On the night of his wife's funeral, Alex attempts to put his son Jamie to sleep. Grief has a way of lurking, like a monster under the bed.

Interview with Writer/Director Sophie Hawkshaw

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Monsters started as a writing exercise back in university and developed into a sweet little film. I am interested in looking at topics we’ve seen before and reframing them in new ways. We don’t talk about grief enough and I love looking at it through the eyes of children. Bek and I had $500 from an award win for our last film, ‘Fenced’, so we made Monsters!

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

The performances in this film are seriously awesome. Adam Dunn brought such a unique emotional energy to the set. It felt so raw and real and translates beautifully onscreen. Di Smith is truly a legend. Cedric Xavier-Bassett is a star in the making and flawed me through the whole shoot with his intelligence and talent. Plus, I think it’s a sweet story and it will make you feel something.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Monsters is about grief and how we deal with grief, through the lens of a father and son.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

It was originally written as a writing exercise and developed into what we shot. I’m lucky to be mentored by my screen writer father Chris Hawkshaw who continues to teach me so much. We really focused in on how nostalgia can bring comfort and unite people during times of grief, seen through the different experiences of father and son.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Flickerfest is the film’s world premiere, so we’re looking forward to seeing what the audience thinks!

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

We’d love for people to come see the film at our Flickerfest screening, or if programmers are interested in screening it later this year.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Some more opportunities to screen Monsters at festivals would be awesome.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I hope that people watch Monsters and feel something, be it empathy, sympathy, sadness or joy.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Who taught you how to handle grief?

Would you like to add anything else?

Just a big thank you to our wonderful cast and crew who made this film purely out of love and favours and to the Hawkey family for letting us take over their house while they were on holiday, particularly Bek’s little sister, whose room we turned into a 5 year old’s boy room while she was on exchange in Japan. And of course thank you to Flickerfest for premiering the film and We Are Moving Stories for featuring it!

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Sophie and Bek have another short film that they’re shooting in 2019 called Frog Sisters about two girls going through puberty set against the Australian summer. It’s got periods and tadpoles and it’s pretty fun. It’s a proof of concept for a feature we’re developing. Bek works as a camera assistant in series TV and Sophie works as a director’s assistant and casting assistant in advertising.

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

Monsters

On the night of his wife's funeral, Alex attempts to put his son Jamie to sleep. Grief has a way of lurking, like a monster under the bed.

Length: 7 minutes

Director: Sophie Hawkshaw

Producer: Rebekah Hawkey

Writer: Sophie Hawkshaw

About the writer, director and producer:

SOPHIE HAWKSHAW (writer/director) has a background in acting. Loves: films that mean something, dancing badly in public & g&ts. Hates: when baristas burn the almond milk, Australia’s refugee policy & losing Settlers of Catan. Sophie’s first short ‘Fenced’ won the AACTA Social Shorts Drama Award in 2017

REBEKAH HAWKEY (producer/cinematographer) is the cinematographer of your dreams. Passionate about cameras and making it look SUPER good on screen. Bek works as a camera assist in TV and shoots all the stuff she can. She likes good wine and has a not so secret passion for Ben Folds music.

Key cast: Adam Dunn, Di Smith, Cedric Xavier-Bassett

Looking for: festival directors!! We’d love to screen Monsters in more festivals in 2019 and beyond!

Instagram: @sophhawkshaw AND @bekhawkey

Funders: Self-funded

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? At Flickerfest on Tuesday 15th 8:45pm in Best of Australian 6