Learning 2 Fly

Learning 2 Fly is a film about rejection. Is rejection a disturbing tragedy, or a revealing elation? A rebuff, or a revelation? Writer/director David Zaccheus, Director of Photography Aran Major, and Actor Scott Bedford take us on a journey inside the mind of a migrant actor. Into his dream, and the cost of its fulfillment. A famous migrant actor retreats to the theatre to mourn the loss of his entire family in an air tragedy. He is dressed as Sandro the cleaner, the well known character that made him famous. All he has left, is his art. He enters the theatre holding a copy of the newspaper with the article about the airliner crash. Of course it is raining. He is dressed as Sandro, the character that made him famous. 'Sandro' starts to mop the floor of the stage, remembering the speech he gave at the height of his career, whilst also trying to deal with the despair of his present situation. It is a speech about rejection. About dealing with adversity. About the 'gift' of rejection and adversity. About the negative and positive aspects of personality. There are only two available options. Learning 2 Fly was filmed in the Byron Bay Community Theatre, in the Easternmost town on the Australian Continental Mainland. 'We have attempted to marry the disciplines of both Film and Theatre with this short drama production,' says David, 'with lighting, acting, and special effects. It worked well.' Crew also includes: Jim Higgins and Bobby Rossini (theatre lighting), Mark Sbarrato (sound recording), Bronwyn Birdsall (stills, gen. assist) and Sabine Hellfaier (make-up).

davidzaccheus@aapt.net.au

Directors notes
We all face rejection. Actors face it probably more than most. Everyone who has ever received an award has faced it, and without having dealt with it successfully, they would not be on the podium. These and other thoughts formed the theme of this film. But what happens when, having already acknowledged the 'gift' of rejection, an even greater adversity challenges our psyche: the loss of loved ones. Then we are forced to re-visit the pain and re-live the past adversities in order to overcome the present. I know that in the writing and directing of this film, I found I had to dig out a few demons of my own, and I think I can speak for Aran Major (D.O.P) and Scott Bedford (Actor) in saying that it was the most challenging aspect of the production. When I approached Scott and told him I was writing a script about rejection, he jumped at the chance to audition. At the audition stage, held in my garage, Scott, at one point, just suddenly broke into a southern European accent. My back was turned at the time, and when I swung around in surprise, the visuals only confirmed the appropriateness of the accent to the script. If actors are said to be rejected 80% of the time, how much more difficult for a migrant actor. It was perfect. Other crew members Bronwyn Birdsall (Stills, Gen. assist) and Sabine Hellfaier (Make-up) worked on my first film in Byron Bay; "China Plates", and jumped on board the "Learning 2 Fly" project eagerly. Mark Sbarrato (Sound Recordist) proved his worth as the quiet achiever, always in the right place. We shot it in the local community theatre, an intimate venue with a seating capacity of about 400. It took about 18 hours all up. The atmosphere was a little eerie, as it can be with only a handful of people in a theatre. I wondered how many other rejected ghosts were joining us. We shot the cleaners scenes first, then made Scott up again for the speech. I was impressed in his dedication to the part, especially considering the pressure on him being the only actor in the production. Scott exposed genuine emotional trauma in the cleaner scenes, and the equivalent emotional effect on Aran and I kept us surging on adrenalin for days. Jim Higgins and assistant Bobby Rossini came on board to work the theatre lighting. Jim knew the theatre lighting sequences backwards. Aran suggested we place a huge set light centre stage, and we'd borrowed some lights from Larry Larstead, the co-ordinator of the Byron Bay Film Artists Co-operative, and so with Jim's expertise with the theatre lighting, and Aran and I complementing it with the set lighting interplay, much fun was had. Aran Major, (aka azabug) azabug@suiteaz.com is the creative genius behind the camera, graphics, digital effects, and post production sound mixing. We talked about rejection for

months before filming, but only on the night before the shoot did we formulate the final scene, with the television image representing the conflict between conscious and sub-conscious awareness, and also providing a further link between the disciplines of film and theatre.

davidzaccheus@aapt.net.au