Kanowna

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In a dry and dusty cemetery in a little known corner of Western Australia, there is a plaque that tells a tragic tale from our gold mining past, but this tale isn’t one you’d expect. It is a story about the loss of a newborn baby, a double murder and a gunfight. It is 1902, the major players are Japanese and the place is called Kanowna, which in the Indigenous language means “place of no sleep”.Intrigued by this little known event, I began to ponder about the circumstances of the people in the arid and unforgiving heat of that place, and of the widespread racism of the time. I asked the question, “What was it like to live in that harsh environment, to face the daily challenge of survival, and then have to face the challenges of a racist society as well?”The majority of the films that I have made have been an unconscious attempt to explore complex relationships, and perhaps in a small way tell the untold ethnic Asian stories of our colonial past.Kanowna is a story of love and the barriers that faced ordinary people in that extraordinary place. I wanted to explore the impact of cross-cultural relationships, the taboos, and the importance of one’s status in the community, at a time when equality was only a dream for many people.The Western Australian Goldfields would have been a harsh, intolerant place, with dire consequences for those caught stepping outside the accepted social structures. I venture into this world with Chomatsu, Osarno and Trooper Brown.Kanowna is now a ghost town, only empty streets remain and the spirits don’t sleep.Chris Richards-Scully© 31/08/08

Western Australian goldfields, 1902, a lawman does the unforgivable and fathers a child to a Japanese prostitute.

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NEWS

VOTE FOR KANOWNA IN THE 'IF' AWARDS NOW!03.04.11 - Kanowna wins a Grand Jury Award at the Canada International Film Festival.08.03.11 - We have been invited to screen Kanowna as part of the Clare Valley Film Festival.24.02.11 - Kanowna has been selected to screen at the Canada International Film Festival in Vancouver.21.02.11 - We have just been invited to screen as part of the Future Shorts International Short Film Festival in March.03.01.11 - We are pleased to announce that Kanowna has received 2 nominations in the Western Australian Screen Awards in the following categories:Best DirectorBest Production Design.27.01.11 - Kanowna has been invited to the Warrambeen Film Festival.07.10.10 - Kanowna's music composer is nominated for an Australian Screen Music Award, for his work on the film.24.09.10 - Kanowna will be screening before Animal Kingdom at the Raglan Film Festival in New Zealand on October 3rd and 9th.02.09.2010 - Kanowna has been invited to the Canberra Short Film Festival.30.04.2010 - Western Australian Film agency, ScreenWest has approved a film marketing grant, which will provide financial support for the submission of Kanowna into film festivals.

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Chris Richards-Scully Writer/DirectorChris Richards-Scully is a directing graduate of the prestigious Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). His work has attracted attention internationally, with his short films winning awards and screening at international film festivals around the world. His films address the imbalance in Australian cinema, of cultural stories from an Asian perspective. The struggle for identity and the cross-cultural issues, which arise from the mix of people from so many different countries into what is essentially a white, English speaking society.Chris served his directing apprenticeship under Little Fish director, Rowan Woods on the set of Farscape. He has also worked in a number of capacities on feature films and TV series. Kanowna marks his debut as a writer/director. Chris is considered by many in the Australian film industry as a talented director with a strong voice and visual style, who is on the verge of stepping into the features arena.Michael FaceyProducerBorn and raised in the Gold mining town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Michael was first drawn to the world of cinema by the movies he watched with his parents from a young age. It was these moments that inspired him to pursue a career in the film and television industry, as a means to create and produce stories that can entertain audiences while being thought provoking, inspirational and a way to escape the pressures of every day life. Michael first met Writer/Director Chris Richards-Scully whilst studying at the School of Art, Design and Media in Perth, Western Australia. In late 2008 Chris sent him an early draft of the script, Michaels first reaction was love it. He was determined that Kanowna was a film that had to be made. Its depiction of real events during the time of the White Australia Policy had never been done before, it was powerful and unique.
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Behind-the-scenes

Film stills

Brown waits for Osarno
Osarna and her sleeping baby
The present
Chomatsu tries to blackmail Brown
Dustin Clare as Trooper Brown
A little help
Chomatsu
The Kanowna sky
Let the fight begin
Townsfolk
Trooper Brown Looks to Kanowna

Behind-the-scenes

Day 1
Dev and the red
How we're gonna do it.
Corridor set
Extras on set
Rehearsing the fight
Corridor set
Alicia and Alaric
The true stars
Let's see...
The boys
Trooper Clarke and his horse
Day 2
Dustin prepares for the next shot
Trooper Clarke
Bucket boyz
It's my tent
Down the barrel
On the Dubb stage
Getting costumes ready for the squib shot
The film's little star and her nanna.
Getting prepared
Dustin prepares
A quick note

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PO Box 5072 Centrepoint LPO Midland WA 6056 p: +61 433 221 157

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