Man on fire: Burning Man’s Jonathan Teplitzky
Burning Man, Jonathan Teplitzky’s third cinematic offering, proves a small budget Australian film can stand tall on a global stage. Georgina Pearson spoke with Teplitzky about the film’s creation.
Within our society there is a common underlying thread. That unspoken C word, only ever briefly discussed or tentatively skirted during dinner party conversation. Despite a growing abundance of people living with or affected by cancer, it still remains the elephant in the room. Jonathan Teplitzky’s, Burning Man does no such tiptoeing.
Trailing the wake of one man’s grief, it provides a harrowing snapshot of the devastation such a disease can cause. Based in-part on Teplitzky’s personal experience, viewers are plunged headfirst into the fragmented world of Tom (Matthew Goode), a British chef living in Bondi whose wife is dying of breast cancer. Unconventionally raw, Burning Man showcases the often ignored emotional fallibility of the male.
Already an accomplished writer/director (Better than Sex, Gettin Square), Burning Man is Teplitzky’s third feature film – and is perhaps his strongest cinematic offering yet. Wearing all three hats – writer, director and co-producer, Teplitzky’s involvement was obviously very hands on. However, he explained that even though his own experience initially got the ball rolling, he didn’t want to make a film based entirely on himself. “It’s no secret that I was writing from my own experiences, but I only wanted them to be a starting point for a fictional story which could really use what cinema has to offer.”
Teplitzky added that it was eighteen months before the story really came together solidly. “For about a year or so I toyed with the idea, because the energy of what you go through at a time like that really interested me – what it was to be a male, in your thirties, and suddenly your life completely changes. That really fascinated me, but I was just sort of searching around for more, for that little bit extra. I was also writing a film about a chef and one day I just thought – my God, these two go together so well – and that’s really where it took off as a concrete idea.”
For Teplitzky, it was important to collaborate with someone who possessed not only the technical experience, but had a mutual understanding for, and expectation of the end result. Co-producer Andy Patterson was one such person. “Andy was a friend so I showed him the script and he really liked it. It may sound obvious, but a lack of parallel thinking is actually the bane of the writer/director’s life – to go through all the blood, sweat and tears of writing the script and then find you’re at odds with the producer. He understood what I was trying to do and really responded strongly to it. I sensed very early on that if we were to work together we were both going to be on the same page.”
Setting the scene
From there the conversation turned to location. Teplitzky told Encore the decision to film in Australia was not automatic. “From the beginning I was trying to make a universal film so we looked very seriously at setting it in Los Angeles because the landscape is really interesting.” However, with the economic climate unsteady, coupled with the huge amount of support offered in Australia through the producer offset, it seemed logical to shoot locally. “The offset is such a great thing and it became really important, because it’s tough at the moment to make independent drama in and around the world – so the it just allows you that bit of breathing space and enables you to get to a point where you just have so much more chance of financing a movie.”
With a reported budget of $7.8m, backed by private investment with funding from Screen Australia and Screen NSW, Burning Man was shot in and around Sydney over eight weeks, and portrays a somewhat alternative view of the city.
Bypassing the classic Bondi/harbour views, Teplitzky used non-descript Sydney locations bringing an international feel to the story. It was always an intention to highlight another aspect of the city. “It was really a conscious decision to not use the classic picture postcard view of Sydney. We really wanted it to be much more organic, and much more textural. We shot quite a bit in Bondi and in Clovelly and funnily enough you don’t see many of those places in Australian films. I like that we are not trying to sell the iconic tourist view of Sydney, it’s sort of a lived in view of the city. I didn’t want it to feel parochial and that’s sort of the view of people around the world.
A staccato of scenes
Visually, Burning Man is chaos. Unusual camera angles, courtesy of DOP Garry Phillips, give complexity and depth, while a staccato of non-linear scenes thrown together in apparent random order adds a unique element that captures the exact emotional strain Tom is experiencing. And at second glance we start see the chaos is cleverly structured and cinematically tight – producing a haunting tale that begins to emerge from the noise.
“What I wanted from Burning Man was for it to be a visceral experience for the audience,” said Teplitzky. “I wanted it to be emotional and I wanted them to experience the film rather than just watch it as a story. The structure as a fractured narrative I felt is partly from my own experience and really strongly reflected the emotional headspace of the character and what he was going through. But having a structure like that allows you to highlight the most intense moments and make them coherent in telling the accumulative story, which is Tom’s experience. It was very much about having a structure that was part of the storytelling. Not just allowing the story to unfold.”
The challenge of translating such gritty content is simpler than it looks. In fact, Teplitzky said that the more compelling the storyline the more powerful the end result will be. “I think cinema is a fantastic vehicle and a fantastic outlet for the rawest and the most emotional content of exploring people’s lives. So I think it comes quite naturally to dramatise all of that. I think the power of film allows you to explore it in a really cathartic and visceral way. The more raw the content the more cinematic it is.” And it is this raw emotion that Teplitzky hopes will resonate with audiences globally. “I hope it challenges and confronts viewers, I hope that it makes them reflect something about their own lives, and what’s going on with them and their relationships. I hope that they find it an experience that is powerful, entertaining and engages them emotionally.”
International appeal
The need to appeal to an international audience is paramount, and Teplitzky told Encore that delivering a film that could stand on a global stage was at the forefront from the start. “From the very beginning we talked about casting a non-Australian in the lead to help position it internationally. I’m very conscious of making films that can play to universal audiences and I think having a universal cast helps that.” As such, Goode is supported by local faces with international resumes; Rachel Griffiths, Kerry Fox and Bojana Novakovic.
Garnering international attention is crucial. Burning Man screened on the first Friday night at the Toronto International Film Festival. Before the festival, Teplitzky explained that the importance of gaining such a slot was huge. “It gives it a chance in a very worldly environment to be embraced by audiences, to be talked about by people and the press. It gives it that chance of doing what all films are made for – to find a niche for them and an audience for them. The high profile of the festival will hopefully draw people in so that the film has that chance of playing to audiences not just in Australia but all round the world. And I think that’s essential.” Building on the film’s success and helping its promotion, Teplitzky has secured Colin Firth for new film, The Railway Man.
Ultimately, Teplitzky has not only successfully delivered a deeply confronting and compelling film but highlighted an incredibly sensitive issue – which just may, perhaps, help dispel the elephant in the room.
Burning Man is released in cinemas 17 November through Transmission.
Great film. What was music over the credits at the end?
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That was John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band’s song Instant Karma. Interestingly, I asked Jonathan Teplitzky how much he got it for from Yoko… He wouldn’t divulge.
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Good on Mr Teplitzky for making a very compelling film!!
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when will Burning man arrive to theaters in the U.S ?
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