Direct from the heart

WE ALL KNOW THE FACES OF AUSTRALIA’S BEST-KNOWN ACTORS AND ACTRESSES, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FACES BEHIND THE CAMERA? PERTH WRITER AND FILMMAKER ELISSA DOWN SHARES HER STORIES OF FILMMAKING AND WORKING WITH AUSTRALIA’S A-LIST STARS TONI COLLETTE AND GEMMA WARD.

Perth writer and director Elissa Down is a girl on the verge of the biggest moment of her career – the launch of her first feature film, The Black Balloon. Elissa’s interest in filmmaking first surfaced as a child, when she would direct her mother’s delivery on the giant’s voice in Jack and the Beanstalk. Elissa went on to study film at Curtin University before receiving nominations for young filmmaker of the year at the Western Australian Screen Awards.

The story behind The Black Balloon is a very personal one for Elissa. She admits the film is semi-biographical as, like the main character Thomas, she grew up in an army family touched by autism. In the film, Thomas is trying to come to terms with his own unique life as he is torn between caring for his heavily pregnant mother and his autistic older brother Charlie, while trying to fit in at a new school.

Elissa says she wrote the script from the heart about her experiences with two autistic brothers. “It was something that just came, it is something I started to write,” she says. “We’ve had films over the years like Rainman – an amazing film – but that’s the only experience of autism. Not everyone with autism is brilliant and a ‘savant’.

“I have two brothers with autism and one is like the Rainman character and my other brother is who I based Charlie on. He doesn’t speak, he’s a self-mute and he’s very wilful. I wanted to show what it was like to live with it on a day-to-day basis – the laughter and the tears.”

Elissa says there a lot of parallels between Charlie and her own brother Sean. “Many elements in the film really did happen to us. He would run down the street in his underpants and use someone else’s toilet and you were always apologising to people.”

There are scenes in the film that may be confronting for some as the movie takes a startlingly truthful look at a family-life many people will never experience. Elissa says she only realised how some of the scenes would affect people after the first screening.

“It was surprising coming out of screening where people felt confronted,” Elissa says. “When I made it I wanted people to laugh and cry. I wanted people to be moved. I think I was a little naïve that people wouldn’t feel they were confronted by the honesty of what happened.”

For Elissa, this is a family life that has always been normal for her. “Well the thing is it is my experience,” she says. “I love my brothers and I love my family. Some of the scenes of the film were dramatic, but then they do turn around and we find the joy in it.”

So does Elissa think the subject matter will put off audiences? “I really hope not, when you think of Rainman, that was a huge box office success. That was very much a film about autism and people here enjoyed it. There is also a lot more to this story than just autism. It is also a love story.”

The Black Balloon also has a healthy dose of comedy and Elissa says this should translate well to other audiences. “A lot of the humour is quite physical based, as you have a character that doesn’t speak and I think that translates to all languages,” Elissa says. “I think everyone seeing it is going to be in the same boat with their knowledge of autism, I don’t think Australian’s know any more or any less than other people.

Although unsure as to how people will react to the film, Elissa says she is prepared for anything. “You are open to people to love your film – you are open to people criticising you personally and saying what they like about you. You have to take everything with a grain of salt and don’t take it personally. You can’t crumble if you hear something bad.

“I actually got advice from Gemma on how she deals with the criticism. For someone so young, she has dealt with it well. She just says you can’t take it on board.”

Elissa says she is not really sure what the benchmark is for the film to be successful. “I hope it gets a great run and people go and see it,” Elissa says with candour. “I really want people to enjoy it and if people say ‘the film’s gone well’, that will be nice.”

By Alecia Myers