LA FOCUS - Octavius
Film Title: Octavius
Logline: No Zoo could hold him.
Length: 5 minutes by 3
Director: James Baras-Miller
Producer: James Baras-Miller
Writer: James Baras-Miller
About the writer, director and producer:
James Baras-Miller is a 12-year-old year 7 student from Melbourne, Australia who has been making short films since he was four.
Key cast:
Octavius Teddy Bear, Bob Teddy Bear, Buttercup Teddy Bear are under exclusive agreement with James Baras-Miller. Octavius and Bob have been rivals for ten years and Buttercup is local law enforcement.
Looking for people interested in crowd funding James' next film.
Funders: None
Made in association with: Edited with father Steven Baras-Miller
Release date: June 4 for Octavius The Heist at Brooklyn Film Festival and June 11 for Octavius Hack Attack at Dances With Films.
Where can I watch it at Dances With Films or in the next month? Mid day at The Chinese Theatre on June 11
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Entirely just to have some fun James went to the zoo and with this assistance of his father made the first Octavius film in 2014. It played at a film festival in Australia called Little Big Shots so he reached further and entered it into Brooklyn Film Festivals kidsfilmfest and Dances With Films and was accepted at both.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Because it is so much fun. An evil teddy bear carjacks good guy Bob Teddy Bear and goes on a crime spree through Bearton. Funny and exciting and very clever.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
This film is like a throw back to the silent era with an evil villain and a nice guy who is thrown into a madcap series of adventures by his nemesis. Like a Buster Keaton film with teddies.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
James made up all of these films as he went, just getting out with a mobile phone and handycam and a vague idea of a plot and put together a series of hilarious adventures for his teddies.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been unbelievable. James has been featured on national news in Australia on television and print. It was selected from hundreds of entries at three festivals and received great reviews from all of the festivals he entered.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Not at all. If anything we have been surprised by just how successful it has been. Major TV networks and national magazines have been competing to do profiles on James.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
James is looking to take his film making to the next level and has already begun work on a new film to be shot in part on the streets of New York and Los Angeles while in America and at the festivals.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
It would be great to have an established director or producer to help James out now that he is looking to make longer and more refined productions.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
It has already had an extraordinary reception. James just wants people to enjoy his films and for it to continue to be fun. But he would also like to learn more about the craft and have more money to extend his filmmaking.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
To be honest James initially ran these films with subtitles for the teddies voices as teddies don’t talk but the festivals preferred a voiced version except for Little Big Shots in Australia who liked they way the subtitles referenced the silent era James intentionally modeled them on. Should they have been voiced or subtitled in a silent era tribute?
Would you like to add anything else?
It has been a fantastic experience for James to receive the level of recognition he has attracted in making these films and having them played in New York, Hollywood and Australia. Speaking as his father I am envious of young film makers today who can have this level of exposure due both to the internet and the number of festivals open to very young film makers.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
As mentioned earlier James is working on a new Octavius film to be part shot in America and at the festivals. He hopes to return again with new installments to his series and to also move into stop motion animation next year.