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Move over
Hollywood!
by Greg Martin
Location, location,
location may well be the
call from those flogging
and buying property and
the same applies in the
film industry.
Scouting suitable
locations has long been
a ma jor factor in filmmaking and what more
suitable location for a
spine-tingling short
film than Maureen
Partridge’s Thompsons
Country Collectables in
Windsor.
Evelyn, a 13 minutes
Melanie Sequeira and Maureen Partridge at the “star” of
45 seconds awardwinning short film written the film, Thompsons Country Collectables.
and directed by Melanie
Sequeira, was filmed in and around
“When we saw Thompsons
Windsor last November.
Country Collectables we both looked
The centrepiece location was
at each other and said in unison,
Maureen’s popular antiques shop
‘yes’,” Melanie said.
which has been in busy in Windsor
“And once we walked into the
for 26 years.
store and had a look around we both
Other locations successfully
knew we had found our location.”
scouted for the production were
Maureen says Melanie and
a meandering road through the
Rachael identified themselves and
Lowlands and Macquarie Park from
explained why they were visiting her
where river bank and river scenes
shop and asked permission to move
were filmed.
a film production crew onto the
The shortie really is spine-tingling premises.
– and it really is and you can see
“They were just so nice and I
for yourself by visiting https://www.
agreed immediately – I was really
youtube.com/watch?v=eS_h1tHxa j4
pleased to help out young people
Evelyn has since won for Melanie
having a go,” Maureen said.
the Best Screen Play at the JMC
“In fact I asked Melanie and
Martini Awards which were held in
Rachael for their autographs
the Chauvel Theatre at Paddington
because I wanted them before the
in March.
pair became famous,” she quipped.
Evelyn was also short-listed for
The filming at the shop took
Best Short Film and Best Graduate
place over two nights, with the
Film – that is, a film produced by
internal shots over seven hours on
graduates of the JMC Academy
the first night and external shots
which operates centres in both
over three hours on the second.
Melbourne and Ultimo.
Don’t want to spoil the movie for
JMC is Australia’s leading
you but can tell you, dear reader,
Creative Industries institution,
that:
offering Degrees and Diplomas
A young woman drives along a
in Music, Songwriting, Audio
country road. She is lost. It is getting
Engineering, Film and Television
late in the evening and the only sign
Production, Digital Design,
of life is a light coming from a quaint
Entertainment Business
antique store. Upon entering the
Management, 3D Animation and
store she encounters a mysterious
Game Design.
storeowner who calls her by the name
Melanie, who lives in Kellyville
Evelyn.
and “loves Windsor’s historic
The movie stars three well-known
precinct”, immediately turned to the
professional actors who jumped at
area when she needed to locate an
the opportunity to work with Melanie
antiques store which would be the
and Rachael after reading the script
main setting for Evelyn.
– Tiffany Hoy, Abi Rayment and Zoe
Also scouting scenery locations
Tomaras.
with Melanie was the film’s producer,
Windsor – the Hawkesbury’s
Rachael Loveday.
Hollywood!
8 ISSUE 60 // MAY 2015
HAWKESBURY DISTRICT INDEPENDENT NEWS www.hdinews.com.au