15-02-26 / FLICKERFEST & AUSTRALIA

The Sun burped another CME towards Earth and created auroras everywhere. Naturally, the UK was under a blanket of thick cloud from top to bottom while friends in France and Germany enjoyed incredible scenes. The next day I flew out to Australia for a screening of Notes From Planet Three at FlickerFest, courtesy of a travel grant from the British Council. The flights went via the USA and passed over Greenland and Arctic Canada in a perpetual post-sunset glow, so my fingers and nuts were crossed for aurora above the clouds. Alas, there was only a baby crescent moon to stare at for hours, like a toddler.

Despite the first journey being 10 hours, I was determined to save sleep for the second flight, which would be 14 hours and arriving in Sydney early morning. Sadly, that part was much busier and far less comfortable, complete with an instant-recliner sitting in front of me. You know the sort - the plane levels, seat belt lights switch off, and before you can even think about what film to watch it’s game over because the screen kisses your eyeballs. The guy wasn’t even sleeping, switching on his reading light and creating a booming glow off his woolly WHITE hat like a middle-finger to all. I got the impression from the chat between him and flight attendants after landing that he was some kind of local celebrity.

When I got to Bondi I still couldn't sleep, so went for a stroll and quickly noticed a familiar looking bridge. Sure enough, it was the location of the viral gun massacre one month before. In the roaring sunshine it was surreal and disturbing to imagine. A few days later I would see two dipshits on this same bridge amuse themselves with a quick re-enactment of the shooter, howling with laughter and high-fiving. 

Attended the festival opening reception and al fresco screening, then finally got some kip, despite some great news about a US premiere for Notes From Planet Three threatening to keep me awake with all sorts of gratitude. 

Woke on Saturday and strolled the 90 minute Bondi-to-Bronte coast walk. What a stunning part of the world this is, man. Turns out four shark attacks over 48 hours in Sydney waters hadn't deterred the surfers here. Also, everyone appears to be jacked, it’s really weird. Sculpted bodies in all directions.

In the afternoon it was the first international competition screening, which I really enjoyed. Had to skip the next show to find food and watch surfers, then went to two national programmes in the evening. 

Loads of years ago, someone asked me if I was carrying a rifle in my tripod shoulder bag. That always stayed with me. Here, I found myself leaving the tripod in my room to avoid unnerving anyone. One less thing to lug around in the heat anyway. Sunday was a scorching 38 degrees and I got burned despite sunscreen while out filming.

Notes From Planet Three screened at 4pm but, being a sweltering Sunday afternoon, attendance wasn't quite as generous as it had been at other screenings. I was first in the show, which is always a shame as the audience haven't really settled into a vibe yet. A guy found me after the show to say it should have been in the evening slot, outdoors and beneath the stars, noting that Jupiter was above last night’s opening show. A fellow nerd!

Did the federation cliff walk on Monday, heading north toward Watson's Bay. It was cloudy, so a welcome relief from the harsh sun. A surprise surcharge on a cup of coffee taught me that it was ‘Australia day’. I think it’s the shops passing on the extra they have to pay their staff to the customer. Back in Bondi I found a sheltered corner of the beach to record some sound, and wound up filming a crapload of comedy crabs.

Tuesday was all change. But first, back to the beach corner to see my crab pals, this time bathed in Eastern morning sunshine. While there I received a message from UK colleagues saying they were at a sold out London Short Film Festival screening for Notes From Planet Three.

Then in the afternoon a flight north to visit with my nephew Connor in Evans Head. I wanted to take the 12 hour train but arranging it became more complicated than it should be and, as usual with trains, it was too expensive. On this part of the trip I hoped to see some southern hemisphere night sky, despite cloudy forecasts and a bright moon for my whole stay. As (bad) luck would have it, there was no moon while I was in Sydney, but plenty of light pollution. Now I get away from the lights, the moon dumps on proceedings.

Evans Head was a different world. More stunning beaches and nature, but super quiet with hardly any people . Before dark we checked out some potential shooting locations. I saw my first kangaroos (!) and dolphins surfacing in the local bay. Too cloudy for stars.

The next day I popped to a super-Australian mangrove swamp and crept about trying not to spook the fiddler crabs, then I an unidentified bug attached itself to my arm and I leapt about whapping the air with my hat, scaring every crab away.

Stayed out all night on a private farm owned by a mate of Connor’s. The moon and patchy clouds killed any chance of spectacular skies but I was just happy to be out, stoking a fire and shooting with a mix of cameras, including a 360 and medium format film. The end of moonset was special to watch just before 5am, and an hour later the arrival of pre-sunrise Australian magpies caught me off guard. Their call is insane! On the way back home, singing to stay awake at the wheel, we stopped somewhere rumoured to have koalas in the trees. I couldn't see faces but filmed some arse-scratching action.

Needing a place where I could shoot both east and south, I drove an hour to Black Rocks beach on suspension-busting roads, dodging erratic wallabies and negotiating with a stubborn lizard who refused to move out of the road. Arrived at the coast with enough time to set up for the fleeting half-hour of pre-moon dark sky. A lovely place, requiring another visit. All kinds of unidentifiable beasties moved in an out of my headlights on the drive back.

The following afternoon I went walking to Goanna headland and found Seven Mile beach beyond it. Deserted golden sands as far as the eye can see. I decided to swim but got battered by thrashing waves so gave up. On the trail back to the car I stumbled upon kangaroos with lively ears. When evening came I returned to Black Rocks for what would now be 1 hour of dark sky before the moon. Just an amazing time.

While down on the beach retrieving the 360 camera, having had the world to myself since arriving (clickable pics below), I heard a male voice shout “Oiiiiiiiiii!”. It was so weird and unexpected. Time to leave. On the drive back, a big spider lowered itself from the trees in front of my full beams and hit the bumper with an audible thud. When I got out 30 minutes later I got snagged on its extra-grip silk, which seemed to have wrapped around the car.

Another day and another headland walk, dodging man-trap spider webs strewn across trails. Then, a final clear night. With the moon rising half an hour later each evening, there would be 90 minutes of darkness this time. Connor accompanied me this time and we kept it local, going down to Chinamans beach with a huge broken mirror to further test an idea for a new film. Did a rotation shot featuring ye olde Milky Way and some 360. Also snagged some bonus night kangaroos back at the car park while packing down. The nightly routine of backing up media to external drives meant another too-short sleep of 4 hours, which was beginning to take its toll.

Left Evans Head the next morning with amazing memories, heading back to Sydney for the final day. After checking in to my Airbnb I squeezed in a walk before dark, taking a ferry across the harbour to Taronga Zoo, then walking the peninsula path to Chowders Bay via Bradley's Head. It took a few hours because I kept stopping to film bloody lizards. Having rearranged my bag contents for flying back to Sydney, I was gutted to find I had two camera bodies in my backpack instead of one body and a zoom lens. So, limited to the little 50mm pancake lens (which I was lucky enough to have tucked in there) I shot what I could. On the bus back I was so tempted to hop off and sample the Saturday night city buzz, but the sensible eighth of my brain insisted on the decent night's sleep I wouldn’t get on the flight home.