ABOUT BAREFEET FILMS
Barefeet Films was founded in 2004 by Melanie Carlile
and Cindy Smith with the aim of making co-production
films between Australia, New Zealand (Aotearoa), and
the United States.
Barefeet Films has recently produced five short films,
all of which will be premiered at major international film
festivals in 2010. A number of feature films are currently
in development, to include Diary of a Nomad.
Dream Kiss Cry, Barefeet Films' first feature film will
complete post production in 2010.
Barefeet Films strives to tell stories in new and original
ways, while focusing on indigenous, multi-lingual and
multicultural stories from around the world.
The production company aims to produce each film with
one or more of the following criteria (below), in relation to
Australian and New Zealand filmmaking and talent,
while also providing additional training and film
experience to women filmmakers.
Australian/New Zealand:
- Content, history or stoyline in the screenplay
- Actors in the lead and/or supporting roles
- Producer, director and/or writer on board each project
- Location of story
S H O R T F I L M S
F E A T U R E F I L M S
C O M M E R C I A L & C O R P O R A T E
ABOUT MELANIE
MELANIE CARLILE - DIRECTOR
Originally from New Zealand, also raised in France,
Australia and the US, Melanie studied Film &
Journalism in her undergraduate studies, and is now
pursuing her graduate studies in Film. Melanie also
attended The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and
Stella Adler Studio where she studied method acting
and playwriting. Melanie gained much of her film
experience working on independent film sets around
New York City, Europe, and Latin America. Melanie
has worked on both sides of the camera, juggling
many roles, from producer to writer, editor, director,
and production manager. Melanie now works as a
portrait photographer, videographer and actor while
also running the The Barefeet Group screenwriting
workshops. The free workshops teach the art of
screenwriting, method acting, and basic filmmaking
to women filmmakers, indigenous filmmakers,
filmmakers with disabilities, and people with limited
funds who are passionate about film.
ABOUT CINDY
CINDY SMITH - ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Cindy was born and raised in Boston, and moved
to New York to pursue a career in dance after
completing her undergraduate studies. Soon after
arriving in New York, Cindy began working in
musical theatre productions and short films which
subsequently led to her interest in directing and
producing. Cindy traveled around the US with a
traveling theatre company for six months and upon
her return to New York entered the Lee Strasberg
Theatre Institute. At Strasberg, Cindy met up with
fellow actor Melanie when they performed side by
side in a number of plays in The Marilyn Monroe
Theatre and off-off Broadway. After completing their
training at Strasberg, both Cindy and Melanie
decided it was time to produce some of their own
projects which had been in the works for some time.
Four short films were initially produced and many
more are in development. Cindy is currently working
on a feature screenplay and is pursuing her
graduate studies in drama therapy.
I N S I D E O U T
Written and directed by Melanie Carlile
Cinematography Giuseppe Malpasso
Miriam suffers from agoraphobia and has not left her apartment in 2 years. Anything she needs, her pushy housekeeper Jodie takes care of. The day Miriam finally gathers the courage to leave her apartment, she meets a young woman named Megumi. Homesick for her native Japan, the two women bond. To create Miriam's reversed worlds, everyday indoor and outdoor sound effects have been switched to emphasize her disturbed state. (Short experimental drama)
B L A C K M A I L
Written by Melanie Carlile
Directed by Melanie Carlile & Cindy Smith
Cinematography Valentina Caniglia
London, 1890. Best friends, Aileen and Winnie are separated when one of them is forced into marriage with an older man in order to save her reputation. When newcomer Harrold finds out their secret, Aileen is forced to make a decision which will affect the rest of her life and Winnie's.
(Short drama)
N E O N W E D D I N G
Directed by Maddy Lederman and Melanie Carlile
Cinematography by Jarrod Kloiber
Suzanne and Matthew travel to NY with a group of friends to escape the traditional southern wedding their mothers' have planned. Their plan is to elope
and get married under the neon lights of NYC. Wedding stress takes it toll on everyone and a health problem that Suzanne and Courtney have been concealing comes out. (Short drama)
H O M E
Cinematography Christo Bakalov
Uai makes a spontaneous trip to NYC with her neice, hoping that her husband will finally agree to havng a baby if her neice no longer lives with them. Uai turns up on her sister's doorstep with Makalina, not knowing whether Lana will accept the child she gave up at birth. (Short drama)
D R E A M K I S S C R Y
Are we all connected through life's little and meaningless occurances?
Six characters from different communities
in-and-around Sydney, are unknowingly connected through an overseas visitor. Does one person decide their destiny, or are they in control of their own fate?
The question being, do we determine our own fate
or is it determined by the actions of complete strangers?
T H E C H A R A C T E R S
Jerome and Farrah runaway from their lives in Sydney's West, attempting to leave their family troubles behind.
Rose is slowly losing her hearing. Communication breaks down. Grandma Mere warns Rose about her choices.
Backpackers, Olivier, Marco and Alex make the wrong choices one night.
Lily comes face-to-face with her former best friend and has to question her past actions all over again.
Theatre director, Kylie, tries to get her life back on track after a shocking accident.
Tamer is forced to face the facts and come clean about his sexuality, and accept his sister's decisions.
P R O D U C T I O N D E T A I L S
Directed & Produced by Melanie Carlile
Written by Melanie Carlile and Lula Chalk
Director of Photography: Ali Reggab
Editor: Frank Z. Wang
Length: Feature
Release Date: 2010 (To be announced)
Genre: Drama (some elements of Supernatural)
Language: English
Production: Australia/New Zealand
English subtitles for segments in other languages: Aboriginal dialect, Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Maori and Spanish.
P R E P R O D U C T I O N 2010
D I A R Y O F A N O M A D (Working title)
Spanning 8 countries and 8 diary entries. We follow a travelller on a unique journey of emotions, experiences and adventures into the unknown.
Written & Directed by Melanie Carlile
Feature Film / Drama
T H E R E S O N A N T F A C T O R
Based on the book The Resonant Factor, this film investivagtes the origins of the human race, and the multi-dimensional world.
Feature Film / Documentary
BACK TO PORTFOLIO
V I D E O P R O D U C T I O N
As well as short and feature film projects, Barefeet Films also specializes in the following :
- Corporate Video
- Annual Report Summaries
- Commercials
- Promotional Video
- Educational & Training Videos
- Documentaries
- Special Events Footage
- Showreels for actors (& other creative industries)
- Multilingual Video Translations
P H O T O G R A P H Y
We also specialize in Corporate Photography and Actor/Performer Headshot Photography. Please view our photography portfolio at www.zillistudio.com
C L I E N T L I S T & R E E L
Please contact us through our contact page if you would like to view our client list and showreel link.
E Q U I P M E N T & C R E W
We have many cinematographers, sound recorders, foley artists, composers, editors, writers, language translators, acting talent, voiceover talent, and motion graphics experts on our books, allowing our clients to choose the exact look and feel they are after for their video production. Our crew are all highly skilled in their fields and have experience from all over the world, ranging from short film projects through to documentaries, television commercials and feature films. We use the most up to date HD video cameras and sound equipment, and your project is edited on the latest industry standard editing software.
T H E P R O C E S S
With each client we sit down and talk about the marketing and advertising aspects of the video in detail, and most importantly we pin point the exact goals for the project, and how best to reach those goals from an audio-visual and marketing persective. The client is able to be involved with the process all the way through, from pre production stages to the final editing stages. We also have lists of voiceover and acting talent to choose from and we can organise and run auditions in state of the art meeting rooms and facilities.
I N T E R N A T I O N A L L O C A T I O N S
Barefeet Films has crew in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Europe, the United States, India and Latin America. We are able to assist your production with talent and locations in each country you require those services for. Please feel free to contact us for a quote and any questions you might have.
CORPORATE REELS
CLICK HERE FOR VIEWING
P R O D U C T I O N S T I L L S - S H O R T F I L M S
S C R E E N P L A Y S
I N D E V E L O P M E N T
T H E F O U R T H B L O C
Written by Dennis Whiteman
Political Drama, 2035.
Feature length
Location: Australian outback, New York, Sydney.
C A N O E I N T H E M I S T
Drama
Feature Length
Location: New Zealand, England.
T H E F O X
Drama/thriller
Location: Australian Outback, Bondi Beach, New York.
N E O N
Location: New York, Alabama
T H E T A B L E
Location: France, New York
T H E M O O N T H A T N E V E R R I S E S
Short feature
Location: Australia, India.
D E V E L O P M E N T
T H E W O R K S H O P S
Each year Barefeet Films hosts an intensive screenwriting, acting and/or filmmaking workshop in a different country. The workshops are aimed at people who are interested in acting, writing and filmmaking but are unable to enter into such an industry due to finances, lack of community support, or language and literacy skills . The workshop fees are very minimal in comparison to oher similar programs. For more info please contact us through our contact page.
TBG welcomes and encourages creative people from indigenous and immigrant backgrounds, women, and people with physical disabilities to join. The workshop aims to educate people in the basics of filmmaking, giving participants the confidence to go out and further pursue their education in film, or to educate others in their communities with their new found skills.
2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9 SYDNEY
The first workshop took place in Sydney, Australia, with participants haling from such diverse backgrounds as: Maori, Aboriginal, Argentinian, English, French, Italian, Lebanese, Chinese, Nepalese, El Salvadorian, and Moroccan. Some of the writers in the group had their scenes selected for Dream Kiss Cry. All participants attended the workshop 3 times a week for 4 months, and each completed a minimum of four screenplays based on assignments given to them. The screenplays will be featured in a book published in 2009, entitled "The Barefeet Group: Sydney".
2 0 1 0 I N T E R N A T I O N A L
This second workshop will be a screenwriting workshop held online. Participants from Sydney, Wellington, Tokyo, Mumbai, Paris, New York, Mexico City, San Jose (Costa Rica), Accra and Sydney will share their screenwriting assignments online with one another in an online workshop, where editing, feeback and assignments will guide each member towards their final published screenplays. The work will be considered by Barefeet Films for a future production, and will be published in 2010 in "The Barefeet Group: International". Throughout 2009 TBG will be giving short screenwriting, acting & filmmaking workshops in several counties - to be announced shortly.
T H E B A R E F E E T G R O U P
J O I N B A R E F E E T F I L M S
Barefeet Films accepts applications all year around from talented professionals in the following areas:
- Cinematographers
- Sound Recordists & Foley Artists
- Motion Graphics Experts
- Editors
- Composers
- Translators (all languages)
- Writers
- Actors & Voiceover Talent (only with showreel)
- Production Assistants
S H O W R E E L
To be considered for an interview you must be highly skilled in your field, and you must have a reel that you can send us via snail mail, or an online link. We must see your showreel before calling you for an interview.
L O C A T I O N S
We accept applications from all over the world, as many of our projects are shot in different countries. We have project managers in Sydney, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Mumbai and Mexico City that can interview you and answer any questions you may have.
I N T E R N S H I P S & T R A I N I N G
If your experience in limited, you can contact us with a letter of interest and resume, regarding internships.
Also, please read about The Barefeet Group, a section of Barefeet Films, where we teach screenwriting and filmmaking workshops in different cities, one per year. The workshops are not expensive, and usually culminate in a final short or feature film project. These workshops are a great way to get involved in film, receive a film credit, get exposure, and learn the ins-and-outs of pre production all the way through to post production and beyond.
Please click here to fill out Jobs Form...
J O B S
J O B S F O R M
C O N T A C T U S
S Y D N E Y 0 4 1 0 9 3 2 0 3 2
N E W Y OR K 9 1 7 2 7 3 8 8 9 4
b a r e f e e t f i l m s _ g m a i l . c o m
D R E A M K I S S C R Y - P R O D U C T I O N S T I L L S
W O R K S H O P P A R T I C I P A N T S & V O L U N T E E R S 2 0 0 8
The Barefeet Group holds a minimum of one workshop per year. The workshops are very low cost and often free. The workshops are in screenwriting, cinematography, editing, production and marketing, and are geared towards individuals interested in the different aspects of filmmaking, especially geared towards women, indigenous people, people with disabilities, new immigrants and people who are passionate about films but simply cannot afford the fees of a regular course of study or lack the encouragement within their community to try for a creative career as such. All courses are taught in English, however one's level of fluency is not the priority. In the screenwriting workshops new immigrants are able to write in their own language and have someone translate their text before meetings. The first Barefeet Group workshop took place in 2008 in Sydney, Australia. The diversity in our first workshop was well reflected in the short screenplays each participant wrote. A few scenes written by participants were selected and included in our feature film Dream Kiss Cry, for which these participants will receive a feature film credit. The screenplays written in this workshop ranged from drama, to comedy and science fiction. Some participants were taught additonal skills with various roles on set and off set.
MELANIE CARLILE - Workshop Director
Nationality: Australia/New Zealand-France
Roles: Producer, Script Editor, Workshop Director, Actor.
Screenplays: Key Change, Grandma Mere, The Breach,
Mr Chang's Skate Shop, Held Down, The Rose.
LULA CHALK - Workshop Assistant
Nationality: Argentina/Italy
Roles: Asst. Script Editor, Workshop Asst., Extra.
Screenplays: Night Road, Invasion Day, Stains, All iIn A Summer's Night, The Journey Between The Worlds.
SUSHIL SUBEDI - Workshop Participant
Nationality: Nepal
Roles: Workshop Participant, Production Asst (Casting)
Screenplays: The Gallery, Brazilian Love, An Eye For An Eye, The Grocery Shop, Success.
PIKIHUIA- Workshop Finalist
Nationality: New Zealand
Roles: Workshop Participant, Production Asst.
Screenplays: Valentine Cake, Maui, Independent Youth, Tiger Clown, Blue Bubbles, Brother, Fish n Chips (co-writer).
KRISTI BARTLETT- Workshop Finalist
Nationality: Australia
Roles: Workshop Participant, Production Asst. (Locations), Actor.
Screenplays: Little Rebel, Office Daze, The Nightclub,
The Secret, Lady by day.
CEDRIC MARUANI- Workshop Finalist
Nationality: France
Roles: Workshop Participant, Production Asst. Actor.
Screenplays: Not More, The Bible, Mother, Breakdown, Postcard.
TREVOR RYAN - Workshop Participant
Nationality: Australian/Aboriginal-Noongar
Roles: Workshop Participant
Screenplays: DVD Night, Curiosity, Dreamtime, Viagra, Predictions, Fish n Chips (co-writer).
SANDY GREENWOOD - Workshop Participant
Nationality: Australian/Aboriginal-Gumbayngrri/Dunghutti
Roles: Workshop Participant, Actor.
Screenplays: Redfern Daze, LoveLost, Lilly White, Deadly Times
RENATA YACCOUB- Workshop Finalist
Nationality: Australian/Lebanese
Screenplays: For Sale, Double Life, Different Worlds, Shaping Our Citizens Of The Future
MAZ KOO - Workshop Participant
Nationality: Australian/Chinese
Screenplays: Perspective, Generation,
In Jars of Clay, Drinking tea
W O R K S H O P 2 0 0 9
The Barefeet Group holds a minimum of one workshop per year. The workshops are very low cost and often free. The workshops are in screenwriting, cinematography, editing, production and marketing, and are geared towards individuals interested in the different aspects of filmmaking, especially geared towards women, indigenous people, people with disabilities, new immigrants and people who are passionate about films but simply cannot afford the fees of a regular course of study or lack the encouragement within their community to try for a creative career as such. All courses are taught in English, however one's level of fluency is not the priority. In the screenwriting workshops new immigrants are able to write in their own language and have someone translate their text before meetings.
Workshop 2009 details to be added shortly...
B A R E F E E T F I L M S I N 2 0 0 9
D R E A M K I S S C R Y S Y N O P S I S
Dream Kiss Cry is set to be the year's most compelling and controversial film. A beautiful story about love, tragedy and survival, Dream Kiss Cry is a very unique film to come out of Australia. Unique both in approach and subject matter, the film is charged with powerful scenes, mainly in English, and an array of different languages. The film was shot over 2 years, in numerous iconic locations, from The Block in Sydneys Redfern, to world famous Bondi Beach.
A gripping and heartfelt film with many unexpected twists, Dream Kiss Cry revolves around four main stories. The film delves into the lives of several characters and the strange connection that binds them. Jerome and Farrah, runaway teens from Mount Druitt; Rose, a photographer, losing her hearing after a tragic accident; Lily, the spoilt daughter of a wealthy lawyer; Kylie, a young up-and-coming Aboriginal theatre director. The link between these characters is unexpected and thought provoking, as is the journey each character goes on.
Jerome, a maori teen, living in Mount Druitt with his aunt, uncle and cousins, falls in love with Farrah, a Lebanese-Australian teen, from a rather relaxed muslim family. Tamer, Farrah's brother, is a confused young man in his 20's who seems to lay down the law for his sister more than her own parents do. Tamer does not approve of his sister having a boyfriend, let alone a Maori boyfriend. When things get too much for Farrah living at home with her brother, and for Jerome with his family, the two lovers decide to leave Mount Druitt and head to Bondi. A dramatic turn of events will take them back to Mount Druitt before they even make it Bondi Beach together.
A tragic accident after a night of partying, takes Rose to a different world. A camera which she finds at the scene of the accident, changes the course of her life forever, and the accident causes her to lose most of her hearing. Dealing with slowly losing her hearing and needing to change her lifestyle, Rose also has to pay the consequences of taking the camera. As Rose works for Mr Yamakawa, she must deal with the effects that her photography has on her life and the lives of others. Her party lifestyle and recreational drug use spirals as she tries to live life to the fullest before completely losing her hearing.
Lily who has always been the popular girl, the centre of attention, both at school and at home, continues to maintain this position in her early 20's. The daughter of Dominic, a well-to-do Sydney lawyer, Lily's mother abandoned her and her father as a child, and has been spoilt by her father as a result of this. Lily is best friends all through high school with Cheryl, until an evil act forces Cheryl to change schools. Years later the two girls come face-to-face, and questions must be answered. Lily has played with people her entire life, until she fainlly meets someone better at playing her own game.
Kylie, grew up in the Aboriginal community of The Block, in Sydney's Redfern. Growing up Kylie was always a storyteller and actor, and now as an adult she teaches theatre at the community centre at The Block. Kylie is inadvertently involved with a friend's wayward behavior, and becomes ithe accessory in a tragic accident. Kylie cuts herself off from the world, and gives up a major opportunity in the theatre. With the support of her friends on The Block, Kylie manages to believe in herself again, however the question is, will she be able to go back to the theatre ever again?
These four very diverse stories, all take place in different communities in Sydney, however all of the characters are connected through life, tragedy and survival.
The film was inspired by the screenplays created in the annual writing workshop, held by Barefeet Films. The Barefeet Group, is a writing workshop made up of writers from all over the world, both seasoned and amateur. From these short multicultural screenplays, the feature screenplay for Dream Kiss Cry was developed by actor/co-writer/director, Melanie Carlile.
The filmmakers shot the film over 2-years all throughout Sydney, without any private or government funding.
Actors featured in the film are:
Rashad Dineen (The Combination)
Leon Burchill (Stone Bros)
Ben Brock (The Last Romantic,
The Day The Earth Stopped)
Alfred Coolwell (Crocodile Dundee II)
Dream Kiss Cry is currently in post-production and will be premiered at major international film festivals in 2010.
For more information please contact press representative, Anna Villanueva at 0410 932 032 or through our contact page.
SYDNEY - NEW YORK
BAREFEET FILMS
keepin' it necessary...
