Habitat
A beautiful couple with everything to lose. A tornado of love, fear, and uncertainty.
Interview with Producer/Actor Teisha Lowry
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! Originally, I was inspired to make the film because as an actor, I wasn’t getting any work, not even the free stuff. I was starting to lose faith in my craft. I thought to myself, I’m not getting anywhere putting all this effort into self-tapes and auditions, so I’ll create my own complete work. That way, I’ll produce it, I’ll work with the people I want to work with, and I will act in it, and then hopefully, more casting directors and other filmmakers would have a chance to see it. I reached out to Australian writer/director/actor Brett Cousins and we came up with Habitat.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think you should watch this film because it’s something like a beautiful mess. It’s raw love, it’s sexy, it’s fiery and funny, and all in under 12 minutes.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
This may sound a bit corny, but the one universal theme this film has is relationships. No matter what people’s gender, sexuality, race, or religion is, we all have one thing in common and that is - we’re in search of real and pure love, and we want to be loved back. However, a lot of the time not everything in life is meant to be a beautiful story. Unfortunately, that was the case for me at the time of pre-production of Habitat. I was going through a terrible divorce and Brett had just survived one, and we both realized: what does it take to nurture a beautiful relationship and an everlasting one? Once we find love, how do we keep it whole without breaking it into a million pieces? Why can’t that ‘honeymoon period’ stay alive forever? Relationships need work, and through art and expression, we made this film.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script took Brett an afternoon to conjure up. Once we had our story the rest was history. Tweaks were added here and there, but we stuck to the script through and through. We had a vision and we thought it was marvellous. But then, the world was hit with Covid, and we parked the film’s development for a while. I think people were in survival mode; it wasn’t the right time to launch a film about two people’s relationship problems. Once the panic was over and cinemas and festivals started opening back up, I contacted Brett and I said, it’s time for Habitat. It’s time to laugh and cry and show the world a fun and tumultuous film.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Habitat has really struck a chord with our viewers because I think everybody can relate in some way or form. It’s nice to hear people’s reactions, I think they thought it was going to be this deep-dark-thinking-psycho-love story, but in fact, it’s just a snippet of most people’s relationships…like, WHO IS going to take the trash out?
We’ve also been overwhelmed by the festival selections and awards recognition so far. Brett and I have both been singled out with performance awards, we’ve also received best film and best writing accolades. So that’s been incredible and has, as we’d hoped, started to open up more opportunities for us.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Habitat isn’t a film that’s going to change the world or save the environment, but I think it uncovers some truths about what’s important in a relationship and how much work a relationship requires to survive. What is interesting though, a universal discussion I’m sure many have talked about over the dinner table is, should a couple live together? Or should they live in separate homes to keep that spark alive?
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
What started out to be a personal passion project has turned into a beautiful piece of film made by a bunch of talented Australian filmmakers, and they deserve to be seen.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
If I had three wishes for this film it would be: more festivals, more awesome people to work with and a distributor.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Creating a story and carrying that truth from script to screen through a performance in a short film is very challenging, you don’t get to see the characters' back story or the nucleus of that relationship over a few hours.
I hope Habitat makes an impact in three ways:
1. The audience will go home and talk about it;
2. Our peers will recognise our work; and
3. We all have more work opportunities!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Brett and I are hopefully joining forces again to create a feature film, which I'm hoping he will direct and I will produce. But we are both open to new ideas and opportunities in 2023! So please, do not hesitate to say hello!
Interview: January 2023
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
Habitat
A beautiful couple with everything to lose. A tornado of love, fear, and uncertainty.
Length: 11:51
Director: Brett Cousins
Producer: Teisha Lowry, Brett Cousins and Amelia Ford.
Writer: Brett Cousins
About the writer, director and producer:
Habitat, written and directed by BRETT COUSINS, had its world premiere at LA Shorts Film Festival, and has since been accepted into and won awards at many film festivals worldwide. He is the creator of a new streaming series Refuge City, which is presently seeking a nurturing home. Brett’s also producing the feature film Horizon Calling, alongside Nadia Tass and David Parker. In 2005, Brett was awarded the Green Room Award for ‘Best Actor in Independent Theatre’ and was nominated again in 2007. He performed in the 2022 AACTA Nominated films Darklands and The Surrogate as well as The Whistleblower and The Menkoff Method. Brett has performed in two seasons with the Melbourne Theatre Company and for many years with Red Stitch, as well as dozens of television roles. Brett sits on the Victorian sub-committee of the Australian Writers Guild and is a founding ensemble member of Red Stitch Actors Theatre. He’s directed several Australian Premieres, most recently Ulster American - which was also nominated for a Green Room award.
TEISHA LOWRY has trained as an actor with some of the finest drama schools and coaches in the world including Jeff Seymour, 16th Street, Melbourne Actor's Lab and Perdekamp Method (PEM). Her lead role in the short film Adrift enabled global recognition. Always expanding her mind and body, Teisha enjoys progressive fitness which requires anatomical awareness biomechanical coordination and trains professionally in Krav Maga, a military self-defence and fighting system developed for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Israeli security forces.
With drama-based comedy and action being her favourite genres, AMELIA FORD has honed her skill set to proffer a strong dramatic style and embrace music-driven sequences. Beginning in advertising, Amelia worked with many leading agencies - Clemenger / DDB / Wieden and Kennedy London developing campaign ideas and a skill set and fast-paced work ethic. Gaining story and VFX experience under Australia and New Zealand’s leading editors on studio feature films such as Charlotte's Web, The Bank Job, Killer Elite, Amelia moved into television as a senior editor on some of the highest-rating broadcast and internationally acclaimed shows: Wentworth, Mustangs FC, Offspring and No Activity.
Key cast: Teisha Lowry, Brett Cousins
Looking for: journalists, sales agents, distributors, buyers and producers
Facebook: Habitat The Film
Twitter: @BrettWCousins
Instagram: @teishalowry
Hashtags used: #habitat, #habitatthefilm
Other: IMDb, FilmFreeway
Funders: Independent
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Hollywood Shortsfest, USA
Venezia Shorts, Italy
Berlin Indie Film Festival, Germany
Amersterdam LiftOff, Netherlands