Paul Bibby
In 1992 American author John Gray coined the phrase ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ in a bid to explain the differences between the sexes and the conflicts between them.
More than 25 years later we’re still trying to figure it out, and this week a group of local film makers from Byron SAE are making their own contribution to the debate with a unique and humorous take on the miscommunications between men and women.
The ironically titled ‘Bitches be Crazy’ investigates the male and female psyches in a quirky, irreverent short film about two best friends and their relationships with women.
‘One of the blokes, Jake (Mark Boulton) has just had a break-up and the two of them are on the couch talking about how one minute women are fine and the next they’re “crazy”,’ the film’s producer Angelina Temporali says.
‘The other one housemate, Matty (Johrel Martschinke) – a bit of a stoner – talks about how he wouldn’t care if the world ended tomorrow.
The character wakes up the next morning and, owing to cannabis-induced psychosis, hallucinates that a type of apocalypse has occurred in which every woman on the planet has turned into a zombie.
Things only get more complicated when Matty pays a visit to his ex-girlfriend’s place for a chat.
‘I think it explores in a really humorous way the kind of experiences that many of us have had at one time or another,’ Ms Temporali says.
‘All of the actors who came in to audition all said “we’ve had these conversations before”.
The film’s relatability could be explained by the fact that it stems from the personal experience of the writer and director Fabienne Neff.
‘Fabi recently had a bad break up and she originally wrote this very sappy wishy-washy script about mourning and grief,’ Ms Temporali says.
‘We basically told her “Fabi, I’m sorry but this is shit”.
‘So one night after a few drinks se just thought “stuff it” I’m going to turn this into a comedy, and this is why came out.
Bitches be Crazy is currently being shot in Coorabell and will be released upon the world in mid-December.
The film makers are hoping to enter it into a number of short film festivals and competitions next year, as well as holding at least one local screening.
For more information go to the Bitches be Crazy Facebook page.
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