The Koalas is a documentary that follows in the footsteps of the McIntyre's Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story and Jane Hammonds's Black Cockatoo Crisis, in that it essays the plight of an Australian icon - the koala - alongside the stories of the activists, ecologists, politicians, and wildlife carers who are putting themselves on the line to save the iconic creature.Directed and produced by Gregory Miller and Georgia Wallace-Crabbe, The Koalas is a powerful, if at times devastating, documentary that speaks to a crisis occurring right in front of us. Whether it's bushfires or landscape clearing or road strikes, the life of the koala is always in danger.Georgia speaks to me ahead of The Koalas screenings at the Berlin Down Under Film Festival on 29 September, Adelaide on 29 September, the Darwin Deckchair Cinema on the 30th of September, and in Copenhagen on October 3rd and 6th. In the following extensive conversation, Georgia talks about her journey into filmmaking, her path from winning awards the Melbourne Film Festival to making films that told global stories, to the importance of creating a film about the koala.This is a generous discussion with Georgia, and one I'm grateful to have had. If you are interested in the work that is occurring across the nation to support koalas, please seek out this film. For additional information and future film screenings, visit thekoalasfilm.comThe Koalas is supported by Dov Kornits and Screen Inc. To find out more about Screen Inc, visit https://screeninc.com.au/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The upcoming 18th Annual Sydney Underground Film Festival kicks off in Newtown, NSW, on Thursday 12 September with a Smell-O-Rama screening of John Waters cult classic Female Trouble, celebrating its 50th anniversary. The festival runs until Sunday 15 September with a huge array of films and features ranging from the truly bonkers Vulcanizadora to the superbly surreal Can't Stop the Music extravaganza, alongside frightfully great features like the Aussie dark comedy The Organist to the latest work of the provocative filmmaker Bruce LaBruce, The Visitor.There will also be a book launch from myself on Friday evening at Better Read Than Dead, where I'll be joined by Jack Sargeant and Platon Theodoris to kick off my new book, Lonely Spirits and the King.Tickets for all of these films, and more, are available via SUFF.com.au.Ahead of the festivals launch, I caught up with Festival Director Nathan Senn to chat about what makes an underground film festival an underground film festival, how important it is to showcase films from different genre backgrounds, and what it means to amplify Australian filmmakers like Saara Lamberg, whose film The Lies We Tell Ourselves screens at the festival on Sunday 15 September.We dig into a bunch of recommendations, stories about the films screening at the fest, and a bunch more in this in depth discussion.If you're in Sydney for the fest, come along and say hello. It's going to be one heck of a festival. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Law Chen's familial documentary Starring Jerry as Himself follows retired Florida man Jerry C. Hsu as he's recruited by Chinese police to become an undercover agent. The documentary follows Jerry as he retells his story about how he was recruited, what actions he needed to take to help inform the agents, and, most importantly, the lengths he goes to to hide his recruitment from his family.Starring Jerry as Himself features Jerry and his family re-enacting Jerry's story, which is frequently tense, but thanks to the optimism and positive outlook of the world that Jerry has, the film is also rather endearing.In the following interview with Jerry and his son (and the films producer) Jonathan, we delve into the spoilers of the film, and as Jonathan mentions at the start, the two would hope that audiences go into the film knowing as little as possible.Starring Jerry As Himself was the Grand Jury Prize Winner at the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival, where it also received the award for Best Actor for Jerry, and it was the Audience Award winner.In the following interview, Jerry talks about his life on screen, what it was like reenacting these moments of his life, while Jonathan talks about what it is like to have Jerry as a father.This interview was recorded ahead of the films launch at the Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival in June 2024. Keep an eye out for a future release in Australia.Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month.    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the smash hit films of the year on the festival circuit has been Mike Cheslik's wonderfully inventive Hundreds of Beavers.Ahead of the films launch in Australia earlier this year, Nadine Whitney caught up with the creative team behind the film to discuss all of its eccentricities.Nadine wrote about the film in her review saying:Describing Hundreds of Beavers is almost reductive. It is quite simply a film that must be experienced to appreciate its genius. It is symphonic physical comedy with a sharp eye on what makes slapstick so universally appealing. It is saucy, subversive, and brilliant.Hundreds of Beavers is now available to watch on demand in Australia. We highly recommend you pull together a group of friends and yack it up with this delirious film.Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month.    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With 2021s phenomenal documentary River under his belt, filmmaker and musician Joseph Nizeti is no stranger to bringing the world of nature to life on the big screen in a way that transforms how we see the environment with live alongside. With his latest film, Fungi: Web of Life, which he co-directs alongside Gisela Kaufmann, Joseph turns from the worlds rivers to the unexplored world of mycology.Fungi: Web of Life is a 3D IMAX presentation which makes its Australian premiere at the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival, featuring immersive cinematography by Cam Batten, a powerful score by Piers Burbrook de Vere, and two of the most captivating guides through the world of mushrooms that you could wish for: UK biologist Dr Merlin Sheldrake, who walks us through the grand Tarkine rainforest of Tasmania to explain why fungi are vital to a healthy ecosystem, while famed mushroom enthusiast, Björk, provides a calming narration to support Merlin's discussions.Fungi: Web of Life is a fascinating and surprisingly powerful experience that excites the senses and provokes a new way of considering the world around us. In the following interview with Joseph, recorded ahead of the films Australian premiere at MIFF on 22 August, with a follow up screening on 25 August, Joseph talks about his journey to exploring environment on screen through documentaries, how the sound design for a growing mushroom was crafted, and the challenge of presenting nature on screen while also addressing the impact of climate change.To find out more about the screenings, visit MIFF.com.au.Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When tickets went on sale for Andy Burkitt and Jack Braddy's independent Australian feature film, The Organist, at the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), the filmmakers managed a rare feat: they sold out their first two screenings, with a third screening quickly being scheduled. Receiving wide audience support for their world premiere is a phenomenal achievement for these emerging filmmakers.The Organist is a darkly comedic film that speaks to the current global cost of living crisis as it follows Jack's Graeme, a budding organ-procurement businessman who sidles into the lives of struggling millennials and zoomers who have found themselves saddled with an insurmountable level of debt. His solution, or rather, the solution from the company he works for, is to alleviate these struggling souls of one of their organs, and in return their debt will be cleared. In a well rehearsed and successful spiel, Graeme outlines where the organs will go to, detailing the reduced amount of organ donations that's taking place in Australia.Graeme's selling tactics are so strong and persuasive that he's offered a promotion, or rather, an invitation into the darker underbelly of the organisation he works for, where he discovers that the organs he procures don't actually go to needy recipients, but rather one of the wealthy cannibals who pulls the strings behind the scenes.As Graeme falls into the web of the horrid organ donation turned cannibal operation, he encounters Riley (Luke Fisher), a morality focused person who believes he's finally equalled his ledger and seeks to end his life by way of locomotive. Seizing an opportunity to push Riley further into the 'good' side of his ledger, while also equalling up his own ledger, Graeme seeks out a needy donor recipient who can benefit from Riley's demise.The Organist is frequently hilarious, with Jack Braddy's captivating lead turn as Graeme sways from moralistic to opportunistic as he finds himself struggling to stay afloat in a hungry organisation. He's equalled by Luke Fisher's Riley, a soul who was comfortable with the mark he left on the world, only to realise that maybe he has more to give.What follows is a darkly hilarious game of cat and mouse that satirises and critiques the capitalistic society we all live in. This is a confident and impressive debut feature from a set of Aussie creatives who are eager to upend the notion of what Australian films can do. The Organist is a welcome treat as it gives audiences the chance to laugh at the difficult times we live in.In the following interview, Andy and Jack talk about their interest in filmmaking, what Jack learned on the George Miller film Three Thousand Years of Longing that he was able to bring to The Organist, and about the timely presence of the film in the ever-growing cost of living crisis.It screens at MIFF on 13, 15, and 23 of August, with the first two sessions having sold out. For more details, head over to MIFF.com.au. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Akmal Saleh is one of Australia's finest stand up comedians having spent decades keeping Australians entertained through his observant and enjoyable brand of comedy. When not on the stage, Akmal can be heard on screen in an array of kids animated shows like The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill, Tracey McBean, and the superb animated series 100% Wolf.The sequel to the 2020 werewolf hit, 200% Wolf, hits cinemas on 8 August, and as I continue my championing of the film with interviews with director Alexs Stadermann and lead voice actor Ilai Swindells, I was able to have a chat with Akmal about his work on the film, what it means to be able to improvise as a voice actor, and I even managed to slip in a question about reflecting his 2003 comedy, You Can't Stop the Murders, which Akmal co-wrote and starred in.200% Wolf is in cinemas on 8 August all around Australia and I urge everyone to head along and check out this absolutely delightful and visually spectacular animated extravaganza.Thanks for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. If you enjoyed what you've heard, please consider supporting us on Patreon where you can keep The Curb independent from as little as $1 a month. patreon.com/thecurbau Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a Violent Nature is one of the most gruesome and gory horror films of the year. It's also a film that Nadine Whitney has called a pure slasher death trip. Director Chris Nash takes audiences on the slasher ride of the year, with his camera following the gnarly Johnny (Ry Barrett) as a silent brute slaughtering an array of college kids who possibly deserve their squishy demise.In the following interview, recorded ahead of the films Australian release on 1 August 2024, Nadine discusses the film with director Chris Nash, delving into the dark delights that this horror offering has. As Nadine mentions in her review, the death trip that Nash takes his audience on shows a bevy of victims who will all face a gruesome demise.To find out more about the film, head over to TheCurb.com.au to read Nadine's review, alongside other interviews and reviews. The Curb is a listener supported platform. To keep us independent and ad-free, head over to patreon.com/thecurbau to support us from as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruby O'Sullivan-Belfrage is a writer and critic who works and plays on unceded Wurundjeri land. In the wake of Afterwar’s screening at Sydney Film Festival, Ruby O’Sullivan-Belfrage spoke with director Birgitte Stærmose about the impact she hopes the film has, the nature of truth, and how truly annoying the question of genre can be. Afterwar screened at the 2024 Sydney Film Festival, with a release to come in the future.For more interviews and reviews, visit The Curb.com.au. The Curb is proudly an ad free website and relies on community support to stay active. To support The Curb, visit Patreon.com/thecurbau where you can show your support from as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Taylor Broadley's feature debut film Stubbornly Here is a welcome blast of indie filmmaking inventiveness with the Perth-based filmmaker presenting a sci-fi-adjacent story about three teens who live in an apathetic society where teenagers sometimes vanish into thin air. Stubbornly Here speaks to the anxieties of the day, focusing on a generation of kids who have grown up in a world that does not support their future and who the vitality of youth has been robbed of them.Yet, for all of its modernity, Stubbornly Here is as far from a dark, doom-laden experience as you can get, with the film joyfully embracing a trio of friends, Sunny (Cleo Meinck), PJ (Nathan Di Giovanni), and Floyd (Jonathan Maddocks), as they seek to use the vanishings as an opportune way to slink away from the routine life of this sleepy little deathtoll town and start a new existence in Sydney. Their road trip is thwarted early, leading the trio to shack up at a remote motel while they decide on what to do next. There's a sense of adult-free judgement within the film, like having cereal for dinner or wagging school or doing something that you shouldn't. Untethered freedom without concern.What follows is a positively nostalgia-tinged experience of three friends bonding and enjoying the last remnants of their youth before they either vanish or adulthood arrives to steal away their unworried joy. Broadley's script is a delight, full of charming moments of hope and friendship, all of which is brought to life with vivid realisation by Cleo, Nathan, and Jonathan.It's then a surprise to hear from Taylor in the following interview that the three actors only got to meet each other days before shooting began, with the group bonding quickly and forming a friendship on screen. Taylor talks about how he wrote the script for Stubbornly Here, a narrative that feels like he simply had to get it down on the page, and he talks about what it means to be a Perth creative, while also touching on the beckoning nature of Sydney for the sandgropers amongst us.Stubbornly Here is a genuine delight, a warm embrace of inventive filmmaking, creative storytelling, and a keen realisation of what friendship, hope, and the possibility of youth is. I urge everyone who enjoys fear free filmmaking to seek out this film. If you're in Perth, you'll have a chance to catch it at the Revelation Film Festival on 4 July and 13 July 2024. Don't miss it.Support The Curb via patreon.com/thecurbau Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's space in this Bluey obsessed world for two Aussie animated canine stories, with Alexs Stadermann's utterly delightful and wonderfully inventive series 100% Wolf following the exploits of one Freddy Lupin, a werewolf who turns into a puffy pink poodle when the moon comes out. Kicking off in 2019 with the bright and brilliant 100% Wolf which saw Freddy at odds with his pack as he had to prove that he had the heart of a wolf, a hugely successful TV series spawned, following the story of Freddy, his bouffant friend Batty, a slightly loopy Papillion, and Hamish, a dottery old West Highland White Terrier, and their group of misfit friends.I was able to chat with director Alexs Stadermann and star Ilai Swindells prior to the films world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival and I got to ask both of them about the delight of fart jokes in films. My chat with Alexs does touch on some slight spoilers, but it's nothing that would impact your enjoyment of the film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The boxing film subgenre gets an esteemed new entry in the form of Paul Goldman's Kid Snow. Set in the 1970s, Kid Snow follows Billy Howle as the titular character, a washed-up fighter who has one last shot at glory. Shot in the red dirt of WA, Kid Snow also features an impressive line-up of Aussie actors including Phoebe Tonkin, Hunter Page-Lochard, Mark Coles Smith, and Nathan Phillips.Nadine Whitney spoke to Paul Goldman ahead of the World Premiere at the 2024 Sydney Film Festival, with the two talking about Paul's experience of shooting in Kalgoorlie, how he cast the roles, and the allure of the drama within a boxing story.Kid Snow has two more screenings at the Sydney Film Festival on 14 and 15 June before it heads west where it screens as the opening night film for the Revelation International Film Festival in Perth on 3 July. Tickets for all screenings are available now.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the finest films having its Australian premiere at the festival is Jaydon Martin's stunning feature debut film Flathead. This fiction-documentary hybrid film follows Cass Cumerford, a bloke near the end of his days who returns to Bundaberg, the region he grew up. Swaying into the town, he finds consolation and support with various religious sects that have sprung up in the land before he flows into the life of Andrew, a Chinese-Australian fish and chip shop owner who is dealing with his own understanding of mortality.Flathead follows these real figures as they're nudged along a partly-fictional narrative, and as the film plays with a sublime black and white presentation, it sways into a dreamlike state, providing a highly affecting story about modern Australia.It's that notion of what a modern Australia is that drives the following conversation with Jaydon, who took four years to make the film and had to leave Australia to realise what it was that he needed to make. Flitting into some of the scenes, and delivering a closing duet with Cass, is fellow filmmaker Brodie Poole, a documentarian in his own right who has also essayed what modern Australia looks like on screen with his documentary General Hercules. Both Brodie and Jaydon are engaging in an essential conversation right now about Australian identity and culture, and in doing so, they're also reasserting the notion of who gets to tell stories on screen in this place we call Australia.Flathead is an experience like no other, and my words here barely scrape the thematic text of the film, nor do they do justice to what Jaydon is putting forward as a filmmaker. As a nation, there is a shortage of filmmakers who operate in the realm of social realism, and I'm hoping beyond hope that Jaydon continues down this path. If so, then we will be richly rewarded as his body of work builds over the years.For now, do what you can to see Flathead. It's one of the finest Australian films of the year.It screens on 12 June and 15 June at the Sydney Film Festival. For tickets, visit sff.org.au. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Vitro is the highly anticipated follow-up from Will Howarth (Bombay Beach) and Tom McKeith (Beast, SFF 2016) after their debut feature Beast was nominated for Best First Feature at Toronto International Film Festival 2015.Starring the director Will Howarth, Ashley Zukerman (Fear Street) and Talia Zucker (Lake Mungo).On an isolated cattle farm, Layla and Jack's life takes a dark turn when a storm exposes the unforeseen repercussions of Jack’s animal breeding technology.Nadine Whitney chats to Will and Tom about creating a sense of extreme isolation in In Vitro, collaborative writing processes, making grounded science fiction, and Ash Zukerman doing the washing.In Vitro screens at Sydney Film Festival on the 6th, 8th, and 9th of June. Tickets are available here: https://www.sff.org.au/program/browse/in-vitro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2024 German Film Festival is currently underway across Australia with screenings taking place from 7 May to 5 June. The poster film for the festival is From Hilde, With Love, by director Andreas Dresen.In the following interview, Nadine Whitney and Andreas talk about his interest in telling the story of Hilde Coppi on screen. Hilde was a young German women who was drawn into the anti-Nazi resistance movement during World War Two.Andreas Dresen is in attendance at the festival as a festival guest, and will be participating in Q&A sessions at screenings of From Hilde, With Love, on Thursday 9 May at Sydney Palace Central, Saturday 11 May at Palace Cinema Como in Melbourne, and Saturday 18 May at Palace Barracks in Brisbane. For all screening times and to purchase tickets, visit GermanFilmFestival.com.au.Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roger Ungers is a documentarian who continually presents a new perspective on the world around us. His 2020 documentary Finding Creativity saw him explore the complex nature of creativity, and in turn, he reflects on his own creativity. That personal touch is brought to his latest documentary, Shape.This is a film about physicality and the at times exclusionary manner that the gay community can exhibit prejudice against different body types. Shape explores how a community that is often vocal about celebrating diversity can engage in body discrimination.Shape screened at the Mardi Gras Queer Film Festival in 2024. To keep track of where Shape will screen in the future, visit Roger's website: RogerThatPictures.com.au for more information.Shape will screen at Victorian Pride Centre as part of their pride month events on 19th June 2024 at 7pm. Tickets are available here.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's something in the water in Perth that leads to a creative movement from local filmmakers who push through microbudget limitations to tell engaging and inventive stories on screen. For emerging filmmakers Katherine Grace and Holly Dodd, that drive for creativity comes in the form of working together as actors and directors on a duo of short films. For Holly, it's the short horror Consumed, a story of a young woman who suffers from sleep paralysis, while for Katherine, her short film Alison & Betty sees one friend be haunted by the presence of her distant friend Betty.As Katherine details in the following interview, working together on each others films has helped create a body of work that has been able to showcase their combined and singular talents. There's a charm and devilishness to Alison & Betty that leans into a 1950s housewife modality, flipping it on its head with an off kilter kookiness that sees Katherine and Holly bounce off each other with ease. Alison & Betty shows a talent on the rise that has me excited to see where both Katherine and Holly progress as filmmakers.To follow Katherine's work, make sure to follow her Instagram page @justamissgrace, or visit her YouTube page for more details, and Holly's Instagram page @hollyedodd to keep track of her projects. Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a young man, Matty Hannon explored the world, sinking roots in the Southeast Asian region. Here, he made lifelong friends, became part of families, and fostered a connection with the land that was ultimately severed when he had to return home to Australia to kick off a 'career'. The towering metal structures that became the home for his monotonous office life played a major role in an emerging mental illness that saw Matty at a crossroads: continue on with this corporate career life and possibly lose a sense of himself, or seek a future where he lives with, learns from, and embraces the land that we live alongside. So begins his Road to Patagonia, the title given to Matty's documentary about his journey from Alaska to Patagonia, a 50,000km trek that sees him encountering magnificent surfing locations, wildlife of all kinds, a bond with a group of horses who help on his journey, and a romance which changes his life. The Road to Patagonia is deliberately meditative film, and as such, it becomes a soothing experience as viewers learn from the people who live with the lands Matty and his partner Heather Hillier trek along. This is not some kind of 'white cultural tourist' narrative either, as Matty and Heather never seek to become saviours or people who co-opt the lifestyles of the people they meet, instead seeking to join the wavelength of the spiritual harmony that the people they meet exude. There's an optimism to The Road to Patagonia that comes across with the way Matty Hannon talks about his life. In the following interview, Matty talks about the challenges he faced making the film, and what he has been able to implement into his modern life in the Byron Bay region. The Road to Patagonia and Matty Hannon are heading around Australia on a national tour until 19 April 2024. Head over to the Facebook page for more details. https://garage.com.au/the-road-to-patagonia/#:~:text=Synopsis,between%20humanity%20and%20the%20Earth.Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nainita Desai is an award-winning composer whose work has spanned creative formats, from documentaries like The Reason I Jump where she won an Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition, to TV series like Funny Women, to video games like Telling Lies and Immortality. With over 150 credits to her name, Nainita is nothing short of prolific.In the following interview, Nainita talks about her journey into becoming a composer and how Peter Gabriel impacted her career. While we don't touch on her education in mathematics, it plays a vital role in her career as a composer, guiding her interest in sound design as well as composition. From here, our discussion leads into talking about the role of nature in her work, as heard in films like The Deepest Breath, and the 2024 Sundance award-winning film Nocturnes. In both of these films, the role of the ocean and the mountains is as important as the world of the people we are following, and Nainita talks about the way that she reflects those characters journeys in her compositions.Equally important is the role that silence plays in her work. Nainita talks about the role that silence plays as the unspoken instrument for a composer, and how important it is to relinquish the score to amplify the drama of a scene. As a flow on of this discussion point, Nainita talks about the difficulty of knowing that not all aspects of her score will end up in the final film.This wonderfully insightful conversation flows between creativity and personal journeys, with Nainita giving us an in depth look at the mind of a composer. This conversation was recorded ahead of Nainita's upcoming appearance at the Australian International Documentary Conference, which opens in Melbourne on 3 March 2024. Nainita will be presenting a discussion called The Art of Composing for Documentary with Nainita Desai, alongside moderator Emma Bortignon. As we close out this interview, I asked Nainita about the importance of being accessible for interviews and panel discussions, which leads Nainita to reflect on the role of being a mentor for emerging composers, particularly women composers. To find out more about AIDC, visit AIDC.com.au.If you enjoy this discussion, I urge you to seek out other interviews with Nainita as they have regularly been in depth and valuable insights into her art as a composer. Also visit her website nainitadesai.com for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Monks is an award winning theatre and film actor who hails from Perth, Western Australia. He received an AACTA nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the feature film Pulse, a story about a disabled teen who undergoes radical surgery to turn into a beautiful woman in a bid to be loved and embraced. Daniel wrote the script and worked with his close friend, Stevie Cruz-Martin, as a director. It's a film that helped launch his career as an actor in both Australia and London, where he has performed opposite Emilia Clarke in The Seagull, and where he won the Best Performer in a Play award at The Stage Debut Awards for his turn in Teenage Dick, Michael Lew's darkly comedic retelling of Richard III.When I first watched Pulse, I saw an actor who brought a complicated and conflicted character to life on screen with deep empathy and understanding. We open the discussion by talking about the origins of Pulse, leading Daniel to reflect on the almost ten-year journey between that film being shot and now. In that decade-long career path, Daniel has also starred in Australian films like Sissy, and Timothy Despina Marshall's new film, In the Room Where He Waits.His place in the world of theatre and film as a gay, disabled actor has seen him become a leader in his field, forging a path for his fellow queer and disabled actors. We talk about the weight of responsibility that often comes with the role of being a leader, while also touching on the push for diversity on stage and on screen, and how Daniel navigates that when it's often driven by non-disabled, cisgender, straight, white people.As you'll hear in the following interview, Daniel is a 'bucket list' interview guest I've been eager to talk with for years. I was fortunate to chat with Daniel's mum, Annie Murtagh-Monks, a few years ago about her work as a casting director, so it was quite wonderful to hear about the conversations that she has with Daniel about their work. Daniel also talks about the support that filmmakers like Stevie Cruz-Martin and Hannah Barlow have given him throughout his career.I recorded this ahead of the world premier of In the Room Where He Waits at the QueerScreen Mardi Gras Film Festival, where it received Queer Screen Completion Funding. This stunning drama sees Daniel play the role of Tobin, an actor who slips back home to Australia for his father's funeral. As he waits out his two week quarantine period, he is haunted by the presence of the previous tenant in the room. This riveting film sees Daniel command the screen in a way that will have you leaning on the edge of your seat - not because of how tense the film is, but simply because of how compelling Daniel is to watch. The film will no doubt screen down the line at other festivals, so please keep an eye out for it.This is a long, deep dive discussion which I'm proud to be able to share with you all. Make sure to seek out Pulse, Sissy, In the Room Where He Waits, and visit National Theatre At Home to view The Seagull.Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.