A deep-sea environment unexpectedly manifests in the walls of a grieving women’s suburban dwelling.

Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Erin Coates

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I am obsessed with the potential of filming underwater - the extraordinary and visceral nature of ocean lifeforms, the amazing lighting effects, and the drama and intense psychological space that can be created by submerging humans. Not to mention the complete challenge! And I am committed to seeing women at the centre of narratives, and behind the camera. This short film is the culmination of these interests and compulsions, as well as the skills I've developed in recent years to be able to make it.

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

You should watch it for the incredible set that we built and submerged in a diver training pool! How many times do you see that? We had to get a breath training expert to work with our lead actor underwater. And all the visual effects you see in the film are practical effects we made. Apart from the total commitment to the production of this film, is a surreal and mysterious tale that you will want to unravel.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

In subtle but strong ways. The film is about a woman in grief, and it is about women's bodies, about mothers, daughters and sisters. My own relationships, fears and desires are threaded through this film, even though it is in no way autobiographical. Underlying this film is also a deep anxiety about the loss of ocean habitats.

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

As a co-written script, there was a lot of collaboration and development over about a two year period. The characters and action changed, but our commitment to the central idea never altered: of the lead finding herself subsumed - by both grief and the watery internal spaces of the house.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

People are generally pretty impressed with the production and amazed we actually sunk a set underwater. It has had great feedback on the set, props, art design, atmosphere, score and cinematography, and people are really positive about our lead actor's performance. Alexandra Nell was fantastic to work with. In terms of the narrative, I think a lot of people who engage with only mainstream cinema find it pretty difficult because it is quite surreal and does not provide a clear resolution. Our background is in fine arts and we are much more comfortable with ambiguity and surrealism than standard narrative structures.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

I've found it quite hard to accept that people kept telling us we had to make the narrative clearer. But on the other hand, I've had a lot of positive reinforcement that our vision with this film is distinct. I was also surprised by how strongly some people reacted to some of the horror elements - I thought people were really desensitized by this point, and there is no violence in the film, but some of the visceral elements really hit a nerve! When a few people walked out of the first screening I took it as a compliment that it was visually effective and believable. There is a transgressive bodily aesthetic to a lot of my work and this is not for everyone.

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

I guess just further interest and potential distribution in our film. It was such an epic undertaking to create - as anyone who's made a film will know! .. let alone a film shot partially underwater. It felt amazing that we actually did it, so now I want to celebrate this and have Dark Water seen by as many audiences as possible.

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

To be honest, the distribution side of things is not my strength so I'm not even sure how to answer this. I suppose having the film picked up by more great film festivals, and if it could be included in an anthology of horror, women's shorts, or films related to the water, that would be amazing. The ultimate dream, which probably every director has, is that their short film is so impressive, a producer/studio/content creator offers them the opportunity and budget to create a feature-length film based on it!

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

I'd like it to have a strong visual impact on viewers and make them feel they are seeing something unique. While Dark Water has a narrative structure, it is a film intended to submerge audiences in its atmosphere.

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

"What happened to Gemini!?" ... "What was going on in the house, and to her body, and how did it connect to the discovery she made about her past?" The answers are all embedded within the film but it certainly isn't immediately obvious, so I'd love it if people watched Dark Water and felt compelled to discuss their ideas of what happened. Also .. "How did they make this?" because there was a fair amount of invention to create the set, scenes and effects.

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

I've just co-written another short horror film and I'm pursuing funding options. It's co-written with a Chinese/Malaysian friend and based on his experiences with the Pontianak - a terrifying south-east Asian ghoul. Separate to this, I'm working on my art practice and more underwater video art based on the river system in my city. I just can't escape the insane challenge of making movies underwater.

Interview: May 2020

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

Dark Water

A deep-sea environment unexpectedly manifests in the walls of a grieving women’s suburban dwelling.

Length: 15:00

Director: Erin Coates and Anna Nazzari

Producer: Erin Coates and Anna Nazzari

Writer: Erin Coates and Anna Nazzari

About the writer, director and producer:

ERIN COATES is a Perth-based artist working across film, sculptural installation and drawing. Her work is shown in both film festivals and gallery exhibitions. For the past five years, she has created films focused on an exploration of the Australian Oceanic Gothic, which have involved developing a range of techniques for submerging sets and filming underwater.
ANNA NAZZARI is a West Australian artist and writer. Her art practice is multi-faceted and often encompasses drawing, sculpture, electronics and film. She has exhibited widely in Perth and interstate galleries and her collaborative screen-based artworks have been shown in Australian galleries and International film festivals.

Key cast: Alexandra Nell (Gemini), Zachary Drieberg (Eric)

Looking for: distributors, film festival directors

Facebook: Erin Coates

Instagram: @coates_erin

Hashtags used: #darkwaterfilm

Website: www.erincoates.net/dark-water

Other: IMDb

Funders: Australia Council for the Arts, Department of Local Government, Sport and Culture (WA State Government), Indigogo

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? If you are in Australia, online at the St Kilda Film Festival/June 12 to 20./Melbourne+online+A Night of Horror/ late 2020 dates TBC/Sydney