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Heel

A farmer, grieving the loss of his dog, buys a time travel device to reunite with his four-legged companion; a plan that drives him towards a painful confrontation with the state of his life and those he has left behind.

  • Thomas Fairchild
    Director
  • Thomas Fairchild
    Writer
  • Thomas Fairchild
    Producer
  • Ian Bolt
    Key Cast
    "Doug"
  • Tracie Filmer
    Key Cast
    "Barbara"
  • David Aponas
    Cinematographer
  • Keely Maya Hall
    Production Designer
  • Wendy Sa'ed
    Composer
  • Thomas Fairchild
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Drama
  • Runtime:
    39 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 26, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Blackmagic URSA Mini G2
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Thomas Fairchild

Thomas Fairchild is a Brisbane based filmmaker and passionate member of the local narrative filmmaking community. Since his earliest memories of going to the movies he has had a deep love for genre movies including science fiction, westerns and historical epics. This interest would expand and mature into a lifelong passion for the storytelling power of the art of cinema.

He studied Film and Television at QUT in Brisbane where he met much of the community he still works with to this day. Among these early experiences he served as the first assistant director on the independent science fiction feature film Space/Time where his eyes were opened to the amazing possibilities of local and independent filmmaking. He learned that he already had everything he needed to tell compelling stories through this beautiful medium.

Now drawing on a decade of professional experience in a diverse range of filmmaking roles, he has helmed a number of short films as director, producer, writer and editor. His latest and most ambitious project ‘Heel’ reflects not only his voice but the extraordinary talents of the local filmmaking community that assembled around him.

Filmography:
Out of this World (2020 - Comedy Short)
The New Edenshire Post (2020 - Comedy Short)
Pieces (2018 - Drama Short)

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Director Statement

When I first started conceiving Heel, it wasn’t obvious that it would be a time travel film. The only thing I did know was that it would be about a man and his dog. And as I reflected on this bond, I revisited my own memories and confronted one of the great pains of my life.

After spending ten formative years growing up alongside my family dog, an unexpected health complication led to his sudden passing while I was living out of home. I only found out after he was already gone; I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. From my perspective, one day he simply vanished from the world. This surreal absence hurt more than the fact of his passing.

I dreamt of changing this, and recognised that this was what Heel would be about. Instead of looking at what mind-bending chaos could be caused by the invention of time travel I asked myself, honestly, what I would do with such technology if it was safe.

But as I imagined righting wrongs and correcting my mistakes, I realised that without the desire for change, without the growth I had experienced, such technology would be useless to me. This truth became the foundation of Heel; that we cannot skip our own growth and development, and we cannot change the past. Just as the laws of physics seem to suggest, we can only move forward through time.