Info For Buffs

See if you can get a copy of "Third Take: Australian Film-Makers Talk". I borrowed it from the local library.

There is a very insightful interview with Rolf De Heer, especially with regard to The Quiet Room (which is on TV tonight!). Basically he was strapped for cash and had to raise enough money for rent in three weeks. So he looked at what he had. A daughter who can't act (he makes extensive reference to Epsilon for proof of this) and little else. So he thought about how to build a story around a silent child, and from that starting point, back-tracked to her motivation and from there the story flourished.

Needless to say, Rolf was able to get funding and pay the rent that month.

The only other works of his which I have seen to date are The Old Man Who Read Love Stories and Dance Me To My Song, both excellent films. I've also seen The Tracker, written by Rolf, which is reasonably ok, but not on a par with his directorial and writer/director efforts.