The Autism News | English
Toni Collette, Rhys Wakefield and Luke Ford in a scene from The Black Balloon — Australian Embassy
Any discussion of contemporary Australian cinema would not be complete without mentioning the work of young filmmaker Elissa Down. Her first full-length feature film, The Black Balloon, has received praise around the world for its truthful depiction of how a family copes with the effects of the neural development disorder autism.
BY JEFFREY O. VALISNO | Business World
The movie went on to win a slew of awards, including the Crystal Bear award for Best Feature-Length Film in the Generation 14-plus category at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival last year.
Upon the invitation of the Australian Embassy in Manila, Ms. Down arrived in the Philippines for the special screening of The Black Balloon last week. The screening was part of the 7th Australian Film Festival that will run until Saturday.
In an interview with BusinessWorld last week, Ms. Down said she is still amazed about the acclaim that she has been receiving for the movie. “Who would have thought I’d be here in the Philippines? It is really surprising how big this movie has become,” she said.
Ms. Down said that ever since she was young, she has always wanted to be a filmmaker. During bedtime, she would direct her mother’s delivery of the giant’s voice in “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Even Ms. Down’s grade two teacher in Australia labeled her a “storyteller” on her report card.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree at Curtin University in Perth, she began her career as a director of short films and documentaries, which earned her acclaim not only in Australia, but in festivals around the world like Tampere, Locarno, Montecatini and San Francisco. Among her notable short films are Ladybirds, Summer Angst, The Cherry Orchard, Her Outback, The Bathers and Pink Pajamas. Her movies speaks about adolescence and how events during this time affect one’s future.
“I haven’t been married. I haven’t had children. I haven’t had those things to draw on. So I suppose being a young filmmaker, adolescence is probably the most traumatic incident I’ve had so far. Besides, I write what resonates with me,” Ms. Down said.
For instance, the story of The Black Balloon is based on her own experiences growing up with two autistic brothers. The character of Charlie is based on Ms. Down’s youngest brother, Sean, who not only has autism, but also is an elective mute.
“He was the bane of my existence growing up. Many elements in the film really did happen to us — I did have to chase him down the street to get him out of other people’s houses and toilets and we would have to struggle to get him to take his medicine,” she said.
She initially wrote the script for The Black Balloon for a short film, but the script was eventually selected for the 2004 Aurora Development Scheme of the New South Wales Film and Television Office (Aurora is a government-financed project that helps young filmmakers develop their scripts with the help of established and respected members of the film industry).
In Ms. Down’s case, she received assistance from director Jane Campion, director of the internationally acclaimed movie The Piano, who encouraged her to just write about what she feels is right.
“When I was first tackling the script there was maybe a subconscious and then conscious moment where I thought, ’How much do I want to show this is my story?’ Then while the script was going through Aurora, I remember speaking to Jane Campion who said, ’Don’t worry what people think.’ And she was absolutely right. It was from that point on that everything was up for grabs! That was a turning point for me because I said to myself, ’I’ve got nothing to hide, just say how you feel and go for it.’”
Living with autism
The Black Balloon follows the story of 16-year-old Thomas Mollison (Rhys Wakefield) and how his life changed after his parents put him in charge of taking care of his older autistic brother Charlie (Luke Ford.)
While their mother (Toni Collette) goes through a delicate pregnancy, and while their father Simon (Erik Thomson) is busy with his duties as an army officer, Thomas is left with no choice but to bear the less savory aspects of coping with his brother, like joining him in the autistic school bus, or putting up with his tantrums.
“When people talk about autism they often reference the Hollywood movie Rainman, which is one aspect of autism. But autism covers so many aspects,” Ms. Down explained.
“The Black Balloon did not try to portray autistic individuals as saintly. We do not want people to pity them either. Those with autism can be very mischievous. At the same time, we just show how families really cope with these situations, we did not sugarcoat the reactions,” she added.
One incident in the film, for instance, was inspired by the time Ms. Down brought home a friend from school and one of her brothers walked in chewing one of their mother’s tampons.
The Black Balloon makes clear, often through humor, the difficulty of dealing with a family member who is stronger and more willful than anyone around him. Ms. Down recalls that when her more severely autistic brother, Sean, was a child, it would take both her mother and her soldier father to give him his medicine. When he became a teenager, it required three people. When an adult in his mid-20s, Sean once picked up their father “and sent him sprawling into the kitchen.”
“Charlie’s autism is just who he is. That’s what I wanted to show. Obviously it’s going to make you think — and I hope make you laugh and cry — but it’s not like we should bring out the violins for poor Charlie. He does have autism but he’s also a very willful character who loves his life,” Ms. Down said.
“Even though there are a lot of things that he can’t do, there are also a lot of things that he can do. And that’s what I wanted to show — that my experience of growing up was a little different. There’s a lot of laughter and a lot of joy but there are also a lot of tears and frustration. And I just wanted to show this is how it is,” she added.
Those who have seen The Black Balloon often ask Ms. Down if the actor who played the role of the autistic brother was autistic in real life. “I must give it to Luke [Mr. Ford]. He is a dedicated and committed actor. He really gave it his all when we did this movie. Between the first audition and the call back he has done even more research and he walked in character,” she said.
For the movie, Ms. Down said Mr. Ford spent a day in character in a Sydney shopping mall. Together with Rhys Wakefield, Mr. Ford went to the cinema in character. In both cases they experienced the stares and even hostility that is a common experience for autistic people and their families.
“His dedication was just amazing, and there were times in rehearsals and on set where I would go to call him Sean, and not Charlie. He was that convincing,” the director said.
While relative newcomers were chosen to play major roles, Ms. Down picked high-profile Australian actress Toni Collette to play the role of Charlie’s mother. “I am very happy that Toni [Ms. Collette] agreed to do this movie. I am nervous at first, because we all know how talented she is. But she was very kind, and generous. She respected me as her director, even I was doing my first feature film,” Ms. Down said.
“Toni [Ms. Collette] was just amazing to work with. I was sitting there watching her do a camera rehearsal and I had that moment of ’Oh my god, there is Toni Collette and she’s in my film! She is one of the best actors out there. She took on learning the Makiton signing and wanted to use it more than was scripted. She wore a pregnancy suit in the middle of summer in Holsworthy. She also laughed at my jokes and that makes her a top chick,” Ms. Down added.
Working with actors with diverse levels of experience could be challenging for any director, but Ms. Down does not think that way. “I think with actors it doesn’t matter what level they’re at, because each actor is unique and has their own approach. So as a director, no matter on what film, you’re dealing with actors with different approaches,” she said.
“We just wanted that sense that you’re not watching actors. I want people to get swept up and think they are a family. You know someone like the mother, Maggie, you know someone like Simon, the father. This is a married couple. What I’m really proud of is the depiction of the parents because they’re real. They have their problems, they’re not saints, they’re just real. So when an audience come across a story that is a little different, that has some unusual and new things like autism, it’s good to be able to cling to something familiar like the parents,” she said.
Ms. Down is very thankful for the victory of The Black Balloon in Berlin. The movie’s screenings were all sold-out, this despite the movie not having German subtitles. “I think the issues we presented in the movie are universal, regardless of the language we use,” she said.
Making it abroad
The international recognition helped The Black Balloon attract more audience members to check out the movie in Australia. “It is sad that sometimes, a movie must first be recognized abroad before people take notice,” she said.
But the box-office success of The Black Balloon was more of an exception than the rule for most of the “art house” movies in Australia. Ms. Down noted that even if you put together the box-office earnings of the four of the best Australian movies, including The Black Balloon, it would still not even match the earnings of a single Hollywood comedy shown in Australia.
“We can’t blame the audience. These American studios have multi-million marketing budgets. When they promote a movie, they have billboards, they have trailers, even McDonald’s jumps in and do a tie up. With all that, more people will know about the movie,” she said.
Ms. Down admits she does not know much about Philippine cinema, but she said she have seen the drama Crying Ladies, starring Sharon Cuneta. The movie is about the people who get paid to cry in Chinese funerals.
Ms. Down urged budding Filipino filmmakers to go ahead and do their films the way they want them done, without worrying about what people would think. “I think that’s what you got to be if you’re a filmmaker. Be fearless and be brave with what you think and with what you’re emotions are.”
Watch the movie: “The Black Balloon” for free
Source: http://beta.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=1151
Please share this news with friends, family and also with your contact list on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
The Autism News English autism, autistic, film, Living with Autism, movie, The Black Balloon
By Film Movement
Recent comments