Hugo Weaving has continued his collaboration with LiveLab, the commercial production arm of Griffith Film School, teaming up to produce two follow up films to 2016’s Ky’s Story: Living with Autism.
Made in partnership with Autism Queensland, the series of shorts follows Ky, a young boy with autism, as he grows up. Weaving, who is Ky’s uncle, narrates. The third instalment of the series is about Ky’s sister, Jorja, and her experiences with having an autistic brother.
The new instalments are designed to show how Ky hasprogressed.
LiveLab creative director Richard Fabb, who executive produced the film with Ky’s father, Will Greenwood, tells IF that for a student-crewed production, the two latest projects were large in scale, merging live action and animation.
The sequels required a bigger crew, and the students had to perform to the high bar set by the original film, which garnered more than 2 million views when it was released.
A team of film students produced the overall work, with a score from composer Ack Kinmonth, assisted by Romain Quessaud.
“As with the first film, I was enormously proud of the way the team worked. Hugo was kind enough to say how professionally he felt they ran the set,” Fabb says.
Although the first film started as a simple public information film, it was quickly realised that telling Ky’s story was important.
“It soon became clear that there was a particular story with Ky, and that the familial relationship with Hugo brought a special and emotional dimension that might not have been present in a solely fact-based approach,” Fabb says.
“The reason why we decided to make sequels was because it became clear that Ky really had made phenomenal progress. I think our perceptions of disability are often around limitations, rather than possibilities, and Ky’s story shows that people with disability are not just defined by that thing.”
Animation for the hybrid film was provided by Tugboat Studio, a Brisbane-based company founded by Griffith Film School alumna Suzie Golledge.
“The original film started as an animation or infographic idea. It was really once Hugo agreed to take part that we moved into a hybrid style. The live-action worked best with stuff we could film, and needed to see, such as what Ky’s been up to. The animation worked best to show past events, in Jorja’s story of growing up,” Fabb says.
“We still think this is the only animated version of Hugo Weaving that exists!”
As the short films are being released online, LiveLab has the benefit of direct feedback from the audience. “The first film provoked very emotional responses. It’s still early days, but those who have seen the new films are similarly moved. They are heart-warming and inspiring stories. We made the films to share this positive message around autism and hope they reach as big an audience as possible.”
LiveLab is a work integrated learning studio, with Griffith producing about 35 productions every year under professional supervision. It has a range of projects coming up in 2023 including two documentaries.
“We are soon to release a series of films marking the stunning Indigenous war memorial that is now installed in Brisbane’s ANZAC Square.”