GO THE DOGS
PRODUCTION IN FORMATION
Title
Writer/ Director
Producers
Production Company
Country of Production
Screening Format
Shooting Format
Screening Ratio
Sound
Length
Completion Date
Go The Dogs
Jackie van Beek
Aaron Watson & Jackie van Beek
Sabertooth Prod u ctions Ltd
N ew Zealand / Au stralia
35m m
HD
1:1.85
Dolby Digital
15 m inu tes
Janu ary 2011
SHORT SYN OPSIS
A you ng teenager w ith au tism unw ittingly em barks on a strange ad ventu re lead ing to an aband oned farm house and a ru naw ay boy.
SYN OPSIS
Brittany is a thirteen -year old girl w ith au tism, a keen football fan and a su pp orter of Melbou rne’s Western Bu lld ogs. When she sp ies a real
bu lld og sitting ou tsid e her w ind ow , she slips ou t of the hou se. She u nw ittingly em barks on a strange ad ventu re lead ing to an aband oned
farm house, w here she strikes up an unlikely friend ship w ith a ru naw ay boy. The lead role is p layed by a you ng teenager w ith sp ecial n eeds.
FILM FESTIVAL SCREEN IN GS
2011 Berlin International Film Festival: Generation Program (World Prem iere) (Germ any)
2011 N ew Zealand International Film Festival (N Z)
2011 Show Me Shorts Film Festival (N Z)
2011 H am bu rg International Film Festival, Germ any
2011 Melbou rne International Film Festival, Australia
2011 Kyoto International Child ren’s Film Festival, Jap an
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Jackie w orks as an actress, w riter and d irector in theatre and film . She lives w ith her young fam ily in Au ckland , N ew Zealand .
Jackie com es from a theatre backgrou nd. She has had a string of p lays comm issioned and p rod u ced , and has d evised and tou red com ed y
show s in N ew Zealand, Australia and the UK. She gravitates tow ards w orking w ith you ng peop le on p rojects w ith a com m unity focu s.
Du ring her tim e in Australia she began to w rite and d irect short film s. H er first film , One Shoe Short, w as insp ired by tw o ind igenous boys
living on a tow n camp in Alice Sp rings. The film p layed at the 2008 BFI Lond on Film Festival and w as selected for the WIFT In ternational
Show case. It w on Best Ind igenous Achievem ent at the St Kild a Film Festival (Au stralia) and was voted Best Film m ad e by Adu lts for
Child ren, by a you th ju ry at the Au bu rn International Film Festival (Australia).
Jackie m ad e her second film , Ju st Lik e The Others, w ith a com mu nity grou p in Lond on. It w on Kod ak Best Film in the Show Me Shorts
Festival (N Z) and is tou ring as p art of Clerm ont-Ferrand 's Schools' Tou r. Both film s are being used as ed u cational resou rces in Denm ark,
UK, France and Au stralia.
Go The Dogs is Jackie's third film and w as insp ired by w orking w ith stu d ents at a sp ecial d evelop ment school in Melbou rne, Au stralia.
Jackie has tw o short films in p ost-p rod u ction and recently received a grant from the N ew Zealand Film Comm ission to d irect Uphill, a short
film set in the Sou thern Alp s of N ew Zealand.
DIRECTOR’S N OTES
Go The Dogs began very qu ickly. I stum bled upon an aband oned farm hou se in country Victoria. Trees w ere grow ing ou t of the w ind ow s
giving the house a w ond erfu l fairytale qu ality. My sister and I ju mp ed the fence and ventu red insid e. We stepp ed over a d ead rabbit in the
hallw ay and w and ered from room to room . The hou se w as filled w ith hay. Being snake season, w e d id n't hang abou t for too long. We d rove
back to Melbou rne and I set abou t find ing the ow ners. I eventu ally tracked them d ow n and they gave m e p erm ission to shoot a film on their
p rop erty.
At the tim e I w as teaching d ram a at Su nshine Sp ecial Develop ment School, a school for child ren w ith sp ecial needs. Go The Dogs w as
p artially insp ired by a stu d ent w ith au tism that prod u ced a hou se p lan of d raftsm an -like qu ality du ring an art class. I w rote the lead role for
a girl w ith au tism bu t w hen it cam e to casting the role I realised I need ed som eone w ho w as fairly em otional and interactive. I need ed
som eone that cou ld easily w arm to m e and qu ickly learn to tru st m e. I cast Brittany, a tw elve year old w ith sp ecial needs.
We cobbled together a cou p le of com m u nity grants and shot the film w ith a sm all crew of fam ily and friend s. After finishing t he cu t, w e w ere
offered p ost-p rodu ction su pp ort from Au tism Victoria and N ew Zealand Film Com m ission to complete the film back in N ew Zealand.
I fou nd the p roject thrilling. It w as lovely to w ork so qu ickly and instinctively. It w as an extrem ely high -risk p roject - largely d ep end ant on
the w illingness of a d og, a snake and a tw elve-year-old girl w ith sp ecial need s. I knew the p roject cou ld go either w ay bu t the p ositive energy
and ad ventu rous sp irit of everyone involved allow ed u s to get throu gh the shoot and create a film that I believe has a u niqu e and sp ecial
qu ality.
JACKIE VAN BEEK
DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY
2011 UPHILL
Short Film - Dram a - Writer/ Director - Sou thern Alp s, N ew Zealand
Cu rrently in p re-p rod u ction. Sup p orted by N ew Zealand Film Com m ission.
2011 IN SAFE HAN DS
15 m inu tes - Dram a - Writer/ Director - Du ned in, N ew Zealand
Cu rrently in p ost p rodu ction.
2011 LITTLE RED RIDIN G HOOD
5 m inu tes - Dram a - Writer/ Director/ Co-Prod u cer - Australia & N ew Zealand
Cu rrently in p ost p rod u ction
2009
JUST LIKE THE OTHERS
10 m inu tes - Dram a - Writer/ Director/ Co-Prod u cer - UK & Australia
Selected Film Festival Screenings
2010
2010
2010
2009
2009
2009
Seou l International You th Film Festival (South Korea)
St Kild a Film Festival (Australia)
Clerm ont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival - Schools & Tribu te Programm e (France)
LA Shortsfest (USA)
Giffoni Film Festival (Italy)
Bu ster Cop enhagen Film Festival (Denm ark)
Aw ards
2009 Kod ak Best Film - Show Me Shorts Film Festival (N ew Zealand )
2007 ON E SHOE SHORT
8 m inu tes - Dram a - Writer/ Director/ Prod u cer - Alice Sp rings, Australia
Selected Film Festival Screenings
2010
2009
2009
2008
2008
2008
Lond on Australian Film Festival (Lond on)
WIFT International 'Best Of' Show case (Tou ring)
Ad elaid e International Film Festival (Australia)
BFI Lond on Film Festival (UK)
Salento International Film Festival (Italy)
WOW Film Festival (Australia)
Aw ards
2009 Best Ind igenous Achievem ent - St Kild a Film Festival (Au stralia)
2008 Tadgell's Blu ebell H onor Aw ard - Au bu rn International Film Festival (Au stralia)
Acquisitions
SBS Australia
N ITV Au stralia
CREW BIOGRAPHIES
Aaron Watson - Producer
Aaron Watson began his m ed ia career as an actor and w riter for television. H e then sp ent 14 years w orking in Central Eu rop e and Ru ssia as a
Tou r Director. Du ring this tim e he film ed tw o d ocu m entaries w ith his friend and collaborator Te Rad ar; one in East Tim or (Tim or ODDessy)
and the other in Israel and Palestine (Christm as in Bethlehem ). In recent years he has been w orking w ith creative p artners, d irector Jackie van
Beek and cinem atographer Ari Wegner. The trio are cu rrently w orking a fou rth short film together.
Ari Wegner - Cinematographer
Born in Melbou rne, Au stralia in 1984, Ari is a cinem atograp hy grad u ate of the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film an d Television. In
her grad u ating year she attend ed the Bu d apest Cinem atography Masterclass and w on the VCA Aw ard for Best Cinem atograp hy. She
p articip ated in the 2009 Berlinale Talent Camp us as p art of the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival. H er cinem atograp hy w ork extend s
from short film s, m usic vid eos, and com m ercials to featu re-length d ocu m entaries and d ram as. Her short film cred its as cinem atographer,
inclu d ing H aw k er (2008) d irected by Du stin Feneley, Kin (2006) d irected by Step hen Carroll, and Catch Fish (2006) d irected by Ad am
Arkap aw, have screened at num erou s international film festivals su ch as Locarno, Lond on, Cinem a Jove, Sapp oro, Cork, Raind ance,
Melbou rne and Flickerfest International Film Festivals. She shot her first featu re -length film , The Traged y of H am let: Prince of Denm ark
(2007), at 21 years of age. The film had its w orld prem iere at the 2007 Melbou rne Int ernational Film Festival. She recently shot M atière Grise,
the d ebu t featu re film of Rw andan d irector Dad d y Ruhorahoza.
Jochen FitzHerbet - Editor
After com p leting his Masters d egree in 2002, majoring in d irecting and w riting, Jochen began w o rking in p ost-p rodu ction as an assistant
ed itor on short film s and television d ram a. At the sam e tim e he continu ed his w riting and had one of his short film s, Rest Stop, fu nd ed by the
N Z Film Comm ission in 2003. Jochen honed his skills in VFX and w as both a com p ositor and co-ord inator on the BBC fam ily series
M ad d igan's Qu est which led him onto VFX Ed iting on a num ber of p rojects inclu d ing Disney's Pow er Rangers and Colum bia Pictu re’s 30
Days of N ight. H e m oved into ed iting and got his break on Pow er Rangers. Since then Jochen continu es to cu t television d ram as (Go Girls,
This Is N ot M y Life) and short film s as w ell as having w ritten and d irected another N Z Film Comm ission film , Brid ge, that p layed in
com p etition at the Vallad olid Film Festival. Jochen is cu rrently w orking on his first featu re and continu ing to ed it. H e is w orking w ith Jackie
van Beek on her short film cu rrently in p ost-p rodu ction, In Safe H ands.
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Brittany-Anne Romijn
Brittany, 13, lives in Melbou rne, Australia. She attend s Su nshine Sp ecial Developm ent School and her favou rite su bject is singing. H er
favou rite thing to d o is go to the sw im m ing p ool w ith her fam ily. H er d ad d escribes her as a girl "w ith a lovely natu re. She lives d ay to d ay
and ju st d oes w hat she d oes".
Go The Dogs is Brittany's first short film . She has since starred as Grandm a in Jackie's short film Little Red Rid ing H ood : A Sp ecial Ed ition
that w as m ad e w ith 48 stu d ents from the school.
Graham Candy
Graham, 19, lives in Au ckland, N ew Zealand . H e started his career as a ballroom and Latin d ancer and w ent on to becom e a N ew Zealand
and Australian Cham p ion. In 2008 he enrolled in Perform ing and Screen Arts at Unitec to stu dy acting and in 2010 he began rec ord ing m usic
w ith his band , The Lost Boys.
H e has recently gravitated tow ard s m usical theatre p erform ing as Troy in H igh School M usical and Willard in Footloose. Go The Dogs is
Graham 's first short film.
WORKIN G WITH CHILDREN AN D AN IMALS
Director - Jackie van Beek
Meeting Brittany's p arents w as a great relief. Of cou rse I need ed their p erm ission to w ork w ith their d au ghter bu t I also need ed them to trust
m e and be enthu siastic abou t the p roject I w as p rop osing. Thankfu lly they saw the film as a p ositive challe nge for Brittany and becam e
increasingly excited as w e d rew closer to p rod u ction. Pau l and Donna invited m e over to their hou se to m eet Brittany's brothe r and tw in
sisters and they all agreed to star in the op ening scene of the film . Their house w as filled w ith bird s and aqu arium s. I even cast Angel, their
p et rat, bu t u nfortunately she p u lled ou t ju st before the shoot. After m eeting the fam ily I com p letely re -im agined the op ening of the film . The
Rom ijns are a w arm , fu n, chaotic fam ily and that becam e my focu s for the first scene.
I sched u led a 20-m inu te rehearsal w ith Brittany before the shoot so I cou ld gau ge how m u ch she m ight resp ond to d irection. It w ent very
w ell. She listened carefu lly and w as ad ept at changing her p erform ance. On set she rarely lo oked at m e w hen I gave her d irection. She w ou ld
ju st nod and say "yup " occasionally. At first, I w ond ered if she w as listening at all bu t she took everything on -board . Throu ghou t the shoot it
never ceased to am aze m e how fresh each of her takes w ere. It w a s as if she w as tru ly d oing it for the first tim e - and you can't ask for m ore
than that!
The rehearsal that really cou nted w as ou r snake rehearsal. We travelled ou t of tow n to m eet u p w ith Michael Alexand er from Bl ack Snake
p rod u ctions. H e m et u s in a p ark and w e set about hand ling seven or eight of his snakes. Brittany was very unsu re abou t tou ching the snakes
initially bu t w ith the encou ragem ent of her Dad it w asn't long before she had them hanging arou nd her neck. She w arm ed to a W ater Python
nam ed Bu bbles so I cast him on the sp ot.
It w as a strenu ou s 3-d ay shoot and tw o d ays w ere ou t of tow n so Brittany becam e increasingly exhau sted. H er Dad , Pau l, and her God father,
Ricky, w ere on -set cracking jokes and p laying music to keep her energy levels up and w hen she'd had enough they'd help her relax and talk
qu ietly w ith her. Thanks to her su pp ortive fam ily, she alw ays reap p eared on set w ith a sm ile, read y to begin again.
Producer - Aaron Watson
I knew this w as going to be a fun p roject w hen one of the first things Jackie asked me to d o w as find a snake, and a bu lld og cap able of
leap ing into the back of a tru ck. It’s great that som e d ays my job involves p honing bu lld og breed ers in Melbou rne, snake hand lers, and
You tu bing clip s of bu lld ogs jum p ing. In case you ’re cu riou s, a bu lld og cannot leap into the back of a tru ck, not even close.
Michael, the snake gu y, w as aw esom e w hen he show ed u p on the shoot. H e tore into the pad d ock in his station w agon, ju mp ed ou t in his
khakis, and flip p ed the back op en to reveal crates w ith snakes, m onitor lizard s and a w ater crocod ile - he w as off to a child ren’s p arty later.
Shooting grou nd to a halt as afternoon m orp hed into a rep tilian show and tell session.
I’d w ork w ith anim als again. Kingston the bu lld og, w a s easy. H e had a big cru sh on the Assistant Director’s leg - w henever w e need ed him
to w alk or ru n in a certain d irection, w e’d ju st use Matt as bait. And, ap art from trying to escap e into the straw at every o p p ortu nity, Bu bbles
the w ater p ython, w as ad orable.
CREDITS
Writer/ Director
Cinem atographer
Ed itor
Prod u ction Designer
Sou nd Designer
Original Music
Prod u cers
Jackie van Beek
Ari Wegner
Jochen FitzH erbert
Paige And erson
Du stin H arris
Peter Dau bé
Aaron Watson & Jackie van Beek
In Association w ith the Short Film Fu nd of the N ew Zealand Film Comm ission
Girl
Boy
Brittany-Anne Rom ijn
Graham Candy
Fam ily
Donna Rom ijn
Pau l Rom ijn
Shannon Rom ijn
Sinead Rom ijn
Gem m a Rom ijn
Police Officer
Man w ith d og
Dog
Dog Wrangler
Snake
Snake Wrangler
Danielle Cresp
Jesse Griffin
Kingston
Renata Lau reano
Bu bbles
Michael Alexander
Assistant Director
Sou nd Record ist
B Cam era Op erator
Gaffer
Best Boy
3rd Electrics
Matthew Rich
Steven Bond
Stefan Du scio
Thom H olt
Tom Savige
Marcu s Allem an
Prod u ction Assistants
Ru nner
Catering
Melanie H am ilton & Pau la van Beek
Jesse Griffin
Francesca Fogarty & H am ish Woods
Musicians
Peter Dau bé
N ick Bollinger
Tim Robinson
Dick Read e
Jerem y Kessler
Kitchen Sync Digital Au d io
Sou nd Engineer
Foley
Title Anim ation
Colou rist
Sou nd Mix
Post Facility
Marcu s Brill
Alana Cotton
Ben Sinclair
Im ages and Sou nd
This film w as m ad e w ith the generou s su pp ort of
N ew Zealand Film Comm ission
Au tism Victoria
Maribyrnong City Council
Im ages and Sou nd
Read e Au d io
Lem ac
Key Lighting Australia
Many thanks to
The Rom ijn Fam ily
Ricky Ellu l
H eath Land er
Angela Su therland
Steven Bru ton
Ju d y and Joe van Beek
The Griffin Fam ily
Lynne and Ed d ie N isbett
The Dellaved ova Fam ily
Jesse Griffin
Ju liette Veber
Lisa H ough
Du stin Feneley
Peter Salm on
Ju ne and Em m ett van Griffin
Em m a Willis
Su nshine Sp ecial Developm ent School
Black Snake Produ ctions
AFL Film s
Western Bu lld ogs
Victoria Police Film Unit
Footscray Police Station
Au sp iciou s Arts
West Footscray N eighbou rhood H ou se
Gold en Country Motel & Caravan Park
Braybrook H otel
N o anim als w ere harm ed in the m aking of this film
International Sales by NZ Film
Film ed on location in Victoria, Australia
© Sabertooth Films 2011