Jesse Bouma in Flathead.

Brayden Lewtas’ new short film Flathead has been released via the social media star’s Cinema Council YouTube channel.

Directed by Lewtas and written by Jesse Bouma, the filmmakers have opted for a direct-to-audience model that is increasingly reshaping independent filmmaking, sharing the film with Cinema Council’s loyal online community which has amassed over 200,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok.

This model is rapidly being embraced by other Australian filmmakers including Jack Johnston who also recently released his new feature film, Everything Grows in Eden directly to YouTube.

Flathead follows Ash (Bouma), a dish-pig who invites his could-be-girlfriend over for dinner until his plans are derailed by the return of his charismatic fugitive brother. 

Intended as a revival of the great Australian crime thrillers of the ‘90s and 2000s, Lewtas drew on the likes of Gregor Jordan’s Two Hands and David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom.

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The release has already generated strong engagement, with the film’s launch video on Cinema Council’s Instagram attracting more than 25k views, 1.2k likes and 455 saves within its first 24 hours. Viewership has reached more than 5,000 hits on YouTube and continues to climb. 

Flathead is produced by RIPPA Films, a production collective based across Melbourne and Sydney. The RIPPA Films team is comprised of Georgie Jennings, Arielle Carver-O’Neill, Jesse Bouma and Jessica Yates. 

Flathead was shot by cinematographer Shawkat Husseini with further key creatives including editor Jordan Montgomery, and composer Tal Pelach. Production, costume and HMU design were led by RIPPA creatives Jennings, Carver-O’Neill and Yates.

You can watch Flathead below. 

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