Jaydon Martin.

Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast.

There is an outstanding group of local filmmakers currently producing an unparalleled, visually stunning, and surreal style of Australian cinema. Sometimes these films are so dreamlike that, hours later, you’ll question whether you actually watched a movie or if it was all just a dream.

This group of filmmakers includes Brodie Poole (General Hercules), Amiel Courtin-Wilson (Man on Earth), Alena Lodkina (Petrol), James Vaughan (Friends and Strangers), Tim Barretto (Bassendream), and Jack Clark and Jim Weir (Birdeater).

Their films are vastly different from what Australian cinema is traditionally known for, such as The Castle and, more recently, The Dry. I find myself eagerly anticipating the announcement of a new film from one of these talented filmmakers. With Flathead, Jaydon Martin is now very much a part of this innovative and experimental group.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed recording this episode with Jaydon. Originally, this was meant to be a written interview, but as soon as I began chatting with Jaydon, my instincts told me that he was about to share some insights into the making of Flathead that I really needed to capture audibly. And I’m so glad I did.

Cass Cumerford as Cass in Flathead.

Simply put, Jaydon’s Flathead is a masterpiece, and it’s already one of my very favourite films of the year. It’s classified as docufiction, a new genre of cinema that even Jaydon believes is a newly coined term. It’s hard to explain what that means, but once you listen to Jaydon’s stories, you’ll understand exactly what docufiction is.

Flathead follows Cass, played by actor Cass Cumerford. Late in life, Cass is drawn to his long-forsaken childhood home of Bundaberg, where he finds himself on a spiritual search for redemption.

Flathead will have its Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival on Wednesday, June 12. Details here. 

If you’re in Sydney, I can’t recommend this film enough. There’s no doubt that it will be playing at a few more local film festivals this year, so keep an eye on cinemaaustralia.com.au for details.

Anyway… enjoy.

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