Suad Majrouh
Teesh and Trude
© 2002, A Cecile B. deux Mels Production
PART ONE:
Director: Melanie Rodriga
Producer: Melissa Hasluck/ Melanie Rodriga
Scriptwriter/s: Vanessa Lomma/ Wilson McCaskill
Casting: Annie Murtagh-Monks
Cinematographer: Rob Bygott/ Dale McCready
Production Company: SBS Independent/ Showtime Australia
(With assistance from Murdoch University, [Production and Development],
Screen West and Lotteries WA.)
Production Design: Lawrie Cullen-Tait
Editor: Merlin Cornish
Directors of Photography: Dale McCready/ Rob Bygott
Assistant Director: Paul Rogan
LEAD ACTORS:Teesh - Susie Porter
Trude - Linda Cropper
Rod - Peter Phelps
Les - Jacob Allan
SUPPORTING ACTORS: Kenny - Mason Richardson
Bob - Bill McClusky
Gary - Igor Sas
Craig - Kazimir Sas
Leila - Francoise Sas
Shauna - Jenny Dunstan
Wes - Adam Crouch
Danny - nick Candy
Mike - Neal Lucanus
RELEASE DATES:
BIFF (Brisbane Independent Film Festival) 2002 à World Premiere 1st screening Saturday 13th July
Opened at number five on the festivals top-ten chart (out of over 100 films).
MIFF (Melbourne Independent Film Festival) 2002 à 1st screening Saturday 3rd August (Greater Union Theatre) and Friday 9th August at Capitol theatres.
AIFF (Adelaide Independent Film Festival) 2002 à 1st screening 3rd March 2003, 1pm at Cinema Nova.
Perth à 1st screening on March 6th to 13th at the Luna Palace Cinema.
Further screenings in WA à Reading Belmont 13th March to 20th, Reading Mandurah 20th June to 27th.
Currently screening from March 12th at the 9th London Australian Film Festival at the Barbican Centre.
Recently invited to the Los Angeles Film Festival, which is the 2nd biggest showcase of Independent Cinema after the Sundance and the premiere festival of the west coast. It was one of the 50 films selected out of the 2,500 entries, the festival running from June 11th to the 23rd 2003.
BOX OFFICE:
Recent Box office figures were unavailable for several reasons:
When looking at Internet web sites such as www.imdb.com and www.urbancinefiles.com in order for current and relevant data to be retrieved, payment and registration is required.
When looking at www.the-numbers.com, American based movies and only a small collection of Australian films were present.
No other sites searched had available box office figures.
AWARDS:
Contender for the inaugural FIRPESCI (International federation of film critics) citation for a new Australian feature.
Won the "West Australian Screen Award", Industry Award: Outstanding Screenplay by Vanessa Lomma.
BIBLIOGRAPHHICAL DETAILS (INTERVIEWS):
* Bill Leaks, Interview with Melanie Rodriga and Vanessa Lomma, 5th August 2002 (after the release of Teesh and Trude at the MIFF.)
* www.abc.net.au/stateline/wa/content/2003 à Interview between reporter Gavin Fang and director Melanie Rodriga and Screenwest representative Tanya Chambers, 7th March 2003.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS (REVIEWS):
* "The West Australian" Saturday March 8th, 2003, Mark Naglazas.
* Showtime Australia, Nell Schofield, 15th March, 8:30pm, 2003.
* "The West Australian" Wednesday March 23rd, 2003, Teesh and Trude gets announced as being a contender for the LA Independent film festival.
* "Metro", 134, page 20 - 23, Garry Gillard, "Teesh and Trude: everyday life as heroic", 19th February 2003.
* www.abc.net.au (Stateline/Bill Leaks)
* www.biff.com.au
* www.if.com.au
* www.imdb.com, "Transcending Domesticity", 21st July, 2002, Garry Gillard
* www.luna.com.au
* www.Mamma.com
* www.melbournemovies.com.au
* www.moviegallery.com
* www.screenwest.wa.gov.au
* www.senseofcinema.com
* www.teeshandtrude.tv (Official 'Teesh and Trude' website)
* www.urbancinfiles.com, "Teesh and Trude - News and Events", 12th July 2002.
INFORMATION COLLECTION/ONLINE PRESENCE:
'Teesh and Trude' is barely a year old, therefore finding information on this independent Australian film proved to be challenging. Allocating the reviews wasn't as troubling as finding box office figures. Most of my data collection was acquired from the Internet, simply because it was easier to access interstate and overseas newspapers, data and updates. There were only a small number of magazine articles on the film and it seems that the only place that this film could be found was on the websites of companies in association with the film or on databases specifically designed to provide information on films. Collecting the information proved tiring as well because there are many different websites where it is possible to find reviews, interviews or statistical data. Its presence online was widespread however, majority of websites containing any information about 'Teesh and Trude' were Australian based sites, mainly concerning Australian festivals, companies and/or newspapers.
PART TWO:
PLOT/SYNOPSIS:
Teesh and Trude is the humorous, yet biting story of two hard and damaged women living on a diet of soapies, frustration and sarcasm. It reveals the dysfunction, denial and desperation of two people trapped by circumstances, apathy and class.
Teesh played by Susie Porter, is a 20-something, ugh-boot wearing, unemployed smoker. It's that time of the month, her son Kenny (Mason Richardson) is playing up, the toilet won't flush and she's trapped in a unit apartment with no visible means of escape.
Trude is Teesh's older flatmate, (Linda Cropper), a hard headed woman still hurting from seeing her husband walk away with her kids at a time when she appears to have been doped up or drunk. With a macho bully of a boyfriend 'Rod' (Peter Phelps), the latest arsehole in a long line, his behaviour on this particular day may be the last straw in Trude's waning patience.
And it just keeps getting worse, with Teesh's father, Bob (Bill McClusky) whose just been released from jail, arrives at the flat and threatens to take Kenny away, Trude's kids make a surprised appearance, the toilet still won't flush and Teesh's current boyfriend Les (Jacob Allan) decides to pop the question.
Personally, this film surpassed all my expectations. I loved every minute of it, from the constant foul-mouthed bickering between Teesh and Trude, to the daring audacity and sheer nerve of such characters as Rod and Bob and their arrogant presence amongst the women's lives. I loved how the script presented such mundane obstacles as the toilet not flushing and metaphorically interlaced it within the storyline so that at the end of the day when all situations had righted themselves, the toilet flushes. I also admired the way that the characters were portrayed with the focus being on creating believable, real Australian characters that can be identified by anyone, regardless of whether they live in Perth or in any other city around the world.
In one review presented in "The West Australian", Mark Naglazas (reporter) appears set on comparing 'Teesh and Trude' with the 1985 Glenda Hambly production of "Fran", expressing his disapproval of the film and the lack of background information on the characters. Mark states:
"So little attention is paid to adequately accounting for how the women got where they are that we get the highly unbelievable situation of Teesh worrying about her convict father taking Kenny away (the only judge likely to let this happen would be a doddery old fool well past retirement.)"
I completely disagree with Naglazas's opinion. My belief is that the audience demands certain pieces of information from the film in order for them to mentally understand the character's situation/s. In this case, the background information of Teesh and Trude appears to not be as clearly available as in other films. However, that doesn't mean that play is difficult to understand or comprehend. It simply allows the audience to have more input into imagining what may have been the two women's past conflicts that has moulded them into the human beings that they are today.
CRITICAL UPTAKE:
The fast-paced growth of the films success is surprising and yet at the same time expected. There has never been a movie like 'Teesh and Trude', a movie that addresses so many issues in such a short span of time. At the time of its release, the film was met with such support and appreciation. 'Teesh and Trude' is one of the first films to be originally on DV (digital video), an entirely WA product it has surpassed many peoples expectations and has become a first of its kind. Subsequent release in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth has paved the way for its ultimate success internationally. Although Perth does not have an independent film festival, from the reviews it appears to embrace the locality and nostalgic tone reflected from the film.
As expected there were those who did not agree with the majority of viewers, and perceived the film as lacking certain pieces of information and having:
"...a lot of surface noise and too little sense"
(Quote: Mark Naglazas' article, The West Australian, "Holes in Local Battlers' story".)
But on the whole the film was met with much bravado and compliments, like for example a review from "The Age" saying:
Teesh and Trude was "...dizzying, relentlessly engaging often funny flurry of swearing, sniping, back-talking, arguments and confrontations."
CIRCUMSTANCES OF PRODUTION:
Production: In the preparation stages the story of 'Teesh and Trude' was adapted from an original stage-play by Wilson McCaskill. A large amount of time was spent between Vanessa Lomma and Melanie Rodriga perfecting the script. In an interview Melanie stated:
"The thing that attracted me to the script in the first place was that I could really identify with the characters. Teesh and Trude felt very real to me, they felt utterly natural, utterly credible, so I thought it was a great opportunity to put those kinds of characters on the screen."
The credibility of the characters on screen was applauded in many reviews, in particular one by Inside Film (www.if.com.au à 27th February 2003) stating a comment made by a viewer named 'Stratton' from "Variety Magazine" saying:
"Teesh and Trude is a social realism in the Mike Leigh tradition...powerhouse credible performances by top Aussie thesps"
Along side the script editing is the issue of funding. From the small amount of data that I have been able to acquire 'Teesh and Trude' was said to be a $500,000 budget film, with Screen West paying $1,540 for the writing workshops, $1,880 for the Script to Screen Workshops (AWG [WA]) and $3,200 for Director attachments, by Jessica woodlands (www.mamma.com à That is not all the funding provided to the production of the film however, for several Production companies were involved in the funding of this production.) Cost-saving deals were made with Murdoch University allowing the production team to use their equipment. Hence, they cut back on money that usually would be spent on cameras, editing equipment, facilities and studios.
Released at the Brisbane Independent Film Festival provided 'Teesh and Trude' a great start for a growing audience. Placed at number five in the top ten chart out of one hundred not only boosted its popularity, but it created a buzz that undoubtedly helped to heighten its success.
It is a pity that I wasn't able to acquire Box office figures on 'Teesh and Trude'. I would assume that it had or is doing productively well, since it has just recently been accepted at the LA independent film festival as well as the London Australia Film Festival, which not only says that news has travelled far of the films success, but it is getting international attention.
PRIOR WORK:
Melanie Rodriga's prior work to this film has been diverse and interesting. A Lecturer at Murdoch University with Honours in her Bachelor of Media Studies degree, she has spent a large amount of her time tutoring, lecturing and directing. Her earliest directed film to date was "Trial Run" in 1984, a story about "Rosemary a photographer, mother and cross-country runner who temporarily leaves her family and moves into an isolated beach-house to work on a photographic assignment. Strange occurrences lead her to believe that she is being stalked by an unknown adversary". (www.imdb.com) The second film she directed was "Send a Gorilla" in 1988, a story about a singing telegram company called 'Send a Gorilla' and the troubles that they encounter on the busiest day of the year, Valentines Day. With Kerry-Anne calling in sick, 50 telegrams are left to be taken care of with Vicki and Clare set out to do it" (www.imdb.com).
As well as being involved in many other areas of production in such films as Desperate Remedies (1993), Melanie's choice to direct Teesh and Trude in 2002 has been a long time coming. Melanie appeared to feel positive affirmations with regards to the script prior to the completion of the production. In her interview/s she appears to really understand the characters, their actions and the conflicts/reasons behind their actions. In an interview with Gavin Fang, she states:
"These characters lead an everyday life but they actually have to take quite a big personal step to get to where they want to be. And that feels real to me, that feels like the kind of thing that I'd like to see more on screen."
This relates directly to Garry Gillard's "Teesh and Trude: everyday life as heroic", as it refers to overcoming the challenges and obstacles of everyday life, and labelling them as heroic and not "...the sphere of danger, violence and the courting of risk..." We see the struggles that the characters go through, and relate to their problems on many aspects. And this I believe was Melanie's intention from the very beginning, seeing the audience relate to the characters and demonstrate the strains of leading a normal, balanced, healthy life.
From the success of 'Teesh and Trude' I am sure that Melanie will move on to greater things. By doing this film she has set up a standard that will be hard to beat. The tone and texture of the lighting, colour, sound, setting and dialogue of the characters all come together beautifully from the first shot to the last. I am unsure as to what is Melanie's next project but it is bound to be an even better collaboration of cast and crew.
AUSTRALIAN FILM AND ITS VALUE:
'Teesh and Trude' is a valuable quality film that portrays a great deal of the Australian lifestyle and its people. It has had to compete with several larger, more competitive films both in the mainstream and foreign industry. Hollywood based 'blockbusters' both mainstream and independent are extremely powerful and play a significant role in any films success. Unfortunately however, it appears to be that Australian audiences over the past 50 years or so have been conditioned and moulded into preferring the Americanised films. This is not surprising as the American media dominates the majority of the world's international film industry and telecast mediums, in particular film production and advertising. Consequently, Australian audiences move further away from the present Australian cultural values and film productions and look overseas for different forms of cultural entertainment and traditions. And what have now become apparent are the Americanised Australian films, taking on cliché mainstream characteristics, in the hope of earning a higher box office gross income.
Australia has struggled for years to adapt a cemented, recognisable cultural identity, and to this day it still has not occurred. Our multicultural backgrounds not only confuse the situation further but create a broader, more diverse selection of characteristics that can all be labelled as "Australian". Consequently, we look overseas to understand what a national identity is all about and hope that it will help us to find ours. Thus, 'Teesh and Trude' plays the role of being a small guiding hand in the large world film industry, aiming to present a small aspect of Australia's cultural diversity, in the hope of creating a commonly established national identity.
'Teesh and Trude' presents many issues that adhere and relate to a great majority of Australian citizens of all class and race. It addresses the issue of opposition between men and women and how the stereotypical gender roles in society can be challenged or reversed in direct relation to the characters situation. This is particularly apparent between Teesh and Les along with Trude and Rod. Another issue they address is the 'father' role that to many people is vague, non-existent or confusing. Men today do not receive any initiation rites when coming into manhood, unlike many other cultures around the world (for example the Aboriginal culture). Consequently, they are left stranded into working out what a 'man' and 'father' figure is all about. This issue plays a significant role in Teesh's life because her son is fatherless, her father is not one to be idolised and Les is just too perfect to be real. Trude on the other hand has clearly been replaced as the mother figure in her kid's life by her husband, who not only plays both parents but seems to epitomise the perfect caring father figure.
'Teesh and Trude' appeared to be greatly appreciated by the majority of both its independent and mainstream film audience. However, because of the recency of its release, it has not had time to expand further into the mainstream sites. Despite its acceptance into the LA and London film festivals, indicating that it's receiving international recognition, I predict it's going to need a longer period of time to sustain and create a credited strong presence, not only in Australia but around the world.
MEDIUM SIZED ENGLISH LANGUAGE CINEMA:
"Australian Cinema is a type of cinema - a national cinema. A national cinema is made of the films and film production industry of particular nations" (O'Regan, 2001, page 1). I believe that what makes a film so special and worth treasuring is the place of origin where the 'magic' all began. 'Teesh and Trude' shares that 'magic' with the Australian public. As a medium sized English Language cinema it has addressed many issues of significance that have not only strengthened its appeal but have placed it amongst other films of the highest quality and standard. 'Teesh and Trude' is an important film in Australia's National Cinema and cultural market. It represents a certain aspect of the Australian lifestyle and culture that is both acknowledged and understood.
Australia is a young country that in comparison to other nations around the world is relatively new to the film and production field. Needless to say, it has stiff competition from other international English-speaking markets that have not only larger production bases, such as Hollywood, but years of experience and expertise under their belts. However, over the past 30 years Australian cinema has gone through a complete overhaul from the 1970's development of an Australian national cinema to the 1990's and beyond where we begin to experience cultural diversity, international hybrid influences and financial technicalities. 'Teesh and Trude' presents such issues as problematising gender roles, its role as a 'quality' film and international competition.
O'Regan mentioned an interesting point about women roles in the Australian cinema industry saying: "The Australian film milieu is more progressive on the gender issue than are many other cinemas. Women directors are more prominent in the Australian cinema and the proportion of woman-centred stories appear - on my cursory inspection of cinema releases - to be much higher than in Hollywood" (O'Regan, 2001, page 288 - 289). This is an interesting point, because it raises the important issue of how women have struggled for many years to achieve equality in the workplace, society and in the film industry. This relates directly to Melanie Rodriga, and her position as a woman in society working as a director, producer and a woman in the film industry that to this day, is controlled mostly by men. This film problematises the gender roles because it reflects the running theme throughout the entire film that is the challenge between the male and female roles and the women's loss and gain of control in their life. This places Australia in an excellent position in the face of the international public, because it reflects the importance that the Australian government places on gender equality in the workplace. Hence, attitudes and opinions of the film may well have been influenced by this issue thus heightening its success both in the international and national market.
To be labelled a 'quality' film isn't something that comes as easily to independent Australian films as it may come to mainstream or large budget productions. "A 'quality' film is a film destined for Australian general release and limited Art cinema/cultural TV release overseas. Films such as 'My Brilliant Career (Armstrong 1979), Picnic at Hanging Rock (Weir 1975), The Piano (Campion 1993) and Hotel Sorrento (Franklin 1994)" (O'Regan, 1998, page 1). "Ocker" and "Quality" labelled films separated the 1970's, with "ocker films central to public definitions of Australian Cinema in the first half of the decade; while 'quality' films were central in the second half of the decade" (O'Regan, 1998, page 1). 'Teesh and Trude' is a definite "quality" film that is not only released in Australia but at overseas film festivals. This label is important for the films success as a medium sized English speaking cinema because it elevates its importance in the public eye and enables it to be placed amongst some of Australia's best and the world's most successful films in the independent, and even more importantly in the mainstream sector.
International competition and rivalry is often the trigger that escalates the cinema industry's need for successful films. Australia for many years has competed with Hollywood and its million dollar budget. Last year, Hollywood spent on average of $US 81 million dollars on its productions. That is $AUS 57 million dollars, which when dispersed properly could go a long way in supporting hundreds of independent films across the nation. In the 1990's O'Regan states that: "Australian films were crucially independent of mainstream exhibition and distribution and consequently commercial local films did not have 'exhibition opportunities commensurate with their box office potential'." (O'Regan, 2001, page 88) To this day, the majority of Australian films do not reap the high box office figures that Hollywood has become accustomed to and despite the fact that Hollywood is a Large sized English speaking cinema, to be placed in direct opposition to such a medium can only mean that the work being presented alongside the opposing productions is just as good, if not better. 'Teesh and Trude' is a high quality production that has made it to both the LA and London film festivals. To be a contender in such events can only mean that it not only possesses a strong Australian cultural presence in the competition, but that despite the Australian cinema being a medium sized English speaking cinema, it has the resources and opportunities to surpass such a label and prove itself on the international sector.
REFERENCES:
* O'Regan, Tom, 2001, Australian National Cinema, Routledge; London, pages 88, 288 - 289).
* O'Regan, Tom, 1998, Australian film in the 1970's: the ocker and quality film, typescript, Murdoch university, page 1.