A BIT ABOUT OUR FILM...

'The Grazing Table' is a dark comedy of grave importance.

Logline: 

At his twin brother's wake, Dylan struggles with grief, putting together a grazing table and annoying family members. Complicating matters is his cousin Stephie, who’s dressed as the Grim Reaper as she reveals Harry’s secret last request.

Why this film & why now?

Our writer, Morgan Worth developed this short film as a result of a set of incidents that happened surrounding her brother's death. She recalls the awkward interactions which took place at the wake and decided to write a film about it. This a story which portrays the modern family unit at a time of crises creates an opportunity for conversations about death and grieving and the effects on mental health.

After Morgan pitched her idea for the film, the crew related to the story on many levels. Alzbeta (Director) and I had been through a substantial amount of family trauma, with Alzbeta losing her father to suicide last year and myself enduring the turmoil of dealing with my mother with mental health issues. We all endure painful moments in life, and we have agreed that sometimes, humour is the only way to navigate through hardship. This film is built on a serious subject but it will make you laugh at things that are truly unfortunate and awkward. An old Yiddish proverb says, 'What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul' and we couldn't agree more! With the times we are living in, there is more reason to laugh than ever and we would love for you to help us to create a film to do just that!

This comedy is being produced by students at the WA Screen Academy (WASA), featuring third-year actors from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).

Some behind the scenes shots from our crowd funding shoot...

⭐️Our lead cast & crew⭐️

⭐️Main character Steffie taking a selfie with Harry⭐️

⭐️Stephie & Dylan⭐️

CREW

Writer: Morgan Worth

Morgan is currently completing her Masters in Screenwriting at the WA Screen Academy. A massive 'Dawn of the Dead' fan, the franchise inspired her to leap, and she is now on the road to becoming a professional screenwriter. Morgan identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and aims to create content for screens to celebrate this minority group. 'The Grazing Table' was written as a result of a similar set of incidents that happened surrounding her own brother's death recently. Morgan is passionate about bringing this story to screen as she believes it portrays the modern family unit in its reality and wishes to open up more conversations about the issue of suicide.

Producer: Priscilla-Anne Jacob

Priscilla is currently completing her Masters in Film Producing at the WA Screen Academy. She has a Bachelor of Communications, with a Major in Film & Video and Performing Arts, and has been working as a professional actress for the past decade. Priscilla is particularly passionate about real-life stories and finding ways to connect to the audience in authentic ways.  Priscilla is excited to work on 'The Grazing Table' with this talented crew and believes this film will impact audiences worldwide.

Director: Alzbeta Rekosh

Alzbeta is from the Czech Republic and came to Australia to pursue her dream career in film making and started off in the hair, makeup and special effects department. While working in the film industry, she also got to experience various production roles including production design, assistant producing, production management and first assistant directing. She decided to further her skills in filmmaking and study at ECU, where she fell in love with directing and is currently finishing her Masters at the WA Screen Academy. Alzbeta has a big passion for filmmaking and her aim is to reach audiences with real-life and raw stories through both drama and documentary.

Cinematographer: James McEwen

James is currently studying at the Western Australian Screen Academy (WASA), majoring in Screenwriting with a minor in Cinematography. He is currently attached as Director of Photography for  'The Grazing Table'.Previously James has studied at Edith Cowan University (ECU) completing degrees in Psychology and Film. James’ intention with his role on this film is to show the balance of humour and tragedy portrayed in this script through the use of observational camerawork with warm tones and colour palettes as the characters navigate a difficult period while also serving the director’s vision.

Editor: Neel Goodwin

Neel is the editor of Grazing Table. He's worked in the creative industries for over a decade. Originally, he graduated with a double major of Contemporary Performance and Theatre Studies from ECU/WAAPA with a bachelor of design specialising in Animation, with a minor in film. He has now returned to complete his Masters in editing at the WA Screen Academy. Neel is passionate to bring 'The Grazing Table' to life, with its bitter-sweet mix of comedy and drama. Also, he can wiggle his nose like a rabbit.

Sound Design/Composer: Tommy Varekai

Having had over 5 years of experience in post-production across audio and film as well as being a graduate of both North Metropolitan Tafe and SAE Institute, Tommy has recorded, mixed and mastered local and international artists across a wide variety of genres and also mixed local documentaries and short films. Having started his musical journey over a decade ago followed by studying at WAAPA, Tommy has hybridized both passions for audio and film becoming a composer and has contributed his artistry to local video games such as “Neon Flight” as well as documentaries including “Faceless Revenge”, “Atlantis” and more.

Executive Producers: Cathy Henkel & Andrew Lewis

CAST

Dylan/Harry: Joseph Tanti

Born and raised in Geraldton, Western Australia, Joseph has always had a keen interest in the arts and performance. From stage to film, voiceovers, to drama & comedy- he loves it all. Whether it be squeezing sympathy laughs from an audience on the screen, or laughs from his friends in real life- his number one goal is always to entertain!

Stephie: Molly Grigg

Molly was born on the Gold Coast and practically came leaping and ‘fouette’ing out of the womb. She has twelve years of ballet experience with four of those as a professional dancer. Her career change into acting is one that makes complete sense, as she has deep care and love for others that it only seems right she helps to tell the world's stories. She is especially excited about playing the character of Stephie in 'The Grazing Table'.

Callum: Jackson Rutherford

Jackson Rutherford began acting from a young age, being the entertainer in a divided family, with a knack for dramatic storytelling and impersonation. Growing up in Asia, Jackson perceived the world from many diverse cultural and social perspectives. He aims through his acting ability and the mediums of theatre, film making, and painting, to inspire compassion, love and understanding within people across all walks of life. He believes that all art must serve – and contribute to – the spiritual understanding of humanity.

Pat: Lockie Ranson

Lockie Ranson is a Perth based up and coming actor with a love for both stage and screen. The only thing that’s not just for show is Lockie’s unique look and personality with a love for surfing, summer and all things ocean. Over the years, Lockie has played a variety of roles including Jake in A Lie of the Mind, Tranio in Taming of the Shrew and the Porter in The Elephant Man.

THE GRAZING TABLE: designed by European Foods

WINE: by Oakover Winery

We would so love for you to jump on board to help breathe life into our film!

All of the funds raised will go towards making 'The Grazing Table'.

Costume & Props - $600

We have a strong creative vision for the Art Direction for our film including an elaborate grazing table, the set up of Harry's room (he was obsessed with 90's film), and design for our leading lady (the grim reaper).

Location - $1200

We have our eye on the perfect location in Perth for the wake scene and we need to hire this for 5 days and cover cleaning costs.

Additional Talent - $900

To bring our more mature aged characters to life.

Catering - $1300

We have a large cast & crew and we are filming for a total of 4 days. This portion of the budget will go towards feeding these hungry mouths.

Anything over will be spent on getting our film into film festivals all around the world and will go towards our set, costumes, props and equipment. 

With the amazing support from you, we can fund all of the above needs, and make 'The Grazing Table' short film the best it can be!

⭐️To stay up to date, check out our social pages⭐️

IG: https://www.instagram.com/thegrazingtableshortfilm/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/thegrazingtableshortfilm