James Stewart Keene and Helal Shmeissem on the set of SHERBROOKE DOWN: THE ROAD TO CATARACT - Photo Credit: James Stewart Keene

We chat to James Stewart Keene about SHERBROOKE DOWN: THE ROAD TO CATARACT.

What inspired you to create this production?

SHERBROOKE DOWN: THE ROAD TO CATARACT is a Proof-of-Concept short film to assist us seek investment for my full-length feature film SHERBROOKE DOWN: VALLEY OF TEARS, a mainstream Australian period drama/western currently in development.  As a new creative team, we felt it important to be able to demonstrate our high-quality production skills, as well as compelling and entertaining story telling.

The lead characters Mathew and Evangeline Keene are based on the life of my great, great grandparents (who are the subject of our feature film through Evangeline’s eyes).  This work can be considered a prequel or flashback, set one year before our feature film story sets off. Taking inspiration from actual historic accounts and with a focus on character development, the work sends a cautionary tale to men about the impacts of poor decision making, and helps to establish the burdens our lead female character will face in the future.

What challenges did you face in creating this production?

The Northern Beaches COVID-19 outbreak posed a significant threat to our production. We only had access to our top cast Patrick O’Connor and Sophie Dillman (Home and Away) on their leave for a one-week window in January 2021, so the uncertainty of lockdowns and restrictions was difficult to plan. We used a ‘wait and see’ approach, which paid off. Luckily, restrictions were eased and we ploughed ahead, although we lost some badly needed extras and crew along the way. Furthermore, the majority of our shoot was to be filmed outdoors. The location had a severe rain event on Day 1 of set build which forced the team to have to pack up set. We were fortunate to have the rain clear on Day 2 and we filmed uninterrupted by the weather for the remaining two days.   Other challenges included working with animals (we had a very uncooperative horse) and we had to work in stifling heat and humidity.

What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring filmmakers?

For me as a creative, it's about not compromising your storytelling for any reason. Be true to who you are and the story you want to tell, even if it is not in vogue. There is always, always someone who wants to hear about and see your story.  Be passionate and show it! People can see that, and that’s important when you are pitching your work or building teams to turn your work into a reality. Be authentic and just be you. 

What are you hoping audiences will take away from watching this film?

Firstly, we hope audiences enjoy the storytelling and want to know what happens next for our lead characters! 

After two years developing my feature script, the chance to be able to write something that was ‘outside of the box’ of conventional thinking for a proof of concept film was very liberating as a creator. Our feature film is very much a female narrative, but this short film focuses on ‘Matthew’ and his propensity to make poor choices, something that we explore in our feature film much further.  THE ROAD TO CATARACT arc was inspired by newspaper accounts of actual events in 1901 Wollongong, about people behaving poorly in a public place and it made its way into controversial debate in the papers. I was captivated by the two opposing points of morality from the correspondents and so it became the backdrop for our lead characters for them to play out their fortunes.

We hope audiences appreciate the work, dedication and commitment of our cast and crew that made the work cinematically pleasing and sonically impactful with high end production values.  Our future goal is to acquire the necessary finance to move the feature film from script to production and bring the vision and future saga we have created and started with our short film, to mainstream lovers of quality period drama/westerns around the world. We believe our team is ready to go!