The wilds of Tasmania may seem an unlikely setting for an Australian film based on a Shakespeare play.
Yet shooting is underway in the Derwent Valley on All’s Well That Ends Well, which transplants the narrative to the early 20th Century.
Produced by Fentonbury Films, the project marks the feature directing debuts of Aaron Luke Wilson, an Adelaide graphic designer, and Hobart-based Peter Wilson, a schoolteacher who has produced, directed and acted in Shakespeare productions in Queensland.
Peter and Janie Wilson spent eight years developing the script and sourcing sites in the Derwent Valley. They raised $3,425 (exceeding the $3,000 target) via crowd funding site Pozible towards the costs of production. The cast includes Tasmanian actors Andrew Casey and John X as well as Matthew Stolp, Melanie Brown and Sasha Roubicek.
John Wilson is heading a small team supporting lighting and audio recording and handling props, replicas and VFX.
Written in 1605, the play revolves around Helena, the orphan daughter of a famous physician and the ward of the Countess of Rousillon, who falls hopelessly in love with the son of the Countess, Count Bertram. Despite her beauty and worth, Helena has no hope of attracting Bertram, since she is of low birth and he is a nobleman.
The film’s Facebook page indicates Aaron Wilson has been working part time at a pizza bar and had devoted his spare time to filmmaking, music, visual arts and writing.
“Professional film-making has long been a dream of his and he hopes to start off his prosperous career with a bang,” it says.
Peter and Janie Wilson state they are taking “an unfamiliar play of Shakespeare's to the streets via a 'moco' style motion picture.”