For Film's Sake Festival - The FIVE Provocations
The FIVE Provocations is a performance-driven realist drama about four intertwined stories of love, loss and unexpected confrontations by women too provocative to ignore.
Interview with Producer, Writer, Director Angie Black
Watch The Five Provocations on Prime Video and YouTube
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wanted to make a feature film that was as unexpected as life with a narrative that explores the complicated moments and experiences of everyday people familiar to me in my culturally diverse queer world. It still surprises me that depictions of women, let alone queer or ethnically diverse people are not common on Australian screens.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You must see The FIVE Provocations if you’re up for a fresh daring approach to filmmaking, an unconventional narrative structure and unexpected fun viewing.
Being queer is more than stories of coming out or struggles for acceptance. The FIVE Provocations provides a female perspective on diverse characters you might find in an inner urban city like Melbourne.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The FIVE Provocations is an ensemble drama about overcoming emotional trauma and explores themes of loss, gender and sexuality identity.
Marlena is dealing with the loss of Rosie. Paul too is dealing with the loss of Rosie but is unaware that anyone might be hurting as much as him. Bridget is just trying to survive in the new life she’s stepped into, unprepared and alone. Clinton is struggling to come to terms with his sense of self, both as a parent and with his gender identity.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
For two years I worked separately with each actor to develop characters, with lives and histories that could operate in the real world. The character onscreen had to be as surprised by the performance pieces as an audience would be. For this reason I decided to conceal these performances from the actor. I called these performance scenes ‘provocations’ because they were specifically chosen to trigger suppressed emotions in the character. The five provocations in the film not only capture authentic reactions but also explore each of the emotional responses to provocation.
All the character stories intersect within the film, with each story revolving around a character in conflict and told from that character’s perspective. On the surface, the story is about four characters overcoming grief but each character is at a significant crossroad. The provocations are such surreal experiences for the characters that they allow them to see their choices differently and provide them with an opportunity to take a different path.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We’ve had such supportive and positive feedback. People seem to be drawn to the depictions of interesting, complex and authentic characters in the film and relate to the moral dilemmas they all face. We knew the narrative structure could be a risk but people have loved not being able to pick where the story is going to take them or what character might turn up next.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
What has been incredible is that The FIVE Provocations has surprised people. Beyond the ‘provocations’, which are not surprisingly, provocative viewing, it’s an unconventional narrative, even for an ensemble film. It’s because it's ‘queer in form’ as much as it is in content that the film appears to be connecting to audiences.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
The whole conceptual idea behind this feature film project was to break down the perceptions of art forms beyond cinema, theatre etc. We’d love to share the amazing work all the performers, artists and creatives brought to the film as widely as possible in the hope that we can start conversations that challenge the perceptions of gender and family.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Film festival directors, programmers, sales agents and journalists would be a-maz-ing! Because so many creative clever people were involved in the making of this film we are really hoping to get as many people as possible could see or hear about The FIVE Provocations. We’re speaking with distributors at the moment and haven’t locked anything down as yet so it’s a great time to get in contact!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We’re hoping The FIVE Provocations provokes conversation around gender identity and non-traditional notions of family.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What happens when someone unexpected suddenly appears, someone so strange and compelling: would that chance meeting provoke a change in you?
Would you like to add anything else?
The provocations were pre-existing works that were specifically chosen to trigger suppressed emotions in the character and an authentic reaction from the actor. We were curious to see if it was possible to capture the same sort of rawness of the emotional responses for the screen that an audience would experience in a live theatre setting.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Beyond completing a PhD, I’m currently developing ‘Know Fate’ a feature film screenplay I wrote for my Masters in screenwriting. Know Fate is a female protagonist lead, speculative sci-fi thriller being developed with writer Jane Allen, Producer Mish Armstrong and Executive Producer Kris Darmody.
Interview: April 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. 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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The FIVE Provocations
The FIVE Provocations is a performance-driven realist drama about four intertwined stories of love, loss and unexpected confrontations by women too provocative to ignore.
Length: 94minutes
Director: Angie Black
Producer: Angie Black, Atalanti Dionysus (co), Kris Darmody (EP), Kelly Dingeldei (Associate)
Writer: Angie Black
DOP: Matt Jasper
About the writer, director and producer:
Angie Black is a multi-award winning Australian filmmaker who has extensive experience as a director of short films and television commercials. She founded the Melbourne based production-company Black Eye Films to produce work that promotes and supports the visibility of women on and behind the screen. The FIVE Provocations (2018) is Black’s debut feature film.
Atalanti Dionysus is an award-winning web series producer who has been involved in producing screen content across a number of platforms.
Kris Darmody is Senior Lawyer at Simpsons Solicitors specialising in film and television finance and production. Kris has extensive experience as an Executive Producer, lawyer and business affairs professional in the Australian film & television industry.
Kelly Dingeldei produces music and music videos with a strong feminist bent. She has edited short films, music videos and documentaries before being snapped up as picture and sound editor and Associate Producer on The FIVE Provocations.
Matt Jasper is an Australian Director of Photography and a multi-award winning Lighting Cameraman/Editor. Jasper spent twelve years working abroad, covering news and current affairs stories for the ABC, BBC and Channel 4 UK.
Key cast: Sapidah Kian, Rebecca Bower, Tony Moclair, Blake Osborn
Provocateurs: Maude Davey, Sarah Ward, Amanda Morris, The Town Bikes (Gabi Barton and Carla Yasmine), Steven Gray
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Social media handles:
Facebook: facebook.com/thefiveprovocations
Twitter: twitter.com/thefiveprov
Instagram: instagram.com/thefiveprovocations/
Website: thefiveprovocations.com/
Funders: Private investors
Made in association with: Black Eye Films
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
For Films Sakes – Sydney
https://www.forfilmssake.org/five-provocations