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O, Mistress Mine

Music video for the song "O, Mistress Mine" from the soundtrack of the film "Speaking Daggers", written and performed by teenage Melbourne musician, Jaron Natoli using lyrics by William Shakespeare. Filmed especially for the song, this video features "Speaking Daggers" cast members Jaron Natoli as "The Troubadour", Christopher Kirby as “Benedick”, Sally McLean as “Beatrice”, Scott Major as “Falstaff” and Billy Smedley as “Prince Hal”, and introducing Taylah McLean and Jemma Cuff-Jones as “The Muses”.

The song and music video reached Semi Finalist status in the International Songwriting Competition in Nashville, USA in 2017 and made it's film festival premiere as an official selection for the Queen City Film Festival in the USA.

"Speaking Daggers" stars Nadine Garner, Michala Banas, Scott Major, Christopher Kirby, Sally McLean, Billy Smedley, Jaron Natoli and Faran Martin and was awarded as a "Highly Commended" FINALIST in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Film Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon in September 2017, as judged by Jury President, Sir Kenneth Branagh and won Best Short Film at the Peak City International Film Festival in November 2017.

Film trailer: https://vimeo.com/250909806

You can find out more about the short film and music video at the official site: http://www.speakingdaggers.com, including cast and crew bios, photos and more.

  • Jaron Natoli
    Author
  • William ShakespeaRe
    Author
  • Jaron Natoli
    Name of Band or Artist
  • Sally McLean
    Director
    Shakespeare Republic, Speaking Daggers
  • Sally McLean
    Writer
    Shakespeare Republic, Why Must The Show Go On?
  • Sally McLean
    Producer
  • Billy Smedley
    Producer
  • Jaron Natoli
    Key Cast
    "Singer/Songwriter"
  • Christopher Kirby
    Key Cast
    "Benedick"
    Iron Sky, Predestination
  • Scott Major
    Key Cast
    "Falstaff"
    Neighbours, Always Greener, The Bill
  • Sally McLean
    Key Cast
    "Beatrice"
    Speaking Daggers, Bootleg, Utopia
  • Billy Smedley
    Key Cast
    "Prince Hal"
    Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries
  • Taylah McLean
    Key Cast
    "Muse"
    Shakespeare Republic
  • Jemma Cuff-Jones
    Key Cast
    "Muse"
  • Shaun Herbertson
    Cinematographer
    Shakespeare Republic, Speaking Daggers, Chris & Josh (the web series)
  • Tim McCormick
    Sound Recordist/Mixer
    Shakespeare Republic, Speaking Daggers
  • John Ruberto
    Sound Mastering
  • Eleanora Steiner
    Production Design
  • Jo Fletcher
    Make Up
  • Thanassi Panagiotaras
    Colourist
    Shakespeare Republic, Speaking Daggers
  • Sally McLean
    Editor
    Shakespeare Republic
  • Project Type:
    Music Video
  • Genres:
    Drama, Romance, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    3 minutes 42 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 2, 2017
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Queen City Film Festival (QCFF)
    Cumberland
    United States
    October 6, 2017
    Official Selection
  • International Songwriting Competition
    Nashville
    United States
    April 18, 2018
    Semi-Finalist: Teen Songwriter Section
  • Music Video Festival
    Utah
    United States
    October 20, 2018
    Nominated: Best Budget Under $1K, Best Song In A Music Video
  • American Tracks Music Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    December 1, 2018
    Winner: Best Original Song For A Film
Distribution Information
  • Incognita Enterprises
    Country: Australia
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Sally McLean

A graduate of The Actors Institute, London, with further studies undertaken with the faculty at the Howard Fine Studio, Australia, Melbourne-born Sally McLean has played roles in over thirty UK and Australian professional theatre productions, including Flame Trees, Uncle Vanya, The Auxiliary, Chasing Pegasus (a play in ten chords), The Clairvoyant, P.S I Love You, the Australian Premier of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and the World Premier of Annabel’s Requiem on the West End.

Sally has also played Shakespeare in both Australia and the UK, playing roles in Macbeth and Hamlet in the UK before performing for three seasons with the Australian Shakespeare Company in their critically acclaimed productions of Comedy of Errors and Romeo & Juliet.

Sally has additionally appeared in various lead and guest roles on numerous UK and Australian television series including Utopia, Lowdown, Elephant Princess, Flying Doctors, Totally Full Frontal, Blue Heelers, Tonight Live, Bingles, Comedy Inc. and the BBC mini-series Bootleg. Film credits include Raymond Taylor’s Earnest Adventures In Love, V for Vienetta, Evie Wants A Baby and Why Must The Show Go On? (playing Lady Macbeth), amongst others.

Her work behind the camera began with the BBC as a member of the Books & Special Projects Unit in BBC Music & Arts. Three years in production at the BBC led to her writing and producing her first film A Little Rain Must Fall in London in late 1996, thought to be the first TV-length drama to be shot on DV tape in the UK, and to her forming her production business Incognita Enterprises under the Honorary Patronage of Oscar® nominated actor, Sir Nigel Hawthorne – an association that continued until his passing in 2001.

Since then, Sally has worked in production for Channel Nine, Endemol Southern Star and others on programs including Big Brother, Australian Idol, The X-Factor and 1 VS 100, written and produced a number of short films and two theatrical productions (which she also directed), and is currently writer/director/producer for her first feature-length documentary, Champion (the story of Franz Stampfl), due for release in 2018 and the award-winning web series Shakespeare Republic. Other industry activities include serving as an official Jury member in both acting and screen craft categories for the AFI Awards, AACTA Awards and ATOM Awards since 2010.

Sally continues to work in Australian theatre, film and television as an actor as well as developing several projects for both the big and small screen as writer and producer.

IMDB PROFILE: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0572643

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"O, Mistress Mine" forms the soundtrack to my short film "Speaking Daggers", a project from the Shakespeare Republic universe, in which Jaron Natoli also played "The Troubadour".

I wanted to create a separate, yet connected story for the music video that would tie-in, yet stand alone from the film. The lyrics talk about romantic love, but also about living in the moment and being present to what’s around you. I therefore explored two of the stories from the film using footage of Benedick and Beatrice (the lovers in the film), with new footage of Falstaff and Prince Hal shot specifically for the music video, exploring the idea of what we now call “bromance” and created an additional story for The Troubadour, which showed the more innocent side of being a teenager (which Jaron, Taylah and Jemma actually are), but also showing the worldly outlook of the next generation coming through – that is, to illustrate what I’m seeing in the teenagers around me: that you don’t have to be old to be wise.

Interestingly, not only was the song composed by Jaron when he was just 16 years old for the film (he's now 17), but Sound Recordist/Mixer, Tim McCormick, recorded Jaron live on location for the music track. Which means what you're hearing on the music video was not recorded in a studio, but recorded on site, live, in the cloisters at Toorak College while Jaron was also being filmed for the clip. Tim mixed the audio and then John Ruberto mastered the track in studio from the original recording.

Jaron wrote such a beautiful song for the film and performed it so stunningly, it seemed a shame to not be able to showcase his talent in a stand-alone piece. Jaron’s own style is edgy and a little bit retro, which I love, so collaborating with him on ideas for this video was very easy. He was an absolute joy to work with and I know we’re going to work together again in this realm, if I have anything to do with it!

Essentially we took the chance to explore Shakespeare in a different way again, still set firmly in the modern world - as we do with all our projects in the Shakespeare Republic universe.

More information about the short film "Speaking Daggers": http://www.speakingdaggers.com

More information about the award-winning "Shakespeare Republic" (web series): http://www.shakespearerepublic.com