Faceless is a short film that explores the intersection of identity and class along the Birrarung-Ga (the Yarra River) in Naarm (Melbourne). The film’s Indigenous protagonist attempts to navigate a world alien to him. In the dense metropolis, he’s subject to three intertwined scenarios with people from different class backgrounds and social milieus. As if in parallel realities, his character changes in each scenario: at once a rough-sleeper, an aspiring actor and the employee of a mining corporation. He hears the stories of an ageing veteran, a young middle-class artist, and an alpha-male stockbroker in each scenario respectively, providing windows into starkly different social constructs. While these scenarios are intercut throughout the film’s runtime, they depict the protagonist developing an ability to assimilate into different worlds that exist across Australia’s socio-economic spectrum, a process that ultimately reaches boiling point. With the Birrarung-Ga as its backdrop, a traditional meeting place for First Nations people in the region, Faceless is a dreamlike, twisting and turning psychological drama that questions the masks we all wear and the stories we tell to survive. 

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‍Description:

The film is Co-Directed by Norbert Jakamarra Williams and Fraser Pemberton. Norbert is an emerging Warlpiri filmmaker and actor, originally hailing from Central Australian desert communities. Having grown up in Naarm since the age of eight, he has deep connections both to his homeland and to the city that raised him. While relatively new to the field of film and television, he’s committed to developing his skills as an Actor, Writer and Director. A member of Naarm-based film collective, Dogmilk Films, he is an active participant in the moving image community. He is currently writing several films both short and feature-length, and exploring creative relationships with other writers and directors.

Fraser is a Naarm-based filmmaker who loves to explore distinctly Australian stories that retain fundamentally human concerns. Fraser’s work delves into the hidden corners of the psyche, traversing the human condition, and addressing the themes of time, memory, and loss. His directorial body of work: Butterfly, Hourglass, Solitude, Their Eyes and All We Have is Time have played and won awards at numerous International and Australian Film Festivals since 2015. After honing and exploring his craft through five short form productions, Fraser’s next project will be a feature film which is currently in development. 

Our ability to complete the film is evidenced in its writing, directing and producing team’s efforts across diverse projects. Producer on ‘Faceless’ and Norbert’s brother, Chris Cochrane-Friedrich is the co-producer and co-director of two collaborative feature documentary films in Sulawesi, Indonesia. One is completed and awaiting festival submission, while the other is still in production. 

Our filmmaking process holds cultural sensitivity and respect at its core. The team are in conversation with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Corporation to seek cultural consultation, which will further enrich the film and our understanding of Indigenous history in Naarm/Birrarung-Ga. 

This sensitivity extends to the film’s visual signature, with cinematography by Alexandra Walton whose primary concern is to communicate stories with compassion and sensitivity while maintaining a high level of craft. She has studied and practised documentary filmmaking for the better part of the past decade, after having completed a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology. Over that time, she’s worked in many environments, in the commercial, government, charity and artistic sectors. Her interest in Psychology has always impacted the way she films and engages with a subject, crucially putting the human at the centre. 

Having already shot two of the film’s three sections, the finances gained through this crowdfunding campaign will go towards the production of the third and final part of the film, the ‘stockbroker’ scenes. This is the most challenging part of the shoot and requires the most resources to accomplish it comprehensively. Money raised will also go towards Post-Production expenses including its Musical Score, Sound-Design, Sound-Mixing and Colour Grading.

The crew is dedicated to making this film come to life and have spent countless hours over a period of 18 months with no expectation of financial compensation. The core team will continue to work entirely in-kind so the film can achieve its maximum potential. We are targeting top tier film festivals internationally and locally.

We can’t express how much we would appreciate donations of any size! Your help in any capacity will undoubtedly contribute to the film’s completion. We can’t wait to share it with you in a cinema very soon!