How does it feel for you as a filmmaker, particularly within Australia?

Yeah, I mean, I'm really excited for Australian cinema.

Like, I love Australian films.

And, you know, there was a period in like the 70s where like, I really feel like Australia was on the world stage when it came to our cinema.

And then there were periods where it kind of dropped off.

But I think in the grand scheme of things, I just understand that Australia has been a little bit risk averse in like recent decades of like trying to do something different.

And when something works really well, like Animal Kingdom, then you'll find that there's just like, so many like crime dramas that will come after that and then when something amazing works like talk to me then there'll be so many incredible like horror australian films like leviticus i just saw that like at the film festival in sydney i was blown away like literally maybe one of my favorite films ever and um i think like I have so much hope for the Australian film industry because I feel like it's becoming a little bit less risk averse.

Um, your film, um, it has so many messages in it and the, it really challenges, um, I think as a, you know, someone who recently watched it for me to think about, um, what I believe in and how that can be impacted or affected by, you know, situations around that and how it can actually change the way something that I feel is I'm so passionate about and then can kind of be turned around on me, which I think you convey so well with your film, but I'm interested to know, what do you want audiences to take away from your film?

How did navigating the involvement of these two regions impact the filmmaking process?

Yeah, it was really beautiful for me because the film became an excuse to go back to my motherland and spend time there and reacquaint myself as much as possible with Tagalog and see old family members and go to the parts of the mountains where my family's blood goes back to.

And so that, for me, was an incredible part.

The actual production and logistics side like it was always kind of like a dance with the two sides like the Australian government obviously was very supportive of the project which was really wonderful and and they really did give us support from the very beginning and during the phase of development and at the same time they obviously have hesitancies because when we're shooting in the Philippines if anything goes wrong unlike other films they can't necessarily help us out if something happens so it was a bit scary for a first time filmmaker and also my producer Gabrielle Pearson it was her first time doing a film of this scale also so there was a bit of hesitancy and we had to kind of like throughout the process, bring lots of people on board to help them feel a bit more comfortable.

But ultimately, they were dedicated to making the film as realistic as possible.

In the past, Australia has funded films shooting in Laos or Vanuatu in different places from directors with white Australian background.

And I think Screen Australia were excited at the process of doing a film overseas as a co-production, but actually have someone from that culture to be able to add the complexities to it.

And was shooting on 35mm and 4K really important to you?