Experiencing Interruptions?

Rat Paradise

Nils has just been fired from his lifelong job, but when a talking dead rat offers him a trip to utopia, it’s an offer he can’t refuse.

  • Kristo Hakola-Parry
    Director
  • Kristo Hakola-Parry
    Writer
  • Samuel Crawford-Smith
    Producer
  • Kristo Hakola-Parry
    Producer
  • Mikee Goodman
    Key Cast
    "Voice of the Rat"
    Disco Elysium, Martha is Dead, Total War: Warhammer III
  • Ken Welsh
    Key Cast
    "Nils"
    Target Fascination, Risen
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Surreal, Comedy, experimental
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 22, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Kristo Hakola-Parry

Kristo is a young filmmaker who has been making and editing videos since he figured out how to point the camera on his iPod, and like an addict - he just can't get enough of it. He is a director, writer, editor and occasional actor; and works full time for his production company Salty Films. His personal philosophy is: if you're enjoying making the film, then people will enjoy watching it. Although he has changed a lot since the iPod camera days, Kristo and his friends still hark back to what got them started - which is doing dumb weekly sketches about whatever they find funny. In fact their sketch group Mates Rates has got over 73K followers on TikTok now. Between these shenanigans, paid film work for businesses, and short films, Kristo can be found anywhere there are cameras or good laughs.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Rat Paradise came from the desire to simply make more of my own movies - as well as a slight existential crisis from finishing university and going into the 'real world'. After a whole life of structure and classes, suddenly we were urged to "do whatever we wanted". Well, what was it that I wanted? Seeing friends go into full time jobs and knowing that they will most likely be working full time until they retire in a way terrified me. These thoughts as well as a recent playthrough of the game Disco Elysium (which is what the rat voice is based off), led me to write the initial ideas for Rat Paradise.

The film was a lot of fun to plan and shoot - despite the classic race against time with the sun on the first day in the alley. By some miracle we managed to get around notorious council regulations and set up proper traffic control without spending my life savings. I'm glad I decided to make this film a bit more experimental and I'm proud of how it turned out. I don’t want to ‘explain’ the film – I like people coming up with their own thoughts of what the film is ‘about’ – so, send me a message if you have a theory! It was a pleasure to create Rat Paradise so I hope my philosophy holds true - and I can't wait to get back on the tools for the next one.