Oscar-nominated director Scott Hicks and actor, author and entrepreneur David Chiem have partnered to launch a new production company, May30 Entertainment.
The company’s first two projects are music documentaries The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process, which premieres at Adelaide Film Festival tonight, and My Name’s Ben Folds – I Play Piano, which will close the festival on Sunday evening.
May30 Entertainment is also in development on a number of feature films, including the screen adaptation of Only the Heart, a novel based on Chiem’s own journey from Vietnam to Australia.
Chiem came here at age nine as a refugee. He would go on to become the first Asian to be cast in a starring role on mainstream Australian television, in drama series Butterfly Island in 1985, and is today the founder, CEO and executive chairman of MindChamps Preschool, which has 80 centres globally.
First published in 1997, Only the Heart, written by Chiem and Brian Caswell, is in its 25th print and was on NSW’s Higher School Certificate (HSC) and the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) English literature set text list for many years.
Hicks has adapted the book into a screenplay. While the book largely follows Chiem’s life up to a teenager, the film will also look into his life since.
“It’s a deep exploration of the journey of escape, life in Australia and what families do to sacrifice so much… The concept is about how in life, when logic says the dream is out of reach, only the heart knows the truth,” Chiem tells IF.
Chiem and Hicks have been friends for 35 years, having first met back in 1988 when the director looked to cast the young Chiem in a project. Later, while Chiem was studying at AFTRS, Hicks was something of a mentor. In fact, Chiem’s graduating short from AFTRS, No Night, directed by Bruno de Villenoisy, was made from the short ends of the film from Shine. The pair have stayed friends ever since; Hicks is even godfather to Chiem’s youngest child.
In terms of starting a company together, Hicks tells IF that he and Chiem felt that they had the same outlook on the kinds of projects they want to be involved in. Hick’s wife, producer Kerry Heysen, will also be involved in the development and production of May30’s slate.
“Our interest is in real stories with heart,” Hicks says.
“In other words, a lot of the ideas that we’re interested in do stem from real life stories like Shine, for example. Even David’s own story is really quite remarkable, from being a refugee from Vietnam, coming to Australia, to becoming a television star and then going on to become an enormously successful international businessman.
“So stories like that, where they’re complex and dramatic, but the outcome is a positive resolution… are what appeals to us.”
The company will also focus on Australian stories that have a connection to the Asia-Pacific region; Chiem spends some time in Singapore and feels they will be able to leverage the position of the company to expand its reach into other territories.
“You get to a certain stage of life where certain things mean more,” Chiem adds.
“We just want to tell stories given the global world we live in, stories that are based on true life, but have heart and light… to uplift the human spirit.”
The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process, directed by Hicks, is inspired by the 25th anniversary of Shine, and is a glimpse into the private worlds and musical processes of four musicians, Daniel Johns, David Helfgott, Simon Tedeschi and Ben Folds. The documentary is interwoven by portraits, created on camera, by artist Loribelle Spirovski, Tedeschi’s wife. Heysen and the couple’s son, Jett Heysen-Hicks, produce.
Hicks notes the other musicians featured have a connection to Helfgott, who inspired Shine, or to the film itself. For instance, Johns invited Helfgott to perform on Silverchair’s 1999 album Neon Ballroom, for which he played piano on Emotion Sickness. Tedeschi’s hands are in Shine as a child; his hands stand-in for young David’s in the movie.
“The basis of [the film] was an exploration of their musical processes; what inspires them, how they harnesses and the way they live their lives through the music,” Hicks says.
After the Adelaide premiere tonight, Bonsai Films will release the film in cinemas in capital cities from November 23.
My Name’s Ben Folds is a concert from Folds and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, also directed by Hicks. Folds will join the world premiere at Adelaide on Sunday screening via video link from Nashville.
Hicks, who has been friends with Folds since the ’90s, says the film is an “incredible document” as the musician’s first concert film. It also gives a portal into Folds’ proces; at one point, he makes up a song on the spot with the 70-piece orchestra.
“It feels quite extraordinary, being on the cusp of actually releasing these films,” Hicks says.
“This really is the next step on the journey and I’m looking forward to what that will bring.”
‘The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process’ premieres tonight at Adelaide Film Festival 6.30pm, while ‘My Name’s Ben Folds – I Play Piano’ screens Sunday October 29 7.30pm as the festival’s Closing Night Gala.