Slamdance 2019 – Tunnel Ball
Bret goes to a new school where everyone is identical except for him. After an impressive game of Tunnel Ball, Bret accidentally reveals his enormous penis. He is banished from the school. In order to play again, Bret disguises himself as one of the other students and manages to get named as the Tunnel Ball team captain.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Davis Jensen
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Tunnel Ball is an absurd Australian comedy, so out of the gate, I wanted to make a film that people could laugh with and also engage in themes of toxic cultures that can arise from private male institutions. Tunnel Ball reflects on my experiences within these communities – the feeling of isolation when an entire world wants you to conform and abide by problematic customs and traditions.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think first and foremost, you should watch it because it's funny! On top of this, Tunnel Ball presents a lot of universal themes like learned masculinity, conformity and the dangers of unchallenged power in small communities, all being presented in and Australian setting with a starkly Australian voice. in saying this I think it's still very accessible to international audiences. There's also a really long penis in it. Sex sells.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Exploring more personal themes of conformity and validation are really what made me begin writing Tunnel Ball. Specifically the feeling of walking into a new social setting and feeling completely alone and being unable to differentiate and acknowledge your own presence within the masses. When I explored these feelings further, I found that they came from some of my experiences playing sports where the pressure to conform to a hyper masculine, misogynistic and generally problematic culture was overwhelming. My hopes are that these themes are present and digestible to a wide audience.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
With the help of AFTRS staff I was able to head into production with a really strong sense of the story and understanding of what we needed to do to execute it. It really let us have fun and stretch the story as much as we could, my approach to directing the film was to use the well structured script as a guide and lean into as many improvised scenes with the brilliant actors and funny boys, Reuben Ward and Wilson Moore. We had several rehearsals before our shoot where we tried to nut-out the jokes and really dive into the characters back stories. I was very confident in Reuben and Wilson's ability to construct story, and am glad I let them, there were whole subplots that just popped up in our rehearsals and during the shoot. I couldn't be happier with their performances.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
It’s been pretty positive! The best thing about making a comedy short is that the feedback is pretty instant - people laugh and life is good, or people don't and everything crumbles down. Luckily people have been laughing! So life's good!
However, Tunnel Ball can be a little contentious – it's a sports comedy with an all-white, all-male cast, which would be a film that even I wouldn't want to watch. But once people have seen it and engage with the themes it presents its mostly enjoyed and received positively.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I think the feedback has really supported my views and has challenged me to push further and look a little deeper into the themes I’m exploring and acknowledge parts of the film that could have presented them better.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Anyone interested in showing Tunnel Ball at festivals or online or anywhere really! I want it to be seen by as many people as possible, especially throughout Australia!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
It's a comedy so above all I hope that people are enjoying it and find it funny. If people can engage with the themes that it presents and can go onto to be more critical of their own communities, that would be awesome!
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Why are patriarchal traditions not being challenged in these spaces?
Interview: January 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, 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
Tunnel Ball
Bret goes to a new school where everyone is identical except for him. After an impressive game of Tunnel Ball, Bret accidentally reveals his enormous penis. He is banished from the school. In order to play again, Bret disguises himself as one of the other students and manages to get named as the Tunnel Ball team captain.
Length: 11:00
Director: Davis Jensen
Producer: Archie Oxenbould, Davis Jensen
Writer: Davis Jensen
About the writer, director and producer:
DAVIS JENSEN is a writer, director based in Sydney Australia who makes theatrical comedies that harness the absurd and embrace the Australian voice. Davis started making comedy shorts in high-school before getting accepted into the Australia Film Television and Radio School. At AFTRS Davis focused on his writing and directing leading him to create Tunnel Ball in his final year. Upon graduation, Davis co-founded the production company Fat Salmon with two, other AFTRS alumni, as well as working on the ABC TV show The Checkout as an assistant producer.
ARCHIE OXENBOULD is an aspiring writer and producer, having just recently graduated Australian Film Television and Radio School. In his final year at AFTRS he produced 3 graduate films (Tunnelball, Low Point & The River). Archie has a keen eye for stories with a deeper understanding of the human condition and it was this desire that drew him to work on Tunnelball."
Key cast: Reuben Ward (Mr Brett), Wilson Moore (Bret)
Looking for: distributors, sales agents, film festival directors, buyers, journalists
Facebook: Tunnel Ball
Instagram: @tunnelballshortfilm
Funders: AFTRS
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Tunnel Ball has its world premiere at Slamdance on the 26th of January!