Down Under Berlin - Waltzing Tilda
When Tilda wakes up to find herself the last human on earth she goes on a journey along with her bunny rabbit Shane, experiencing both the immense joy and crippling loneliness of a world without humans.
Interview with Writer/Director Jonathan Wilhelmsson
Watch Waltzing Tilda here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! I’ve always been torn between enjoying solitude and at the same time not wanting to be alone, and that’s what I wanted to make this film about. I decided on the post-apocalyptic setting in part for my love of dystopian/end of the world stories and also because I wanted to see if we with limited means would be able to create a world usually reserved for Hollywood productions.
We live in a world where anyone can make a film yet a lot of people still seem to think you need a certain budget, certain equipment or a big crew to make a film. We shot this on a consumer budget camera and almost half of it was shot with a skeleton crew of three. Initially there was some skepticism about the achievability of the film, and it proved to be a huge challenge, but I think it’s important to aim a bit too high - it forces you to be better. I’m very proud of our end result!
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Waltzing Tilda is a post-apocalyptic comedy drama that starts off quite comedic and lighthearted but ends in a more bittersweet place. It’s a coming of age, comeuppance tale about an eccentric and somewhat selfish lone wolf who in the course of her adventures as the last person on earth learns the true value of humanity and to take responsibility for her place in the world. Also, if you enjoy vandalism and talking, foul-mouthed bunnies, you’re in for a treat!
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The film explores the notion that life is given value by the people around us, even though humanity is arguably quite flawed. Tilda lives happily as the last human for a short time, but happiness without meaning really isn’t that great. Being happy is about feeling good, but meaning comes from contributing to others or to society. I think that going it alone is a kind of romantic idea that isn’t great in practice.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The overall story and its themes have remained largely the same through the whole process but the specific elements have continually evolved. The very first version wasn’t as specifically Australian for example and Tilda’s subconscious took various forms before it became the talking rabbit, Shane. The film continued to evolve all the way through post-production as well.
I’ve never been one to think that you just have to make do with what you got during principal photography so we continually added new bits and pieces. We also had a pick-up shoot where we shot some new scenes as well as new versions of scenes that weren’t working as well as I wanted them to.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We have been quite overwhelmed by the wonderful feedback we received when the film was released online. We’ve gotten so many nice comments and messages as well as articles and reviews. We’re so thankful that so many people seem to like our work. There was also the guy who said, “There was less thought put into this film than I put into my daily bowel movements”, so... I guess you can’t please everyone. The film has also been accepted into a few festivals where its won awards so that has been amazing too!
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
For me the greatest thing has been to see that the film seems to play really well to men and women of all ages, across many different countries. That was always the goal of course but you’re never quite sure how some of the specific Australian elements are going to go down, if something is going to be lost in translation.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’m just hoping that anyone with 15 minutes to spare might give it a watch and hopefully take something away from it or at least have it be a short escape from reality.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I’d like to encourage anyone interested in the film to please contact us, whether it’s for distribution, festival screenings or for publishing articles or interviews. We are currently working on a feature film adaption of the short so for anyone interested please don’t be afraid to get in touch!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Most of all I just hope that the film will entertain, and hopefully make people think, whether its about what they would do as the last person on earth, what kind of legacy they’d hope to leave behind or maybe just that they should call up their parents.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
At one point in the film Shane asks Tilda “You keep going on about how shit the world was but what did you ever do to make it better?” I think a lot of people are aware of the problems of the world but they don’t do anything about it. They figure it’s someone else’s problem. It’d be wonderful if people would ask themselves “What are the problems that I’m seeing and what can I do to help?”
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you very much for this interview, and a thousand thanks to all the wonderful and talented people that made this film with me!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are early in the development of a feature film adaption of the short! When I wrote the short I had many ideas for the story and its characters that quickly grew way beyond the limitations of a short film so it’s really exciting to expand it into something larger now.
Interview: September 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Waltzing Tilda
When Tilda wakes up to find herself the last human on earth she goes on a journey along with her bunny rabbit Shane, experiencing both the immense joy and crippling loneliness of a world without humans.
Length: 15:00
Director: Jonathan Wilhelmsson
Producer: Raquel Linde
Writer: Jonathan Wilhelmsson
About the writer, director and producer:
Jonathan Wilhelmsson grew up in a small village in Sweden where he as a young teenager started making films using his father’s home video camera, eventually moving to Sydney and pursuing a career in filmmaking.
Raquel Linde was born and raised in Spain, where she did a BA in filmmaking and worked as a fashion photographer. For the past few years she has worked as a producer and director in Australia on a number of award winning short films.
Key cast: Holly Fraser, Glean De Goya & Bandit the Rabbit
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Yes, please!
Social media handles:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waltzingtilda
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waltzing_tilda
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6433186
Behind-the-scenes look at the visual effects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9LQBv-DYjI
Soundtrack: open.spotify.com/album/7Fl9k1kFWRl08xMXK73lrm
Made in association with: Sydney Film School, Film i Dalarna and Affectionate Anarchy
Where can I see it in the next month?
The film can be seen online on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgVzbK86aDI