For Film's Sake / Motor City Nightmares International Film Festival - The Morning After
A backpacker awakes at dawn in a rice paddy field outside Siem Reap, with no knowledge of how he got there, what happened the night before – or where his girlfriend is.
Interview with Writer/Director Leanne Mangan
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The writing came about from a writing exercise I did during the Advanced Diploma in Screenwriting for Series TV that I did at AFTRS in 2016. It was partly based on an incident on my honeymoon, where we had a very big night out drinking in Siem Reap, and woke up in a pitch black room not knowing where we were or how we’d got there. The fear that we’d made a wrong decision which possibly put us in danger was palpable. (We were actually in our hotel room, as it turned out).
I asked “what if?”…what if something HAD gone terribly wrong, and worked from there.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The film is beautifully shot, and anyone who’s travelled in South East Asia will be transported back there. There’s a mystery at its heart - what actually happened? It’s intriguing to see where the story goes, knowing that the protagonist has only brief flashbacks to go on. And finally, the wonderful performance put in by Tep Rindaro, who is one of Cambodia’s absolute top actors, just lifts the whole piece.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I’m interested in how the mind tries to protect itself from trauma by blocking things out, and how not dealing with things (grief, loss), can actually stop you living, as you can’t move on.
I’m also interested in the ramifications of one ‘wrong’ decision, seeing the effects ripple out, and in the kindness of strangers, the impact of a kind gesture by someone on another’s life.
The circle of life is there, in The Morning After, from the worshipping at the home shrine, the remembering of one’s ancestors daily, to the backdrop of the mystical and ancient Angkor Wat, and the seasonal cycle of crops seen in the rice paddy field. This interconnects with the hedonism, the ‘live for the moment’ of the young lovers, and they are forever bound.
Tragically, the beautiful voice heard on the soundtrack, belonging to Channthy of The Cambodian Space Project, was silenced when she was struck by a drunk driver in Phnom Penh the week after I left. Now the bittersweet memory of her legacy is inextricably bound for me, with this film.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script was a lot more wordy when I first wrote it. Sean Cousins from Filmmaker Abroad was my script editor, and having made many films, docos and series over the years, he knew the value of images over words. It had to be ‘filmic’: telling the story through the visuals.
As we discussed the script, we realised it needed a symbol that embodied the theme and would elevate the film from just a backpacker’s adventure. I came up with the home shrine, the eternal flame, that represented spirit and memory.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
There has been a range, with some being really moved, some feeling the ending was a bit oblique/open ended, one calling it a black comedy, and another forming a theory that the protagonist had become a serial killer! Not my intention at all, but a really interesting take.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
One type of feedback I was surprised by, was that of the audience of young Khmers when it screened in Cambodia. They found the scene where the main character emerges from the paddy field, clad only in his shorts, hilarious. Then after a flashback of him loved up with his girlfriend in a nice hotel room, when we see him standing all alone in the expansive field, again there was massive laughter.
Khmers have a keen sense of the ridiculous, I think, and an appreciation that you can have it all, and then lose it all. Shit happens. What can you do but laugh? After what the country has been through, you can understand.
It really showed me though, the effect an audience’s cultural bias has on its appreciation of a film. No western audience has laughed. I think there was also an element of “stupid foreigner”, as they often see travellers behaving recklessly and getting themselves into trouble. Just a recognition of, “true, dat”.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
As a writer, I’m hoping to be known as someone who can tell a good story. I was learning to direct on this one (mentored by Sean Cousins), but I’m not looking to direct again just yet.
I’d like producers to be aware of me, and be open to me pitching future projects. While I produced this film and the next one myself with a partner, I’d love to just write scripts and hand them over.
Getting funding to be able to continue writing would be a dream come true.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
The film is still on the festival circuit, so isn’t ready for distributors right now, but I’d love some more visible festivals to come on board and screen it. While we’ve screened in a series of places round the world, we still haven’t in New York, LA or London, for example.
Some articles about the film and the creatives who made it, would be great too, to lift our profiles. Hey journos, come speak to me! ;)
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I’d like audiences to leave the cinema still talking about it.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Have you ever done something you deeply regret, that had devastating consequences (even if accidental)? How do you deal with the guilt of that?
Would you like to add anything else?
The script of this made the shortlist for the Australian Writers Guild (AWG) Monte Miller Awards, which got me inducted into the Pathways website. http://www.awgpathways.com.au/showcase/the-morning-after/
For those interested in how the film came to be, see my blog post here: http://trashtastika.com/the-morning-after-short-film/
The official website of the film is: http://themorningaftersiemreap.com/
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I have just wrapped my next short film, “Remote Access” which I have co-written and co-produced with Michela Carattini. Interestingly, this one also examines how one hasty decision can spiral out of control. Abby the protagonist is targetted by trolls and cyberbullies after her ex posts her photo, email and address on a forum like 8 chan…with devastating results.
I’m proud to say we had far more women than men on this team! I think the theme, timeliness, performances and thrill-factor will make it a winner – but time will tell.
I’m now back working solo on my dramedy pilot script, hoping to get it into some screenwriting competitions this year!
Sean Cousins of Filmmaker Abroad (who mentored me) has for some years been taking budding doco filmmakers to various asian cities and teaching them documentary making, but on the strength of this film of mine, is now looking at doing the same thing with other narrative filmmakers.
That is, if you have a short film script, but no idea how to make the film, he can assemble a crew and equipment for you, find fixers on the ground to scour locations, work up a budget, help develop your script, consult on your shotlist, and find an editor, sound editor and colorist as well if you so require. See http://filmmakerabroad.com/ for more.
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 Morning After
A backpacker awakes at dawn in a rice paddy field outside Siem Reap, with no knowledge of how he got there, what happened the night before – or where his girlfriend is.
Length: 7 minutes
Director: Leanne Mangan (mentored by Sean Cousins)
Producer: Leanne Mangan and Sean Cousins
Writer: Leanne Mangan
About the writer, director and producer:
Leanne is a Sydney-based AFTRS graduate (Screenwriting for Series TV, and Script Editing and Production), who has written and produced a number of musicals and short films, and is currently working on a Dramedy Pilot.
Sean Cousins is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, and a film lecturer at SAE Institute in Melbourne. He also runs a travel business, Filmmaker Abroad, which takes aspiring and new filmmakers to make documentaries in exotic destinations around the world.Key cast: Luke Middlebrook, Tep Rindaro, Marie KvaløsæterLooking for : producers, film festival directors, journalists.
Social media handles:
Facebook: @TheMorningAfterSiemReap
Twitter: mine is @trashtastika, film is @TheMorningAftSR
Instagram: trashtastika
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt7480910/
Official Website: http://themorningaftersiemreap.com/
Funders: Leanne Mangan
Made in association with: Filmmaker Abroad
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Sydney – April 14 at Event Cinema George St as part of FFS (screens with feature Zelos).
Melbourne – April 19 at Lido Cinema Hawthorn (pop up of Peninsula Film Festival)
Detroit, Michigan USA – April 27-29, Motor City Nightmares International Film Festival