Private Project

Bad Jesus

'Bad Jesus' is the latest short film from award winning filmmaker, Anthony ‘Ash’ Brennan.

In a departure from Brennan’s political documentaries, ‘Bad Jesus’ takes a gritty and unflinching look at society’s darkest issues - mental illness, domestic violence and substance abuse.

Using a unique Point Of View technique, Brennan takes viewers into the disturbed mind of ‘Pricey’, an addict spiralling towards ultimate destruction who has delusions that he is the world’s next divine saviour.
At times uncomfortable to watch, ‘Bad Jesus’ is based on true events, making its subject matter all the more confronting.

While the doomed ‘Pricey’ has lost all grip on reality, ‘Bad Jesus’ is as real as it gets. 


  • Anthony Ash Brennan
    Director
    Punks for West Papua
  • Anthony Ash Brennan
    Writer
  • Mark Bryan
    Writer
  • Anthony Ash Brennan
    Producer
  • Amelia Robertson - Cuninghame
    Producer
  • Jack Millyn
    Producer
  • Alex Bryant Smith
    Key Cast
  • Steve Cahill
    D.O.P.
  • Lorenzo Zaffino
    D.O.P.
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 30, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    7,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • LA SHORTS AWARDS
    Los Angeles CA
    United States
    October 10, 2016
    Bronze award - Best Film
  • LA Shorts Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    October 10, 2016
    Best Director - Gold, Anthony Ash Brennan
  • LA SHORTS AWARDS
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    Best Actor - Platinum, Alex Bryant - Smith
  • LA SHORTS AWARDS
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    October 10, 2016
    Best Cinematography - Diamond, Stev Cahill
  • Top Indie Film Awards
    Online
    November 11, 2016
    Best Director - Anthony Ash Brennan
  • IndieFest
    San Diego
    United States
    October 27, 2016
    Award of Merit - Special Mention
  • LA UNDERGROUND FILM FORUM
    Los Angeles CA
    United States
    October 25, 2016
    Honourable Mention
Director Biography - Anthony Ash Brennan

Anthony ‘Ash’ Brennan is an Australian filmmaker. Ash was raised in Sydney’s western suburbs, a blue-collar, multicultural environment which would shape his views on everything from music to social justice. During the 1980s and 1990s, Ash spent his days working at Network Ten in Sydney, while moonlighting as a musician in several popular hard-rock bands. His combined music and television skills led to him becoming a Senior Producer with MTV Australia and producing, shooting and editing music videos for numerous bands. Ash honed his storytelling and filmmaking skills by producing, directing and editing short films such as ‘The Conlon’ and ‘Getting Real’. Influenced by the legendary documentarian, John Pilger, in more recent years Ash has started creating political content. He is a passionate supporter of Australian Indigenous rights and works with the indigenous community, telling their stories through his lens. Ash recently gained some notoriety with his first documentary 'Punks for West Papua' winning awards at HIIDA and IndieFest.
Now he delivers a film thats personally very close. 'Bad Jesus', loosely based on somebody from Brennan's past, is very confronting and deals with some of society's biggest issues.

AWARDS - Award for Merit - Documentary Feature. IndieFest Film Festival. San Diego USA
AWARD OF RECOGNITION - HIIFA

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Bad Jesus is a film very close to me personally. The story is based loosely on someone close to me.. Drugs, depression, mental illness have always been nearby in my life and they sadly ended his.
I didn't hold back in telling this story, it had to be real.
I had to do the story justice.