"Making it Handmade" to screen in Bendigo!

Wow who can believe that its already December...where did this year go?? Life and raising a small child have been keeping me occupied, so please excuse my lack of blogging!

I'm very excited to announce that "Making it Handmade" will be screening at Bendigo's Star Community Cinema on Sunday 12th December at 3:30pm. I'll be there to introduce the film and there will be a Q and A afterwards with Belinda Moon, who is an avid Bendigo crafter and hosted by the lovely and talented Megan Spencer. Also one lucky person in the audience will win a goodies bag generously donated by Bob Boutique. It should be a great afternoon with devonshire tea thrown in! I can't wait for a scone with cream and jam!

Pip Lincolne, who is in "Making it Handmade", let it slip that her secret ingredient for the best scones is lemonade! Apparently, its an old tip from the CWA cookbook!! Also if you haven't yet, go and check out her new book. It is a beautiful work of art!

Also, in the November issue of The Melbourne Magazine that comes with The Age newspaper, myself and the lovely Royce made an appearance. For those of you who missed it, I'll scan it soon and post it up here. It was good to read an article that wasn't so sensationalized and gave me more depth, than just being a feminist erotic filmmaker! Mmm just read that back...wow it sounds conceited!

Anyway, I hope to see you in Bendigo, if not I hope you have a good silly season and if you are looking for a present for that crafty person in your life, why not get them a copy of "Making it Handmade"! Click here to buy it from my online shop!

Online shop now up and running!

Finally, I have set up an online shop where you can purchase some of my films (more will be added soon). Being the DIY kind of woman and after constantly being contacted by people wanting to know where they could buy my films, I decided to give it a go! There is a link on the side but you can also click here to access it. Happy shopping!

Sydney Screening of "Making it Handmade"

Thank you to all who turned out for the screening in Sydney.

With my partner and baby in tow we headed off to the MeMuson Archives for the screening. It wasn't that far away from where we were staying, so we decided to walk which seemed like a good idea until it started to rain and rain and rain. Stepping in to the eclectic screening space of MeMuson Archives we were warmly greeted by Jamie and Aspa. Aspa was knitting an intricate baby rug, so we sat and discussed knitting while we waited for people to arrive.

The turn out while small (being from Victoria, we didn't realise that it was a long weekend and lots of people go away!) they were certainly passionate about craft! It was interesting to see how this audience reacted to the film and there was lots of heated discussion afterwards about the ethics of handcrafting goods and is it okay to subcontract it out either here in Australia or overseas!

Sydney here we come! And talking about sex and films!

I'm getting very excited as I'm off to Sydney this weekend for the screening of "Making it Handmade". Two of the women in the documentary, Rayna Fahey and Casey Jenkins are going to be in Sydney town for the Object, "We craft this city", so they will be joining me for a Q and A after the screening. To book tickets you can click here, its strictly limited seating!

Finally, after a lot of running around like a chook with my head cut off, the DVD's of "Making it Handmade" should be in my hot little hand on Thursday! I've set up an online shop, so they will be available to purchase soon. Keep an eye on here or facebook for more details.

To add to my already full dance card, I will be speaking at Pleasure Salon in Melbourne on Monday 4th Oct about female erotic filmmakers and how they are reclaiming the genre! I was hoping to be able to show some clips from some of the great films I got to see while I was in Berlin last year, but unfortunately the venue is getting a little jittery and I'm only allowed to show clips leading up to sex scenes, but not the scenes themselves!! Oh well, guess I will be using verbal language to describe them instead!

...and then there were more screenings!

Thanks to everyone who came out and braved the crazy Melbourne weather to see "Making it Handmade!" It was a great day and the craft market in the foyer made it an event. To see people come out so excited and inspired was the best review anyone could ever get! Since, i have received emails from people who have felt inspired to get crafting or return to it!

Big thanks to my Mum who helped with the box office, Changa Mole for helping with the door and the beautiful Rayna Fahey for organising the craft market.

The film is traveling to Sydney next on Sunday 2nd October as part of the Object Gallery's "We Craft this City". For details and to book tickets check out here!

Also looking into possible screenings in Brisbane, Lismore and Perth, but will keep you informed. If you want to keep up to date with everything that is going on with the film join the facebook page!

Today I checked out the DVD design by my wonderful brother, Richard. It looks amazing so I can't wait to have one in my hot little hand. Now, I have to get off my arse and record a director's commentary and what's more work out how to author it on the dvd...and look after Royce and teach and .........ah the joys of balancing motherhood and making DIY films!

On another note.... I just found out that "The Band" has now sold to France and Korea! I wonder if it will be subtitled or dubbed??? Could make for some interesting watching!

If you missed "Making it Handmade" at MIFF!

If you missed "Making it Handmade!" at MIFF, you now have a chance to catch it! Yes I can finally announce that there is going to be not one but two screenings of "Making it Handmade" in Melbourne on Saturday September 4th at Kaleide Cinema at RMIT (360 Swanston st, Melbourne) at 2:30pm and 4pm. There will also be a craft market from 2pm til 5:30pm in the foyer.

You can purchase tickets here.

Its selling fast, so don't miss out again!

Look forward to seeing you at the screening!

Premiere of "Making it Handmade!"

All the Ladies on stage for the Q and A.






The sold out cinema!



Images stolen from Rayna Fahey!

I have to admit this is all still a blur!

To begin with I was running late, ah the joys of trying to get ready and change a newborn didn't quite go to plan! Royce decided that he was going to unleash a stream of wee onto his clean outfit during his last nappy change before we walked out the door, so what should have taken 5 mins ended up being closer to 15!

On arriving at the theatre I meet up with Megan Spencer who was generously chairing the Q and A and sat down in one of the vibrating chairs at the cinema to give Royce a feed before the film. While sitting there I realised that I had my boob out in front of part of the queue for my film!! Oh well!

Was I nervous? Mmmmm, yes a little, which I hope wasn't evident during my intro speech!! It was a great opportunity to thank the many people who have been involved in the film. Especially my brother, Richard Brownfield, who designed such beautiful opening titles and who in my placenta brained state had forgotten to add to the end credits of the film!! Please forgive me and I promise it will be fixed before the next screening. I'm hoping I didn't forget anyone else!

The film seemed to go down well, quite a few laughs, which is always nice to hear....another baby out into the world!

After that I was joined up on stage for a Q and A by the gals whom without there would be no film; Gemma Jones, Pip Lincolne, Rayna Fahey and Casey Jenkins. I loved the fact that they answered most of the the questions and I could just stand there and look crafty most of the time! Thank you sooooooo soooooo soooo much for being a part of this film, and thanks to all those who have helped out along the way, especially Robert Harding for the brilliant sound design and original music, another one to Rayna for being the music supervisor, Carla McConnell for helping out in the early stages, Faythe Levine for giving me the opportunity to interview her, Peta Pledger for being the devil advocate and constantly asking me probing questions about the doco ( i'm so sorry that camera stuffed up and i couldn't use the footage I shot of you!) and to the Melbourne craft community for letting me stick a camera in their faces!

Also big Yah and thanks to Justine from Mixtape Zine for letting me interview her and for providing Mixtape zines showbags for spot Prizes!

To all of you who missed out on getting tickets...do not fear there will be another screening of the film by the end of the month, so keep your eyes on here or join me on facebook for more info!

On the Radio!

This morning I had the pleasure of for the second time being on Jon Faine's Conversation Hour on 774 ABC, promoting the screening of "Making it Handmade" at MIFF.

I thought I was going to be running late, for those of you not living in Melbourne, a power line went down and hence my baby sitter, Nanna Jean was stuck at Flinders street station without a train in sight! So my wonderful partner came to the rescue and I jumped into a cab. Halfway there will applying my makeup I realised the cab was swerving a bit and looked into the rear view mirror to see the cabbies eyes slowly closing!! Promptly I began asking him questions in rapid succession and we managed to get to the ABC studios without incident!

Jon's co-host today was actor Adam Zwar from one of my favourite Australian TV shows "Wilfred" and the other guest was John Wood of Blue Heelers fame! What a star studded line up! However, once the subject of my new wave erotic film and sex came up then all of a sudden it was like being in the studio with three giggling school boys!!

It was lots of fun but I was wondering if we would actually end up talking about "Making it Handmade!". However I'm glad I can finally gett my dirty little secret of loving craft out into the open!!!

You can listen to the interview here.

MIFF screening sold out!

I can't believe it! The MIFF screening is sold out! Sorry to all of you who missed out. I'm trying to organise another screening somewhere else. Will let you know when its organised! I'm still in shock and I keep receiving emails from complete strangers who are upset they missed out!

"Making it HANDMADE" to premiere at MIFF

Photo by Rayna Fahey



Yes finally it can be announced!!

I've had to sit on this one for quite a few months....which for me is hard, especially as I was soooooo excited to have it premiering in my home town!

Sorry its taken so long for me to post about this but I've been making other things too while I'm been finishing this movie, and finally on early Sunday June 20th after nearly three days of intense labour I pushed out a beautiful baby boy called Royce! One of the hardest projects I've ever had to do! Oh well I can now say I'm giving birth to two children in two months, the other of course being a film baby!

Here is the MIFF website if you want to find out more and I'd love to see you all there on Sunday August 1st. Hang around afterwards so you can pick the brains of Pip, Casey, Rayna, Gemma and myself!

Also if you haven't checked it out there is a wonderful article written by Megan Spencer ( who will be chairing the Q and A after the screen of the film) in Frankie Magazine. I've always called this mag the "cool kids mag" so I've been joking with friends that I'm now one of the cool kids!!! hee hee what a joke, I'm really a bit of dag....and thought I was too much of weirdo to be considered even slightly cool! The above picture I stole from the lovely Gemma Jones's blog as I haven't been able to get into my office and scan the article yet!

Hope to see you all at the screening!

Link to article that appeared in Playboy Magazine in the Philippines and editing madness!

Who can believe it is May already! Where has this year gone and can I have some more time in my days please!!

I'm currently trying to finish the fine cut of "Making it Handmade!". Having set the deadline as the end of May and now teaching more hours, I'm finding only being able to dedicate 2 days a week to it, very unsatisfying. Just as I'm getting back into it and powering along I have to switch my brain back into teaching mode! At times like this I had wish I had funding and wasn't doing this with no budget.....why do I torture myself so!!!??????

Then again I would rather be making films than not so if this is the way it needs to be, then so be it!

Finally, I have a link to the article written by the very talented Ana Santos about female erotic filmmakers for Playboy in the Philippines.

I'm still waiting for my award from the Feminist Porn Awards in the mail but above is an image that I stole from "The Feminist awards" facebook page! Can't wait to feel its cold metal in my hand....I wonder if it will be stopped by customs!!! hee hee

Must return to the darkened cave of editing heaven, I promise I will emerge again soon!

"The Band" wins Hottest Feature at the Feminist Porn Awards in Canada!

Wow is all I can say. Its an honor to be considered amoung such a talented group of women, but to win an award blew my mind! They actually let me know in advance and I've had to sit on it for a few weeks, which has been hard, but now that its all over I can let you all know. Check out all the winners here.

I wish I had been there but due to my physical condition I had to stay here in Australia! Oh well, but I did record an acceptance speech and sent it to them to screen on the night.

When my award arrives in the mail, I'll take a picture and put it up here for all to see! Does that mean I can now call myself multi award winning feminist erotic filmmaker??? hee hee

On other films, after a weeks break I'm back to fine cutting "Making it Handmade!" Hoping to knock it over in a month or so but worried as my teaching load is about to increase for the next six weeks....looks like I'll be kissing my weekends goodbye!!

Rough cut of "Making it Handmade" finished and other news!

Photo by Rayna Fahey

Finally, I have finished the rough cut for "Making it Handmade!". It feels great but also has left me feeling unmotivated, or maybe I just need some rest after arriving in my office too many mornings at 4:30am to begin work! Yes madness I know, but I'm not a very good sleeper and figured why spend two to three hours trying to get back to sleep when I could go and work, undisturbed instead!! It was a great idea at the time, but I think I'm paying for it now.

I screened the cut to Rayna Fahey of Radical Cross Stitch and Casey Jenkins of Craft Cartel, who are both in it, the other night and got a great response from them, which was ace. They said they felt inspired to go out and make more things. I just hope it has the same effect on everyone who watches it!

Other news, if you are in the Philippines, try and grab a copy of the Jan/Feb edition of Playboy magazine as there is an article about female erotic filmmakers, and yes I'm one of them. I was hoping to post the article here but I'm still waiting on the last three pages...they gave the article 6 pages!!

An article I wrote on the amazing women I meet at the Berlin Porn Film Festival (which is calling for entries for this years festival), in Metro magazine, has hit news stands, so go and check it out!

Still on amazing women at the Berlin Porn Film Festival, Petra Joy is soon releasing an exiting compilation of female made erotica, with scenes from the films and interviews, called "Her Porn Volume Two". She interviewed me for it while I was in Berlin, so I can't wait to see the final product. The trailer is online now, but be warned its nude and sexy, so don't watch it at work!!! hee hee

Also got two very exciting bits of news over the past few days but have to keep a lid on it for a little while, but will let you know as soon as I'm able! I hate keeping secrets!

The Band nominated for Feminist Porn Awards

I'm so thrilled! The Band has been nominated for a Feminist Porn Award! Very exciting. I would love to make the journey to Toronto for the awards but I'm back teaching this week so I'm guessing I'll have to miss this one. Such a bummer, that is one of the dramas of living on an island at the bottom of the world! But still very excited to be in such good company!

Other good news is that my doco "Making it Handmade!" has a few paragraphs written about it in the most recent addition of IF
(Inside Film) magazine! Does this mean I'm moving from Smut maker to legitimate filmmaker??? Hee hee Like I would care either way!

Also two festivals has asked to have a look at "Making it Handmade!" so I need to return to editing. I'm nearly done, but I need to go and shot some more footage on Thursday. Nothing very exciting, just computer screens and the like, but its getting closer to being a complete rough cut so that is exciting. Next I need to get some fresh eyes to have a look and give me some feedback!

Australia's sexploitation and erotic filmmaking history!

Last week wasn't as productive as I hoped. The intense and ongoing heat, knocked me out and made it impossible to sleep, but the rough cut for "Making it Handmade!" is still chugging along. I'm finding it interesting to see how over the year or so that I shot this documentary, not only did my interviewing technique improve but also my shooting skills. Yet again making another film has been a massive learning curve for me! I guess that is something that sucks me in...everytime you make another film you learn something new!

Any of you reading this are probably thinking, but what does that have to do with Australia's sexploitation and erotic filmmaking history....to be honest not much, accept I was working on the film when I spoke with legendary Australian Erotic filmmaker John D Lamond. Like most Australian genre filmmakers you may not know his work but if you've seen that great documentary about ozploitation, "Not quite hollywood!" you would probably know who he is. Just to refresh your memory, he is the one being interviewed with a pole dancer in the background or you may have seen some of his film "the ABC of love and sex: Australian Style" and "Felicity", just to name a few.

I was interested to talk with him but also a little weary as I have found male film makers of that generation to be .....how does one put this...pigs! However, John was anything but! He was lovely, humorous and extremely personable. We talked about the trials and tribulations of making erotic films in Australia, from dealing with censorship issues to trying to find cast who can act and don't have a problem taking off their clothes. He was as wealth of information and shared so many stories about his filmmaking adventures not only here but overseas. One story that suck in my mind was how he challenged the censorship board in regards to masturbation scenes in "the ABC of love and sex: Australian Style", inspirational and sad that still as a society that is so inundated with sexual images in our daily lives from advertising to music video clips on TV, we still are more threatened by sex than we are by violence..... It was truly an honour to speak with him and fingers crossed I get to work with him in the future.

I have always felt like I was working in a bubble here, until I went to Berlin last year and meet so many amazing women making films, so it was nice to connect with a fellow erotic filmmaker here in Australia who strives to make good erotic films with high production design, good scripts and acting. I no longer feel so alone!!! hee hee

Must return to the edit suite as I have a strict deadline to have the rough cut finished by the end of Feb. As my dad would say its time to put your head down and your bum up!

Rough Cutting "Making it Handmade!"

Knickers Making Day from a Kaotic Kraft Kuties Gathering.

Last week, after an extremely unproductive and frustrating week, I have decided to take a rest from writing "Talk to Me". It was driving me nuts and I kept trying to do everything else to avoid writing. As one of my music teachers said when I was a child "procrastination is the robber of time and thief of opportunity!" So rather than continue the torture I have put the script aside until I'm once again ready to face it and make a more concerted and positive go of it!

In the meantime, my hands have not been still and I have begun rough cutting "Making it Handmade!" This is bringing me considerable joy and after three days I'm nearly half way through it! Why is making films so much more fun than writing them!!!??

"Making it Handmade!" is the first real documentary I have attempted. I've been shooting it for about a year now and the editing skills I learnt while working as an editing assistant under the brilliant Tony Stevens last year has been invaluable. Thanks Tony you rock!

I'm hoping to have a rough cut finished by the end of Feburary, so I must return to FCP and continue.

No doubt I will write again before the end of march....but if not keep an out for an article I wrote on the Berlin Porn Film Festival in Metro Magazine.

Script writing and other computer bound tasks!

Happy New Year. I hope you all had a good break. Mine was spent painting the lounge room, which is now a lovely shade of yolk yellow and white!

After a recent heat wave here in Melbourne I am once again back in my office typing away. First port of call for the new year was two articles on The Berlin Porn Film Festival and some of the brilliant women I meet there, Candida Royalle, Petra Joy, Ovidie and Shine Louise Huston. This also meant I finally got to view the armfuls of film I brought back with me from The Berlin Porn Film Festival. A few stand outs were "Champion: love hurts" by Shine Louise Huston, a seriously hot and queer film for women that was beautifully shot, moody and brutal at times. It was great to see some real porn for lesbian rather than the high heeled hetero male fantasy we are served up in mainstream pornography. Petra Joy's "art-core" Female Fantasies, great art direction and excellent sexual chemistry between the actors. Jennifer Lyon Bell's serious sexy short film called Matinee and I revisited Ovidie's Stories of Sex(es) which is still hilariously funny and sexy at the same time.

"The Band" is showing at the Athens Porn Film Festival this weekend, so if you happen to be in Greece please go out and check it out!

I'm still wading through the rewrite of "Talk to me". I was hoping to have it done by the silly season but it didn't happen so I have until the end of the month to make it work! Then I will sink my teeth into creating a trailer for "making it handmade" which should be up on Youtube sometime in Febuary, but I'll let you know.

I must return to my re-writing and I promise to post more regularly this year than I did last!