Private Project

Creatures

During their visit to a natural history museum a young boy and his father try to understand one another's behaviour.

  • James Menelaus Rush
    Director
  • James Menelaus Rush
    Writer
  • Marija Krunic
    Producer
  • James Menelaus Rush
    Producer
  • Davide Forni
    Key Cast
  • Gianfranco Boattini
    Key Cast
  • Guy Hamiel
    Director of Photography
  • James Menelaus Rush
    Editor
  • Completion Date:
    October 15, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia, Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - James Menelaus Rush

James Menelaus Rush is a writer, director and editor based between Melbourne and London.

Having previously facilitated workshops for youths exploring notions of self, vulnerability and empathy - understanding ones own character - James became drawn to the medium of film as a means to creatively explore what it means to be human, to understand oneself and others.

His previous student short film 'Tadpoles' saw him nominated for the 2022 Australian Director's Guild Awards after having screened at multiple Academy / BAFTA qualifying festivals across Europe, America and Australia.

For 'lacerate', his distinction thesis film from the London Film School, James worked with two of Australia's most esteemed actresses Robyn Nevin and Eloïse Mignon.

James has since taken part in programs held by festivals such as the Locarno Film Festival and has also been selected to participate in various directing labs run by filmmakers such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Andrey Zvyagintsev.

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Director Statement

This film was made entirely during the 8 days of the 2024 International Filmmaking Academy. During this program seven selected directors were tasked with creating a film in Bologna, Italy whilst undertaking daily classes with esteemed Russian auteur Andrey Zvyagintsev.

The meant a very frantic 8 days of writing, location scouting, casting, shooting and editing all in the brief allotted time. Not only were we surrounded by the beautiful antiquity of Bologna, the workshop also takes place during the Cinema Ritrovato - a film festival of restored film classics that boasted talks from Chazelle, Wenders among many others present. Difficult distractions for filmmakers!

With the crew for each film essentially consisting of only four people, with us having next to no equipment (all self supplied) and working only with natural light and first time actors (in a foreign language) - the lab was an incredibly intense yet incredibly fruitful experience.

With these wild limitations in place, it was a true test of experimentation and character for myself as a filmmaker. I strived to try and not fall into any traps of beautification or touristic imagery - but rather to be sincere, to craft a simple, authentic tale between two characters I myself can relate to, to explore a relationship and dynamic important to me. To keep things simple. To find a heartbeat and listen to it. To push myself further along in my own narrative of storytelling. Even if only marginally.

As Andrey said to us, he was not there to teach our how to make films - that he could not do. What he desired to achieve was simply to help us see past whatever fears we may hold within us...