Melbourne Documentary Film Festival 2020 – Ocean to Sky
Get behind the myth and meet the “real” Edmund Hillary as his friends recall the highs and lows, the laughter and tears of this wild ride through the heart of old India. Tigers, churning rapids, tears and laughter punctuate this jet boat expedition up the Ganges. An expedition that almost cost Hillary his life high in the Himalayan snows but which he always said was “the best journey of them all!”
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Michael Dillon
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
This is the second time I have made this film. It is about an adventure, the best adventure Sir Edmund Hillary ever went on - his ascent of the river Ganges by jet boat and foot. And the first time I made this film, it was a pure narrative adventure film. This time the film tells the deeper and moving emotional tale of Sir Edmund Hillary, who lost his wife and youngest daughter just before the journey, how he hoped it would be a healing journey, but ended with his own life in peril, and the desperate attempts by his son and his friends to save him.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The eight expedition members are endearing storytellers and their story resounds with their love of Sir Edmund Hillary, and as the story unfolds the audience understands this love. So when Hillary is found almost dead in his tent the audience becomes totally engaged in trying to save his life. All this is aided by a brilliant music score.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
It shows that even the toughest and most famous are as vulnerable as anyone.
It shows great respect for another country and religion ie India and Hinduism respectively. It shows deep loyalty and teamwork.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
This was a 40-year evolution from a narrative-driven Adventure Film into a frank and open examination of the emotions at play at the time.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I am an Australian Filmmaker and this is superficially a New Zealand story about their most famous citizen, and it naturally had its first cinema run in New Zealand late last year and garnered good reviews including a five star one. But it was a rural Australian audience I showed the film to during its edit that convinced me that the emotional journey this film takes you on will work for all audiences. Feedback has been very positive and encouraging.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Like every filmmaker, I tried to start with the best ingredients - excellent and often humorous interviewees, a moving story, a brilliant Editor, (Mike Balson), a brilliant music score (Paul Jarman and Stewart Peters), the best visual magicians (Sir Peter Jackson's company) and great sound mixing (Michael Worthington) and you hope that when the lights dim at the premiere cinema screening, magic happens for everyone. It seems to have done so.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I appreciate the opportunity to spread the word and thank you not just on my behalf, but on everyone's behalf
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
All of the above. This film has come out of nowhere. I even funded it myself, with some help from the New Zealand Film Corporation so there has been no advanced publicity of any kind in Australia.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
To strengthen the message that real-life stories can be as powerful as scripted ones.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Whats an Australian doing making a film- and the most personal one at that- about a New Zealand Icon.
An article on the Ocean to Sky section of my website www.michaeldillonfilms.com.au helps explain it. The article explains how an eight-year-old Australian boy became Sir Edmund Hillary's filmmaker.
Would you like to add anything else?
Fifty years ago this year, I used a movie camera for the first time in the Himalayas. I have been making Adventure documentaries ever since, but Ocean to Sky is my first 5.1 Cinema Documentary feature.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Still working on Ocean to Sky. As Producer and Director, I am still heavily committed to working out ways this film can be seen.
Interview: June 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
Ocean to Sky
Get behind the myth and meet the “real” Edmund Hillary as his friends recall the highs and lows, the laughter and tears of this wild ride through the heart of old India. Tigers, churning rapids, tears and laughter punctuate this jet boat expedition up the Ganges. An expedition that almost cost Hillary his life high in the Himalayan snows but which he always said was “the best journey of them all!”
Length: 1:46
Director: Michael Dillon
Producer: Michael Dillon
Writer: Michael Dillon
About the writer, director and producer:
“Quiet and diffident at first sight but with a surprisingly strong streak of determination showing through as one came to know him better. ...he worked in the interests of the film with monastic devotion and could be distracted by an offering of Indian sweets but by little else." Sir Edmund Hillary (1977)
MICHAEL DILLON went on to carve out a career as one of Australia’s leading adventure documentary cameramen and filmmakers, winning many international film awards and receiving an AM in recognition of his contribution to the film industry and his humanitarian work in the Himalaya. In 1977 when Michael wrote to Hillary applying for the jobs of Cinematographer and Film Director on the 1977 Ocean to Sky Expedition he was an aspiring 32-year-old adventure filmmaker. He got the job, became one of Hillary's adventuring friends, and his filmmaker. Ocean to Sky is the result of Michael's meticulous research, his deep admiration for Hillary, and his and other team members personal recollections of this epic adventure. Michael has produced and directed many award-winning adventure documentaries including: Everest Sea to Summit, A Fare To Remember, Hillary: Beyond Everest. Ocean to Sky is his seventh Hillary film.
Key cast: Sir Edmund Hillary, Peter Hillary, Dr Jim Wilson, Dr Mike Gill, Mike Hamilton, Sir Graeme Dingle, Cmdr Mohan Kolhi, Murray Jones, Prem Vaidya, Waka Attewell, Michael Dillon,
Looking for: buyers, distributors
Facebook: Ocean to Sky
Website: michaeldillonfilms.com.au
Funders: Privately funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, online