Written, Directed and Produced by Glenn Triggs
Starring William Servinis, Neal Bosanquet, Marlene Magee, Emily Rok, Christopher Jordan, Sorcha Johnson, Anisa Mahama and Tamara Lee Bailey
What it’s about: Featuring no-dialogue, Dreams of Paper & Ink follows an elderly novelist Wade, who re-visits the crossroads of his first and second love through imagination and a typewriter.
Why we’re excited: Glenn Triggs is one of Australia’s most exciting independent filmmakers. He’s consistent too, having produced a string of acclaimed indie gems like Cinemaphobia, 41 and found footage horror, Apocalyptic (also known as Apocalypse Cult). The Comet Kids, Triggs’ love letter to films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and The Goonies, proved Triggs has a big future ahead of him. A dialogue-free film like Dreams of Paper & Ink might not appeal to everyone, but it’s in the best hands with Triggs at the helm.
Director Glenn Triggs told Cinema Australia:
Dreams of Paper & Ink came very close to not being made at all.
After finishing The Comet Kids and then having three kids of my own, my energy was not in high reserves. But I had that itch to make something, and that grew stronger every day. Eventually I had to scratch it. The real crux of the project was the decision to have no dialogue in the film – at all. I found this far more interesting than it was challenging. Words in the script had always gotten in the way of the real emotions I was trying to tell – and once I had made the choice – it put a smile on my face.
Then it all came down to casting. There were two unknown actors that I was very interested in having in the film. Tamara Lee Bailey and Neal Bosanquet – and if they said no – I was happy to walk away from the project (and I almost did). That’s how much I wanted them. The entire film balanced on their decisions over the period of a few days. Luckily they both jumped at it!
The challenge was then to present two relationships in the film – Your first and second love, and how real we could make that seem – and the heartbreak and elevation and of going from one to the other. I’m super proud of our little film and think audiences will really appreciate this fascinating and imaginative angle on the story.
Other Dreams of Paper & Ink Coverage: Read our interview with director Glenn Triggs here.