Friday 11 May 2012

The Globe Collector

With one of the most original concepts for a documentary SKFF has ever seen, 'The Globe Collector' is about one man's passion for light globes. Paul Harris got to speak with the director, Melbourne-based Summer DeRoche and her film's producer Andrea Distefano, on his RRR radio program 'Film Buff's Forecast' last Saturday.

    Summer DeRoche, child of influential screenwriter Everett DeRoche (whose credits include Aussie classics 'Razorback' and 'Long Weekend'), grew up on film sets, harbouring ambitions to make films from an early age. She studied for her Bachelor of Film and TV at Swinburne University, where she met Distefano. 'The Globe Collector' is their most successful collaboration to date -- already lining up international premieres. Although the film was originally made for TropFest (2012's 'signature item' was light globe) it has a found a life of its own.
    "I was quite attracted to the imagery of light globe collections," says DeRoche, of her original inspiration. But an image isn't enough to sustain audience interest, there needs to be an engaging subject -- she found that in Andrew Pullen.
    With one of the world's largest light globe collections, Pullen has an all consuming passion for electronics, which fill his relatively secluded life in Tasmania. His solitude might stem from his Asperger's syndrome, but he describes it more as a label than anything else -- "They say it’s a disorder, I don’t like the term of ‘disorder’, it’s just another type of person, another type of personality" -- a sentiment that makes this documentary surprisingly moving.
    Made on a shoestring budget with a five person crew and tight interstate shooting schedule, 'The Globe Collector' has come together in a neat package with an interesting idea and emotional tug -- no wonder, then, that it's playing Opening Night at The Palais Theatre which Paul Harris reminds DeRoche and Disefano is "full of light globes".
    So what's next for the director and producer? Distefano says producing features is what she's "aiming for", she found her time as an assistant on Australian musical 'Bran Nue Dae' inspirational and educational. DeRoche also hopes to jump from directing short films to features. Perhaps they should pop over to the 'From Shorts to Longs' forum (May 23, 8pm -- Forum Hall)...

'The Globe Collector' screens at SKFF: 
Opening Night @ The Palais Theatre, TUES May 22nd -- 7.30pm 
AND
Session Two of Top 100 @ The Astor Theatre, THURS May 24th -- 6pm   

For the film synopsis and trailer visit: http://theglobecollector.com/
For more on the director visit: http://summerderoche.com/

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