Catholic film maker puts his faith on the big screen

05 Mar 2015

By The Record

Brisbane film maker Tim Marshall plans to draw upon his experience growing up in a Catholic household by making a film that explores the idea of faith, and how we interpret that, reports ABC on Yahoo7. PHOTO: Supplied
Brisbane film maker Tim Marshall plans to draw upon his experience growing up in a Catholic household by making a film that explores the idea of faith, and how we interpret that, reports ABC on Yahoo7. PHOTO: Supplied

Brisbane film maker Tim Marshall plans to draw upon his experience growing up in a Catholic household by making a film that explores the idea of faith, and how we interpret that, reports ABC on Yahoo7.

The 29-year-old director is currently in Los Angeles trying to convert his acclaimed short film Followers into a feature-length movie, set in Brisbane.

Mr Marshall debuted his short film among other A-list names at the Sundance Film Festival last month and will soon head to the SXSW Festival in Texas for another screening.

Followers was one of 60 films selected for screening at Sundance out of a pool of 8,000 submissions.

“Sundance was an incredible experience. The film was very well received, with audiences laughing out loud throughout,” Marshall said.

He said the feature-length adaptation would be inspired by his own upbringing in Mt Ommaney in Brisbane’s south-west.

He said he was excited at the prospect of capturing the essence of Brisbane on the big screen.

His next big challenge upon returning to Brisbane in April will be raising the finances to make it happen.

“I’m passionate about filming this in Brisbane; for me, it’s very much about bringing to life the really funny stories and the crazy characters that emerge in Brisbane suburban life,” he said.

Mr Marshall believed Brisbane remained largely unknown to many overseas and wanted to capture the beauty and quirkiness of the city and its people.

“Growing up, I was always observing these weird and wonderful characters around me, and now I’m drawing on all of them to write this film,” he said.

“Being a Brisbane boy, I knew I wanted to film my first big feature in Brisbane; it’s a context I know so well and I think it’s a story I can really bring to life.

“My family is Catholic and that was a big part of my life growing up,” he said.

Marshall returns to Brisbane in April and hopes to become immersed in the Queensland film community. – Courtesy CathNews