About us:

SilentDez Productions has been involved with almost 20 short films in the last two years... now we are looking forward to 2017 and coming together with some of Brisbane best up and coming film makers for our latest project Theseus.

Writer & Directer: Mitchel Craig 

Mitchel started studying film in 2014 in pursuit of his Bachelors in Fine Arts. During this time he actively rallied together his peers to continuously make short films and projects that culminated in his 2016 short 'The Dolphin'. His passion for directing stems from his deep interest and fascination for how the human mind works and is always focused on a study of who a person is, or isn't.

Producer: Derek Griffiths

Switching to film from photography after 10 years Derek went to film school to become a Cinematographer. It was only after he graduated with a Bachelor of Creative Arts that he discovered his skills were better suited to Producing. Able to see the bigger picture and keep track of multiple moving parts Derek produced 6 short films within a year of graduating and has picked up the Martini Award for Best Film 2 years running.

About the Film:

Theseus can be quite hard to discuss. It's built on a fascination with philosophy, life and specifically a familiar and relatable feeling, change.

Hera is our main character and we follow her story in a somewhat obscure and unpredictable way which is inspired by the idea that our memories are not reliable, or factual. As we relive Hera's life and see what she sees we can come to an understanding, to empathize with what it’s like to feel like all is lost. How does one attempt to rebuild your life and discover who you really are?

(Left to right: Producer Derek, Director Mitch, Editor Jacob on the Red Carpet for the 2016 Martini Awards)

Stylistic Influence:

The style of Theseus is very emotionally driven particularly through the visuals of the film. Greatly inspired by the works of Terrence Malick's 'Knight of Cups' (2015) and Shane Carruth's 'Upstream Color' (2013) for the visual style, while films 'Her' (2013), 'Blue is the Warmest Colour' (2013) and 'Blue Valentine' (2010) lend a particular influence to the story because of their unconventional approach to telling a simple love story. In all three of these films the two people seem perfect for each other except for one underlining factor: it just wasn't meant to be.

Meet the Team:

Hera: Bianca Saul

It was difficult to imagine anyone playing the lead character Hera. That was until we met Bianca. Her audition floored us to the extent we were near speechless when she left. It was like Hera crawled from the page and walked right up to us.

Donn: Alex Neal

Alex walked into his audition and sat down with such confidence. As we spoke it became very clear he knew as much about the story as we did. As if he had known the characters all his life. We just knew he was our Donn.

Head of Sound: Michael Monaco

Michael has been doing audio engineering, sound recording and music production since 2009. having originally a background in music performance recording and mixing he began to get involved in the audio side of film and is now pursing a second degree in Film Production, specializing in sound design. Michael is quickly becoming one of Brisbane's go to guys for cinema audio.

Director of Photography: Jamie Bright

As an innovative Director of Photography, Jamie is constantly trying to help bring developing ideas to life in the most creative way through a camera and sharing them to extensive audiences by creating a personal connection to the visuals. With a constant desire for generating creative and entertaining content – Jamie thrives on establishing a distinctive visual style for all of his work. Whilst exploring unique stories and concepts, such as Theseus, he generally can’t perceive his future as something that doesn’t contain a camera in one hand and a measure of enthusiasm in the other.

Production Design: Jordan Dwyer

This will be Jordan's fourth film working as a production designer and his eye for detail as well as his passion for creating in depth worlds makes him a unique Art designer. Jordan's art direction takes influence from shows like Girls, High Maintenance and Atlanta. These influences and experiences gained will help Jordan contribute to bringing the Theseus world to life.

Editor: Jacob Pohl

Jacob has been editing since 2013 and has extensive experience across a range of short films, TVC's, music videos and documentaries. Receiving 3 Martini Award nominations for his editing he picked up a win this year for his work on Body (Dir. Emily Tathem). Not content to be stuck in the edit suite full time Jacob get involved on set using his eye for detail as Script Supervisor. Always enjoyable to be around, Jacob helps keep everyone on set in a  great mood with his whimsical ways.

Key Hair and Makeup: Amy von Lossberg

Amy is a professional, qualified hair and makeup artist. She completed the Australian and International Diploma of Specialist Makeup Services in 2014 at the Australian Institute of Creative Design. Her passion for makeup artistry first coincided with a passion for film when she worked with our director Mitchel on his previous film 'The Dolphin'. Working as HMUA for film has been an unparalleled experience and Amy is thrilled to continue her work in the film industry.

How will the funds be used:

We are extremely lucky to have so many amazing filmmakers come on board with the project and donate their time and expertise. We are self-funding as much as we can, however the production design elements and equipment hire require more then we have to ensure they meet the stands we set ourselves and bring Hera's story to life in the most engaging and dynamic way possible.

As with any ambitious film project there are many challenges ahead of us. Finding the perfect cast, locations and production design elements is time consuming. Many of our talented crew are working in the industry so a lot of care must be taken when scheduling.

We’d love to take this film to festivals across the globe once complete. Distributing films into festivals can be quite expensive so it is so important that we get your support so we have the chance to enter our film!