Documentary highlights a decade of growth for the indie filmmaker, revisiting the nudist short film that started it all.

Between his sixth and seventh feature films, the former being 2023’s A Switchblade Sisterhood and the latter currently in development, writer and director Davo Hardy has released a 40-minute documentary, entitled A Very Complex Decade – Celebrating 10 Years of a Nudist Short Film. The documentary is aptly named, marking ten years since the auteur released the 26-minute Complex; the story of psychology student Lachlan, who welcomes I.T. professional Travis as a flatmate. The issue being, Lachlan neglects to tell Travis that he is a nudist.

“It’s about cultural adaptability,” explains Hardy, reflecting on the original short. “Despite the premise relying on two men being nude in the same room, I have always stipulated that both Lachlan and Travis are heterosexual, mostly because that is the least likely pair of people to hang out nude, socially. That’s the root of the comedy, as well as the meta commentary of their ensuing arguments; such as Travis shouting ‘you should have told me [you were a nudist] before I moved in!’ and Lachlan snapping back ‘can you imagine the kind of sick freaks I’d get here if I advertised this dresscode?!’. It’s a very dry comedy.”

The new documentary contextualises how Complex came to be, with some background on Davo’s experiences with the nudist community in his early 20s. There is archival footage of his media appearances on national news, as part of the Spencer Tunick shoot at the Sydney Opera House in 2010 (and the unexpected full frontal flash that occured on live morning television, courtesy of the Nine Network). The look on the faces of Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson says it all.

“How this sparked a short film about nudism is quintessentially Davo,” chuckles the director. “When you’re just starting out as a filmmaker, it’s important to carve out your niche and find your tribe. I am proud to say Complex did exactly that.”

Tim Crowe, Kat Campbell and Dan Monty not he set of Complex in 2013.

The rest of A Very Complex Decade chronicles the production of the short film, all the way from the last minute replacement of a lead character to the whirlwind distribution with Amazon and TLA Releasing which followed. Launching careers and cementing friendships, we are treated to a Zoom reunion of the original cast.

“Dan, Georgie and Kat join me for a kind of roundtable discussion and reflection on the film. Tim [Crowe, who played Travis] was notably absent. But that’s partly why we had to do the reunion via Zoom. In the last ten years, we’ve all dispersed and kept busy. Dan, especially has been difficult to keep track of. He’s moved around, gotten married, fathered some kids, written a novel. It took ten years just to get an appointment.”

Capping off the documentary, following the reminiscence of the cast, with plenty of never-before-seen BTS photography interspersed, the highlight is a full presentation of the “Complex” stage adaption, which was performed at the Short+Sweet Theatre Festival in Sydney in March 2020.

Davo recalls, “it was right before Covid and we were one of the last shows to perform that year. There’s a key moment in the play when we bring up “random audience members” (actors planted in the audience) to join us on stage, who are promptly stripped nude for the final scene of the play. The other plays around us had been looking in with curiosity and by the final show, we had poached one actor from each of the surrounding plays to join that final crowd.”

Many of those impromptu additions to the “random crowd” went on to appear in Davo’s next feature films, including Ramsey Smith and British Flower.

Throughout the documentary, Davo links the success of Complex to the creation of his debut feature The Lives We Lead and the rest that followed, as each one came and went from Amazon and TLA Releasing, before he took control of his film’s distribution and setup his own streaming website and DVD store front at Davo Hardy Films.

ADVERTISEMENT Help get this Australian film made. Click to find out how.

“All of my films did well on TLA, as they appealed to audiences of queer and independent cinema, but I wanted to retain the rights. Some distributors try to acquire control of indie films in perpetuity and that can rob the creator of ever seeing a return. I didn’t want to line the pockets of peope who didn’t invest in the work getting made, so I decided to distribute independently. It was an excellent business decision. My last two films were largely funded by the sales on my website.”

With a wealth of features, shorts and promotional materials for all of his productions, Davo Hardy Films now heralds the arrival of A Very Complex Decade for its tribute to many of the original pieces that serve as the foundations for the director’s career and portfolio of work.

“As indepdent filmmakers,” muses Davo, “we are always striving ahead. But sometimes, we have to glance over our shoulder to check our course. Because my True North seems to involve artistic nudity, this new documentary charts the journey that led me to where I am and it’s made the trek all the more worthwhile. Being able to share this milestone with many of the original creatives is a real pleasure. They saw the potential in me and trusted my vision, which meant the world to me at the time. These days, it warms my heart to still have them around.”

Cinema Australia ran a story about Complex back in 2018, as part of our spotlight on Sunday Shorts which you can read here.

In conclusion, Davo sums up his philosophy on why A Very Complex Decade marks more than 10 years of a single short film, but rather the first decade of his career, with many more ahead. “The higher we grow, the more important it is to tend to our roots and love our ground. It’s where we sprang from and what keeps us going.”

A Very Complex Decade – Celebrating 10 Years of a Nudist Short Film is available at www.davohardyfilms.com/complex-doco, along with the other titles, mentioned in this article.

If you enjoyed this article as much as I loved putting it together, please consider supporting Cinema Australia’scommitment to the Australian screen industry via a donation below.

I strive to shine a light on Australian movies, giving voice to emerging talent and established artists.

This important work is made possible through the support of Cinema Australia readers. Without corporate interests or paywalls, Cinema Australia is committed to remaining free to read, watch and listen to, always.

If you can, please consider making a contribution. It takes less than a minute, and your support will make a significant impact in sustaining Cinema Australia as the much-loved publication that it is.

Thank you.

Matthew Eeles
Founder and Editor.

Make a donation here.