BOOK WEEK has been dancing around in the back of my head for many years now. In fact, the script was first penned in 2010 during my time as a frustrated high school English teacher doggedly trying to get his first feature film made whilst reluctant to accept the idea that my lifelong dream may never eventuate. So adamant was I that my life’s purpose and subsequent happiness would be determined by whether or not I made my film that I refused to acknowledge an alternative or silver lining if the dream wasn’t to come to fruition. For me it was a case of all or nothing. Success or be cursed by the angst of living a life of creative disappointment. As fate would have it (or my sheer ignorance more like it) in 2015 I did go on to make a film, a micro budget production I wrote, directed and produced called BROKE, which proved to be the best (albeit most challenging) experience of my life. Ironically, it was during the filming of BROKE that my team and I agreed BOOK WEEK would be the perfect follow up from several other screenplays that had been gathering dust on the shelf. After the emotionally taxing experience of making a thematically heavy movie like BROKE on the smell of an oily rag, I thought it would be fun, refreshing and challenging, to make something comedic as well as showcase another side to me as an artist. Whilst the genre may indeed differ, there are still my signature traits or sign posts. While essentially a comedy, the movie juxtaposes humour with tragedy. Authenticity and truth are crucial to my character driven films’ outcomes especially at our low budgets. We are dishing up an alternative to audiences, not setting out to emulate a traditional Hollywood rom com. BOOK WEEK takes place in the most common of suburban settings: bedrooms, back yards, school classrooms, dive bars – locales where dreams are squashed not harvested. The look 3 and tone of the film reflects this with a straightforward shooting style that focuses on details and performance above all else. This is a must on a film like this, it has to feel immediate and honest. My ultimate vision for BOOK WEEK is to create a distinctive and endearing Australian comedy with the potential to attract an audience both at home and aboard. Thanks for watching!