Debuting today (March 17) on Vimeo on Demand, Play It Safe is the the debut feature from Melbourne filmmaker Chris Pahlow.
The indie features Nicholas Kato (Gallipoli, The Fear), Clayton Jacobson (Kenny, Animal Kingdom), Maya Aleksandra (Neighbours, Winners and Losers, Wilfred), and is the story of Jamie (Kato), a 26-year-old musician who is out of work and down on his luck.
According to the logline: "After his band breaks up, Jamie’s left with no music, no career and no girlfriend. Stuck teaching piano at a soul-destroying music school, Jamie must decide whether to take a risk and follow his dreams, or surrender to his unhappiness and play it safe".
Pahlow cites Andrew Bujalski’s pioneering mumblecore feature, 2005's Mutual Appreciation, as a watershed moment.
“I left the screening irrevocably changed. I got outside and asked my friend why nobody had made a film like it in Melbourne, where characters just talk and act like normal people. So a few years later I decided to do just that.”
His debut is Pahlow's paean to the city's music scene, and the soundtrack features music from over twenty Melbourne acts.
“The most positive reaction I’ve received is from real Melbourne musicians, who said how real it was to them and how accurately it reflected their lives. Some got quite emotional. One female musician actually cried when she saw the trailer”, Pahlow said.
The film was crowd-funded, runs at 85 minutes, and is in black and white.