{"id":16716,"date":"2024-08-19T13:09:47","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T01:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/?page_id=16716"},"modified":"2024-10-15T15:20:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T07:20:03","slug":"girrawheen-film-buff-now-respected-australian-director-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/curtin-commons\/blog-page\/girrawheen-film-buff-now-respected-australian-director-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Girrawheen film buff now respected Australian director"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

04\/12\/2023. By Carmelle Wilkinson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Curtin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Film director and writer Zak Hilditch.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking out of his local video store with a stash of new movies is a childhood memory Curtin Film and TV graduate Zak Hilditch will always cherish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty years on, the now Australian writer and director is living his passion of bringing stories to life through film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This month, Zak announced his fourth feature film \u2013 We Bury the Dead<\/a>, which will be filmed in WA\u2019s great southern region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still pinching himself, he also managed to secure one of Hollywood\u2019s brightest stars Daisy Ridley (Star Wars sequel trilogy) for the lead role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Australian<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Daisy Ridley starred as Rey in Star Wars Trilogy -The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFilming a movie at home and to do it with someone of Daisy\u2019s talents is a dream come true,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Captivated by cinema from a young age, Zak said his love for movies and storytelling only deepened as the years went on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMum was a true cinephile, she loved movies, and it obviously rubbed off on me,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen she was younger, she enjoyed going to the pictures. To be honest, she was probably an aspiring actress who just didn\u2019t have the confidence to pursue acting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zak said watching his first Quinton Tarantino movie when he was 16 was a game changer \u2013 opening his mind to the different worlds and possibilities of movie making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year later he purchased his first camera from Cash Converters and began writing short scripts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI filmed anything I could,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not tech savvy but I knew that if I was going to enter this industry, I had to know how to work a camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrowing up in Girrawheen I felt like Hollywood was a million miles away, but I dared to dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, Zak said enrolling at Curtin to study Film and TV and Script Writing was the best decision he ever made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zak<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Zak on set.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI knew I had to figure it out if I wanted to become a director one day, and going to Curtin was the first big step towards achieving that goal,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the first year you start making films. My tutors and lecturers were really passionate about their craft and knew what they were talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy training and experience at Curtin allowed me to find my voice and set me up for the big bad world, so to speak.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zak said the overwhelming support from his lecturers and peers at Curtin created a safe space where likeminded creatives like him felt comfortable failing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy Curtin bubble allowed me to take chances, explore different sides to humanity and discover my point of view and difference,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating with Honours, Zak took on numerous casual jobs to fund his passion of movie making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These included a high-pressure hose cleaner, delivery man, helping his dad set up shop displays at major department stores, and returning to Curtin to teach a second-year script writing course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to some serious saving and funding support from the WA State Government Zak was finally able to direct his first film \u2013 These Final Hours<\/a> \u2013 which screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Zak has gone from strength to strength directing several Netflix Original films including Rattlesnake<\/a> (psychological horror) which follows the story of a mother who makes a desperate deal to save her daughter bitten by a rattlesnake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So where do these gripping storylines come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaha anywhere honestly,\u2019\u2019 Zak said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could be driving, having dinner, talking to a friend. My mind is constantly thinking up storylines.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zak said he was living in LA with his wife (fellow filmmaker) and young son when the idea for his latest movie sprung to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zak<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Zak enjoying some down time with his young family.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was just before the pandemic. I had recently lost my mum, and I remember thinking a lot about grief and how people deal with grief in a multitude of ways,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen Covid hit, and we decided to pack our things and come back home to WA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now based in Mt Hawthorn Zak credits his strong start in Western Australia as the perfect springboard into his US filmmaking career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to make a splash with your work if you get given the chance, as you might only get one shot at it. Luckily, I made just enough of a splash,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His advice to budding film makers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no silver bullet to success, but if you truly love what you do and want to succeed, then you\u2019ll get there,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you want something bad enough and work hard, the odds should be in your favour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zak<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Zak is always happy to share advice to aspiring film directors.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Produced by Kelvin Munro and Grant Sputore (Curtin graduate) of WA production company The Penguin Empire<\/a> (I Am Mother, The Furnace), We Bury the Dead is a terrifying yet moving story about grief, loss and the undead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written and directed by Zak, the movie follows main character Ava (played by Daisy) whose husband goes missing following a catastrophic military experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film will start production in Albany in February 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

___<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \n\n

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