|
Daniel Bernardi has known he wanted to be involved in the film business since he was just 4 year’s old, showing an interest in acting. Inspired by an early mentor Gene Wilder, even as a child, Daniel knew he wanted to be in the movie business. He acted in several plays including Alice in Wonderland, Ginger Megs and had the lead in a Dreamtime play entitled How the Echidna Got It’s Spikes. Daniel also performed on stage opposite Normie Rowe at the age of 10.
In 1994, Daniel appeared in a print advertisement for Binoculars which featured in an issue of The Footy Record. It was at the age of 12 when Bernardi first started to find an interest in screenwriting which led to an interest in the filmmaking side of things. He put acting aside to concentrate on screenwriting, penning several scripts over the years. Inspired by directors such as Martin Scorsese and Abel Ferrara, whose films he grew up with, his own unique writing style was starting to develop.
Growing up in the country proved limiting for Bernardi who wanted to make the most of every possible opportunity which were few and far between so far from the city. For many years Bernardi had great ideas and plenty of vision but without equipment, lacked the means to turn them into films with the exception of a handful of amateur efforts through high school. Believing that it doesn’t cost any money to tell good stories and write good scripts, he concentrated on developing his writing skills and making movies on paper. Moving from a small country town up to the city without any movie connections whatsoever, Bernardi worked very hard to break into film circles and develop relationships with filmmakers and actors from the USA and Australia.
He was also featured in the film Josh Jarman (2004), the TV show Holly’s Heroes (2005) and played the junkie Lem in the low-budget short film Australian Fable (2006). Daniel has also written for famed US movie publication Film Threat and other publications such as Rock Confidential, Cinema Sewer and Ultra Violent.
In mid-2005, Bernardi wrote a short script entitled Missive (2007) and began pre-production on the self-funded film in March 2006. Through mutual friend/filmmaker Gregory Pakis, Bernardi discovered director Adam Stolfo and hired him to direct Missive (2007). Following Adam’s early involvement, Daniel then handpicked the entire cast and crew for what would become his first professional film as writer/producer. Missive was an official selection in the 2008 St. Kilda Film Festival, the biggest short film festival in Australia.
Also in 2007, Daniel also had title designer duties for the feature film The Roaring Whispers which won Best Sound at the 8th Melbourne Underground Film Festival.
Bernardi is involved in numerous upcoming projects in the near future in varying capacities.
Adam James Stolfo was always destined to be a creative person. Following in the footsteps of his father, production designer Otello Stolfo (Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Last Man Standing), Adam discovered filmmaking in high school (1997) after experimenting with a variety of creative outlets throughout his early years, and became enthralled by the visual storytelling power of the movies. For Stolfo it all started with the inspiration of two science fiction films from the 80s – Back to the Future and The Terminator. “I wanted to create those images. I became obsessed with wanting to tell stories visually,” says Stolfo.
Between the years 1999 and 2003, Stolfo attended RMIT and Deakin Universities where he studied Video Production and Media Arts respectively. "You can be sat down in a classroom and told how to make a film, and technically everything you learn is very important. But when it all comes down to it, I like to refer to a quote first spoken by the late, great Stanley Kubrick – the best education in film is to make one."
A number of self funded projects were made over this frantic creative period, including a spoof of the original Terminator, and a comedic feature film called Slick & Sly (2002). But Stolfo's official directional debut came in the form of a little known short he originally wrote and produced himself. Alaina (2004) - the story of a troubled young girl who wishes the world would go away, and then one day it actually does, was the first early signs of Stolfo wanting to be taken seriously for his craft. The film's deep, dark, and thematic themes of adolescent struggles and conflicts was the first sign of Stolfo's growing maturity as a filmmaker.
Alaina was accepted into Sydney’s 2004 Sour Grapes Film Festival, and screened to as many as 1500 people during the festival’s final night. “We were finalists alongside thirteen other shorts. There’s nothing quite like the excitement of showing your work to a room full of strangers. No one is bias.” In July 2005, Alaina was accepted into the 6th Melbourne Underground Film Festival and was screened as part of the festival’s Mini MUFF program. Alaina also picked up a Highly Commended prize at the first annual Westgarth Film Festival in early 2006.
The success of "Alaina" led to Adam being "discovered" by Missive writer Daniel Bernardi, and a new friendship and creative collaboration was born.
Paul Dowie is a director in his own right, but is also a capable writer, producer, camera operator, and editor. Having discovered filmmaking at an early age, Paul attended La Trobe where he earned a degree in film studies and met longtime friends and collaborators Gregory Pakis and Anders Olson. His early work includes the short film Caffeine (1995), in which he also acted. Following his short film, Dowie wrote a feature length script which was a spy adventure. In 1996, he spent some time in Los Angeles pitching his script to several big production companies in Hollywood. The script garnered some interest, but in the end was a near miss. Dowie then decided to come back to Melbourne and make his own film.
The very ambitious project that became his next film was expanding his short film Caffeine (1995) into a feature. Caffeine (1999) was self-funded by Dowie and shot on Super 16mm, starring Lawrence Mooney (Channel Nine’s Postcards) and featuring the first film appearance of Dylan Lewis (Recovery).
Next up for Dowie was producer/script editor duties on Gregory Pakis’ multi-award winning feature film debut The Garth Method (2004) which was completed over a three year period. During this same period Dowie began a new project, the kinetic short film Creative Violence (2003) starring Brett Swain and featuring a second appearance by Lawrence Mooney. Creative Violence (2003) was an official selection of both Melbourne Underground Film Festival and Perth Revelation Film Festival.
Dowie then took a break from filmmaking to focus on writing a new feature screenplay. In 2006, he met Daniel Bernardi and Adam Stolfo became an integral part of Missive (2007), serving in various capacities on the film. Paul also edited the award winning feature film The Roaring Whispers. Paul currently has several new feature projects close to completion.
Anders Olson is a meticulous Director of Photography who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to every film he has worked on. Anders is a longtime friend of Paul Dowie and Gregory Pakis and has subsequently shot Creative Violence and The Garth Method. Having worked on both low-budget and bigger budget funded projects, Anders versatility allows him to add high-end quality to projects of any size. Anders has also acted as cinematographer for Love in a City Park, With Hope (winning the Film Eclectic Award for Best Cinematography), The Road Ahead, A Black and White World accepted into Telluride and directed by award winning filmmaker Adam White. Anders also recently shot two AFC funded films, the feature This Kiss (2007) and the big-budget short film Toucan. Anders also teaches cinematography at Holmesglen so enroll now if you want to learn from the best.
Inspired by the works of Hollywood heavyweight composers such as Hans Zimmer and Alan Silvestri, Paul has been composing original music for the past 9 years. His enthusiasm and full orchestral sound has led him to work on many short films, video game scores, documentaries and several feature film projects. With an appreciation for action / adventure style film music, Paul has created an extensive customised sample library, along with numerous commercial sample libraries to create a full orchestral signature sound, acclaimed by leading industry professionals. Paul hopes to bring together a soundtrack that is a return to the thematic adventurous spirit that filled many film scores of the 1980s/90s, but is sadly absent in more modern film scores of today. Paul's work can be heard at his website: www.paulhouseman.com. |
|
CREW |
|
DANIEL BERNARDI Writer/Producer/Assistant Director/Financier |
|
ADAM STOLFO Director |
|
PAUL DOWIE Editor/Co-Producer/Script Editor/Camera Operator |
|
ANDERS OLSON Director of Photography |
|
PAUL HOUSEMAN Composer |
