By Dongyun Kwon
Healesville-based sisters joined hands to make a locally produced horror film.
Bash Sisters Productions co-founder Michelle Orpe, who immigrated from England to Australia three years ago, directed the film Sidewinder Avenue, and her sister Rachel Clark, a novelist, wrote the screenplay.
Ms Orpe said the movie was filmed at her sister’s property in Healesville.
“It can take a long time to get noticed in the industry as an actress or filmmaker, and a fantastic way to jump the queue and get networking quickly is to make a film and enter it into the festival circuit,” she said.
“Making a film is obviously expensive, and one of the most expensive things can be location.
“My sister lives on 10 acres in Healesville, and it’s an old, decrepit house that many people in the area know about, and a lot of people have said it’s haunted in the past, so I decided to create the entire story of film based on her property, which would not only make it cheaper for us to film but I also wanted it to be a local film, using local crew and local people.“
The story was based on a true story in England.
It’s about a married couple who move into their new home.
The couple soon realise not all is what it seems as they unearth chilling truths about its dark past.
The film production process started in August last year when Ms Orpe first came up with the story idea.
Melbourne-based producer Charah Avrael James, who knew people in the industry, joined the sisters during the pre-production period and helped hire crew and find actors.
“I’m such a stickler for professionalism because I used to work as a TV presenter for many years in England,” Ms Orpe said.
“So I hired a fantastic cinematographer who loved the script, and it grew from there. I couldn’t then go any less professional on the lighting, sound and set design.
“We filmed in August and it was a four-day shoot and then we went into post-production, which took about three and a half months.”
Although the premiere was held at The Memo, Healesville on Sunday 15 December, Sidewinder Avenue will not be released to the public until film festival runs are finished next year including Tribeca Festival in New York City and St Kilda Film Festival.
The film was able to be produced thanks to the sponsors from the local businesses.
“The locals have been absolutely brilliant, and it’s so nice and wonderful to see the community coming together,” Ms Orpe said.
“There are too many to mention, but Park Lane Holiday gave us all the accommodation for our casts.
“We had local eateries donating food and drinks to us and four local businesses sponsoring us for packages to help towards the payment of film and getting into film festivals.”
Bash Sisters Productions founded by the two sisters are working on two more short film projects.
