By Casey Neill
All eyes will be on Dandenong at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Short film All These Creatures is among eight in competition for the Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded at the French festival.
It’s the only Australian film to make the cut.
It was shot almost entirely in Greater Dandenong, students from local schools were used as extras, and three young people from the community worked on the film to gain industry experience through a mentorship program.
Writer and director Charles Williams told ABC 774 Tuesday 17 April that Dandenong was “a great part of town”.
Host Rafael Epstein commented that music star Beyonce chose to pop into Brunswick when she was in Melbourne and “you go to Dandenong”.
“I think she should have gone to Dandenong,” Mr Williams said.
“For me it’s one of the most interesting parts of Melbourne.
“It has a really vibrant, not just multicultural community, but it’s also incredibly diverse visually.
“We set the film in the mid-’90s and there were some areas where you could get something more dated and there were some areas that weren’t as gentrified as other parts of Melbourne.”
Mr Williams said the film was told in flashback with a teenage boy, played by 13-year-old Yared Scott who was born in Ethiopia and raised by his adoptive parents in Melbourne.
“This young boy is trying to come to terms with his own fears of what he’s going to turn into,” he said.
Greater Dandenong Council was involved with the project from its inception.
Corporate services director Mick Jaensch said the powerful and poignant film tackled the complexities of mental health, family issues and compassion.
“We worked with filmmaker Charles Williams in the making of his film and the end result has exceeded our expectations,” he said.
“The film is a universal story about how we relate to our parents and the complexity of family relationships.
“It’s amazing to see our local stories have the opportunity to have an impact internationally.”
The Cannes Film Festival runs from 8 to 19 May.
Mr Williams was not available to speak with the Journal before deadline, but said he would make time to chat for a follow-up story.
