By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
TWELVE-year-old Samadhi Schoell from Kallista has finished production on his first film as director and will premiere his film to the public at Cameo Cinema in Belgrave on 19 March.
Almost three years of work and utilising the help of over 35 family members and friends, Samadhi said the experience was rewarding and challenging.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling looking back,” he said.
“I didn’t realise how much bigger it got as we went.”
The film, ‘The Journey to Spindrift’, was written and directed by Samadhi who found inspiration in the fantasy works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
After two years of writing and planning, the 30-minute film was shot over six weeks in 2014 entirely in the Dandenong Ranges.
The Journey to Spindrift is a story about Elves, Dwarfs and Orcs set in Tolkien’s Middle Earth, with themes of unity in changing times.
The cast of the film were all local children, between the ages of three and 15 with parents helping behind the scenes with costume and prop creation.
The community spirit behind the film was a main point of positivity for Samadhi.
“It was an amazing experience to have everyone creating and learning.”
“It bought everyone closer and we had all different kids whose world wouldn’t have connected otherwise and everyone has made new friends,” he said.
Samadhi said there were challenging times during filming that caused him to learn a lot about being a director.
“There was definitely a couple of times when I thought the project had got out of hand,” he said.
“There is a scene where the elves and the dwarves meet that took four days to get right and on the second day I thought it just wasn’t going to work.”
Despite some hiccups and a huge task, Samadhi said he really enjoyed the experience and would love the chance to work on film in the future.
“Everything turned out really positively in the end,” he said.
“I really enjoyed the experience, and looking back there are a few things I would do differently, I loved working on the film.”
Samadhi said he was very excited about the screening at the Cameo and can’t wait to see his finished product on the big screen.
