inspire others and have a positive impact on the world, with a particular emphasis on championing female voices and characters.

She also works in film marketing and social media at cinema-on-demand company Fan-Force. 

She is a student at AFTRS and this is her first feature film.

Cinematographer - Lucca Barone-Peters

Currently studying a BA (Screen) at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, Lucca works across multiple disciplines within film. As a cinematographer, he has worked on a number of short films, including ‘Fish’ and ‘Last Act of a Dying Horse’ also directed by Imogen McCluskey, the latter being officially selected for the Auckland International Film Festival and In the Palace International Film Festival in Bulgaria. As co-founder and creative director of production company Fat Salmon, Lucca also creates quality corporate and creative content, including ad campaigns, music videos and short films.

Production Designer - Alexandra Culliver

Alexandra Culliver is a Production/Costume Designer hailing from merry Melbourne. Commencing study at the Australian Film Television and Radio School in 2016, she has worked on multiple AFTRS short films, local music videos and more recently designed the Mental Health Awareness platform and short film, “The Invisible Edge” (Dir. Ian Thomson).
This will be the second time Alex has partnered with director Imogen McCluskey, having designed her recent short “Fish” (2016).

Composer- Isha Ram Das

Isha Ram Das is a Composer/Sound Designer based in Brisbane. His work marries the complexity of modern electronic vanguards such as Arca and Ben Frost with the hypnotic instrumentation found in traditional Indian music. His credits range from performance pieces at art spaces, soundtracks for films, to scores for theatre works. He has recently debuted a new project 'Kalyani & Isha' as part of an international Kirtan showcase at the Sydney Opera House and is preparing two releases for 2017.

• Production costs:
  • Catering- we know that a hungry crew is an unhappy crew so we want to be able to provide our hardworking team with good food every day.
  • Production design- props and costumes to make the film look as beautiful as we imagine it
  • Transport and accommodation- some of our scenes require our core cast and crew to go on a road trip and stay overnight
• Post production costs:
  • Music & sound mix- we want the film to sound amazing so our amazing composer is going to put a lot of time and resources into our score
  • Marketing and distribution- We want this film to go as far as possible so we plan on submitting it to multiple festivals in Australia and abroad. We also want to test out some of the offerings for emerging filmmakers, such as cinema-on-demand, and we will need some funds to help us make this a successful venture.

There are risks and challenges associated with producing any independent film. Because of our micro budget there will be time pressures, all cast and crew will be giving up their time on set for free, there will be a lot of work and preparation in pre-production, and this is the first feature film for most of us, so that is a challenge in itself. But with our phenomenal team, the support and resources we currently have behind us and the amazing things we will be able to do with these funds, we are going to be able to make Suburban Wildlife the best possible film it can be.