Movies You Made: “FACTORY293”
March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers.
Today: FACTORY293.
Production notes from writer-director Roderick MacKay:
Long time fan of Gointothestory.com. Can honestly say you’ve taught me all I know about writing!
FACTORY293 is a 27min slow-building-thriller/drama, made entirely in sunny Perth, Western Australia, but the story is set within 1940’s blizzard-swept Russia. As an emergent team tackling a project of this scale and nature for the first time, I can confidently say that it was a real baptism of fire… wait, perhaps that’s not the appropriate analogy! The production’s $100K AUS budget was cobbled together via a combination of crowd-sourcing on the platform Pozible, support from the State Government screen agency ScreenWest and good old fashion private funding.
The story’s frosty and grim industrial setting was achieved via strategic location scouting and production design, married with extensive digital-VFX. From day one we treated this as an experiment; a real opportunity to throw ourselves in the deep end and as such, planning, testing and fastidious story boarding was paramount. From a director/producer POV, the Western Australian screen industry is showing tremendous growth, but still limited by a false perception that physical geography limits the sorts of stories we can tell, coupled with an obligation to focus on telling ‘Australian stories’, which is fine but kind of like eating the same meal every night. I wanted to try broaden our narrative pallet and demonstrate that we can tell global stories set in any time or place and thus — why not snow-swept Russia?
The story focuses on a day in the lives of a ragtag group of women munition machinists and their despondent factory manager, Comrade Grigori. I wrote 6 drafts, with the final one at 20pages in length, so it’s interesting to see how the 1page=1minute of screen time hasn’t quite adhered, despite my best efforts as editor! As a writer, the central theme I’ve tried to explore is how, when people are forced to ‘fall in line’ for a perceived greater good and to function like extensions of the machinery they’re operating — malfunctions occur. Amidst all the static-ridden propaganda broadcasts and the disorientating whitewash of the blizzard, this truth emerges and confronts the film’s characters. This theme is explored through three intersecting lives, including that of our lead character Grigori.
We have postponed our intend April online release date due to the current unrest between Russia, Ukraine and broader Europe, which we are greatly saddened by and concerned for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution. In the meantime, we are preparing for a limited festival run, before releasing the film online for free later this year along with a suite of Behind the Scenes and DIY educational content. So please, if you’re keen to see how we made it snow in Perth, the most isolated capital city on the planet surrounded by outback desert, then stay tuned via the links below!
STORY SYNOPSIS
In a remote part of the dark and despondent world of Stalin’s war-torn Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic, Comrade Grigor, Manager of Munitions FACTORY293, faces the realities of his existence. Despite the infatuation of his female factory workforce, he is drawn to increasingly melancholic thoughts Stalin, his leader, has abandoned him. With a howling blizzard outside, the power is suddenly cut, rudely interrupting Grigor’s intent to take decisive action. In a flurry to restore the power before the inspectors arrive, Grigor directs two of his female machinists into the raging blizzard to investigate.
CAST
Myles Pollard, Lizzie Schebesta, Ben O’Toole, Nicola Bartlett, Christie Sistrunk
Director/Writer/Editor: Roderick MacKay
Producers: Justin McArdle, Roderick MacKay
Executive Producer: Kurt Mauritz
Co-Producer: Michael Searle
DoP/Digital-VFX Artist: Andrew Gordon
Score: Steve Richter
Sound Design: Josh Hogan
Production Design: Louise Brady
Costume: Holly Boyton
Here is the trailer for the 27 minute movie FACTORY293:
I asked each of the filmmakers in this month’s series to answer this question: What inspired you about this particular story to make it a movie? Here is Roderick’s response:
As a 2nd generation Australian, I wanted to interrogate what constitutes the notion of an ‘Australian’ story? As a young country built on immigration, I believe the real answer is as diverse as the population of the nation. For example, it is a quantifiable truth that if it were not for Hitler or Stalin, I simply wouldn’t exist — now allow me to explain before anyone frowns upon such a loaded comment! If it were not for WWII, my Grandfather would never have fled Poland and never have met my Grandmother in Scotland. They would have never moved to Australia. My Mother would never have been born. She would have never met my Father. I would never have been born. This film would never have been made. This story would never have been told… Now can you imagine how many similar instances there are like this across Australia, or any other nation built on immigration? Considering this, and with the unrest currently at play between Russia, Ukraine and broader Europe, it really is a small world and perhaps all our stories are far more connected than we realise at first glance.
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That ends our March series: Movies You Made.
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