Experiencing Interruptions?

Habitat

How do we best nurture a beautiful relationship?

Bub and Rabbit enjoy a dynamic and spontaneous relationship full of intense love, adventurous travel, earth shattering sex, fiery arguments, and profound connection. So what happens when Rabbit insists on moving in?

  • Brett Cousins
    Director
  • Brett Cousins
    Writer
  • Teisha Lowry
    Producer
  • Amelia Ford
    Producer
  • Brett Cousins
    Producer
  • Teisha Lowry
    Key Cast
    "Rabbit"
  • Brett Cousins
    Key Cast
    "Bub"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 53 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 21, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • LA Shorts International Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    July 21, 2022
    World Premiere
Director Biography - Brett Cousins

Brett has just completed work on his newest short film Habitat. This is a project he wrote, directed, acted in, and co-produced. His full-length feature series Refuge City is in its final stages of development and will soon be out in the world and seeking a nurturing home. Brett has recently completed the screenplay on his latest feature film, Menace, which has been supported over the journey by Film Victoria.

Brett sits on the Victorian sub-committee of the Australian Writers Guild. In his capacity as a founding ensemble member of Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Brett has worked in writers’ rooms, working to develop dozens of new Australian plays as part of Red Stitch’s ‘INK’ program over the last decade.

In 2019, Brett directed the Red Stitch production of Ulster American, by David Ireland - which was nominated for a greenroom award. In 2015 Brett directed the Australian premiere of Wet House and followed it up in 2016 with You Got Older and has co- directed Nick Payne’s Incognito in 2017 and Fury in 2018.

In 2005, Brett was awarded the Green Room Award for ‘Best Actor in Independent Theatre’ and was nominated again in 2007. Brett appears in the upcoming feature films Darklands, and The Surrogate, as well as the recently released international feature film The Whistleblower, and The Menkoff Method.

At the Melbourne Theatre Company, Brett has performed in productions of The Waiting Room and Glengarry Glen Ross. Brett has performed dozens of roles at Red Stitch over the company’s 15 years including Dance Nation, Extinction, Detroit, Out Of The Water, The Aliens, Stockholm, Creditors, Farragut North, and Motortown. He has acted in seasons with the Bell Shakespeare Company and the Australian Shakespeare Company.

Other film and television credits include roles on My Life Is Murder, Howzat!, Winners and Losers, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Underbelly, City Homicide, Bootmen, Neighbours and JAG.

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Director Statement

HABITAT – How do we best nurture a beautiful relationship?

Habitat is a Comedy/Drama about a beautiful couple with everything to lose. Together ten months, Bub and Rabbit enjoy a dynamic and spontaneous relationship full of intense love, adventurous travel, earth shattering sex, fiery arguments, and profound connection. So what happens when Rabbit turns up late one night with all her belongings and insists on ‘ripping off the bandaid’, and moving in? Is this the essential evolution a pair must take together lest the relationship stagnate and die? Or will this drastic move begin this beautiful couple’s decent into turgid domestic drudgery? Both lovers retreat to their corners and then come out swinging as a tornado of love, fear, and uncertainty levels their home

I have been greatly inspired by the films of Ruben Ostlund… particularly Force Majeure and The Square. His storytelling, and the way he uses the camera to create spellbinding frames while simultaneously leaving the actors to find their chemistry, largely unhindered by the editor, seemed to me to be a fascinating way to tell what is, after all… a two hander in a small house. I wanted to experiment with framing... faming within framing. I collaborated with DOP Warwick Field, configuring lenses and shot shapes to create what we believe is an inconspicuous, stylish, yet voyeuristic style of film making that supports the narrative.

I passionately believe this subject matter is something that needs talking about. Our crew and the mentors and confidants that read our script were all struck by how close to home this subject matter was to them and their personal relationships. Why do relationships that were once magical descend into drudgery before we can even realise it? Why are once strong relationships breaking down? Does familiarity breed contempt for some people? Are we doing things the right way in our western Anglo-Christian culture? As a person who has been divorced… and as a writer, I wanted to examine these questions to try to gain some insights from my mistakes. This is a lively and insightful film that will carry with it a universal message, and I hope it will spark debate and discussion wherever it is shown.