Kindred, the 9-minute indie short – and the first sci-fi to star indigenous Australians – has just hit the short film festival circuit.
The film follows a cynical young Indigenous man (Damion Hunter) and his family, who are abducted by aliens. Leading them on a breathtaking escape, he discovers the aliens' origins, shattering his worldview forever.
On July 18, a private screening of Kindred took place at Chauvel Cinema in Paddington, Sydney for its crowdsourced funders, cast, crew and friends.
Kindred was written by Producer, VFX & Post Supervising Director Josh Bryer, the founder of Red Centre Films. It was produced in association with Altaire Productions; the main executive producer was Marie Slaight; it was co-produced by Annie Kinnane; and the live action was directed by Oscar Nicholson.
Kindred's budget was raised by a combination of crowdsourcing and investments. While the all-important VFX were sourced from all over the world – as far afield as Brazil, USA, Italy and India – and put together first by Digital Pulse then taken to the finish line by leading Sydney VFX house Heckler who also hosted the online edit.
A key alien effect was added by ZSpace, FSM did the grade, and the sound and music was made and mixed by Smith & Western.