Whale Shark Jack premieres on Stan today
Screenwest caught up with Western Australian directors Miranda and Khrob Edmonds and screenwriter Kathryn Lefroy ahead of their film’s release.
Western Australian filmmaking trio Miranda Edmonds, Khrob Edmonds and Kathryn Lefroy are set to premiere their debut feature film, Whale Shark Jack on Stan today.
Whale Shark Jack stars Abbie Cornish (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Limitless, Robocop) and Michael Dorman (Territory, Joe Pickett) as husband and wife with Alyla Browne (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Sonic the Hedgehog 3) as their daughter Sarah. The family lives an idyllic life on a yacht researching whale sharks, wandering the oceans, and having all kinds of adventures with Sarah’s only friend Jack, a whale shark she rescued as a pup.
The film is written by Kathryn Lefroy, directed by Miranda Edmonds and Khrob Edmonds, and produced by Miranda together with Tim White, Kelvin Munro, Georgia White, Hazel Walgar and Estelle Buzzard.
Camera boat filming ‘Playground’ (Eventide) at sea. Photo by David Dare Parker.
The film created over 250 jobs for Western Australians, with WA heads of department including Director of Photography Michael McDermott ACS, Production Designer Clayton Jauncey, First Assistant Director John Fairhead, Costume Designer Monique Wilson, Hair and Makeup Designer Karen Sims, Sound Recordist Gavin Repton, Gaffer Grant Atkison, Key Grip Greg Stirling, Script Supervisor Jarred Rando, Location Manager Crystal McCallum, Editor Merlin Eden, Post Production Supervisor Louise Bertoncini and Post Production Facility Sandbox.
Screenwest caught up with Miranda, Khrob and Kathryn ahead of their film’s release.
Today is the day! Your debut film is being released to the world – how does it feel?
Miranda Edmonds (ME): It is the best feeling in the world! So many people have given this film so much time, talent and love, and we couldn’t be happier to be finally sharing it with an audience. We hope that everyone can sit down with their whole family at Easter and watch it together.
Khrob Edmonds (KE): Like it’s been a long time coming! All films take a long time, and it’s helped that we’ve had each other’s support along the way. To anyone starting down this path – find your film family and look after each other. Mostly I’m grateful to everyone involved who took a chance on us. I hope what we’ve put together with your support, trust and hard work lives up to all that. I think it does!
Kathryn Lefroy (KL): Inevitable, in the best possible way! We’ve been living with these characters for so long that it almost feels like they’ve been waiting (and not always patiently!) for the moment when they stop belonging to us and start belonging to audiences. That’s the whole point of telling stories, isn’t it? You make them as well as you can and then you let them go. The story isn’t finished until someone watches it and brings their own life to it. Today feels like the right day for that to finally happen.
You held a special preview screening at Luna Cinemas, Leederville last week to a home crowd of over 400 cast, crew, and industry. How was the vibe on the night?
ME: The vibe was simply amazing! Getting to show the film to so many people that have been part of the journey in bringing it to life was extremely rewarding. Many people, like Screenwest, have been involved for the full six years it has taken to make the film, so it felt like a big milestone to finally sit all together and watch the finished film. I particularly loved having all the kids in the audience – they are so engaged and often have dialogue with the characters on screen as the movie is playing.
Tell us about the people that helped bring your vision to life – you had an impressive crew with loads of WA HODs. What was it like working together?
KE: For something set around so much water, I think a WA crew is essential. It’s a whole different world filming out there, so having a First AD like John Fairhead and a DP like Mick McDermott who are so at home in boats and on the water was essential. We worked with Water DP Rick Rifici on a short back in 2009 and knew we couldn’t make a film like this without his incredible eye in the depths.
We had folk with loads of runs on the board like Clayton Jauncey in the Art Department and newer faces like the amazing Monique Wilson heading up Costume. Then of course Merlin Eden, Xoe Baird, Karen Sims, Gavin Repton, Murray Pope… the list goes on! It might sound trite, but it really was a dream working with all of them and their teams.
Behind the scenes with Alyla Browne as SARAH
filming at Exmouth’s Vlamingh Head Lighthouse. Photo by Violeta J Brosig,
Blue Media Exmouth
Tell us about shooting in Exmouth. Where else in Western Australia would you love to set a story and why?
KL: Exmouth is one of those places that gets under your skin. The light, the colour, the sheer scale of it. While I was working on the script I swam with the whale sharks several times, which was no small thing for someone with a genuine fear of the open ocean. And what struck me every time was how something so enormous can make you feel calm rather than frightened. Underwater, with that vast nothingness around you, it’s overwhelming. But then you lock eyes with one of these gentle giants and your whole perspective shifts. You feel small and significant at the same time. That tension became the emotional core of the script for me, and there was something surreal and wonderful about watching it play out on screen in the actual water where I’d first felt it.
As for where next: I’m a little obsessed with the idea of setting something in Perth. So much WA storytelling reaches for the landscape, understandably, because it’s extraordinary. But there’s something equally compelling to me about the city. Perth has its own distinct personality, its own rhythm, and a version of Australian life that doesn’t get nearly enough screen time. It’s a big, sun-drenched, confident city at the edge of the world, and I think there are stories here that are just waiting to be told.
Why on earth did you decide to work with children, animals and water for your first ever feature film?
ME: Haha yes good question. I guess a lot of my life is spent on the ocean, and I have three young kids so it just felt a bit like an extension of life really. And no matter the extra challenges, going to set each day by boat, watching the different moods and shades of the ocean, and having a swim at lunch wasn’t bad.
Who are your career idols?
KE: Greg Pead was a huge influence. He showed a young me that movies were made by people, not just things that appeared fully formed on the cinema screen – that movies could be made in Australia and most importantly, that a distinctive name is a fun thing to have. Thanks Yahoo Serious! Gareth Edwards because he showed me how much you can do with a small team, Peter Jackson because he showed what you can do with a whole country as your team and Steven Spielberg because… well, he’s Steven Spielberg.
What are you watching at the moment?
KL: Coming back to WA after twenty-five years away has given me a new appreciation for what’s being made here, and discovering what’s been quietly building has been a genuine thrill. Reckless, Run, How to Please a Woman, We Bury the Dead, Proclivitas… I could keep going, honestly. Something has shifted here, and I’m so glad Whale Shark Jack gets to be part of this moment.
Beyond that, I am an unashamed escapism devotee, particularly when I’m in the middle of a project. My brain needs somewhere completely different to go. Recently that’s meant the Naked Gun reboot and Project Hail Mary. Slow Horses remains one of the best things around, MobLand is terrific, and as far as I’m concerned Sally Wainwright can do no wrong. Oh, and I will always, without exception, watch any dance movie ever made. Ever. This is a hill I will die on.
Filming Big Jack’s underwater scenes at the ERGT
Pool in Perth. Photo by Estelle Buzzard.
What are you currently working on? What’s next for you all?
ME, KE & KL: So many things, which is either a sign of a healthy career or our very overactive imaginations… possibly both?! We have features of different genres in development (yes, some of them may or may not involve dancing), some adaptations of WA IP that we’re very excited about, original series ideas at various stages. Working in this industry means keeping a lot of plates spinning at once, because you never quite know what’s going to land, or when.
Whale Shark Jack is now streaming on Stan.
Production credit: The Stan Original Film Whale Shark Jack is produced by Cottesloe Films and Southern Light Films, as part of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) / Stan Family Film partnership. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with the Australian Children’s Television Foundation and Stan. Financed with support from Screenwest, Lotterywest, and the Western Australian Government through the Western Australian Regional Screen Fund, and in association with Minderoo Pictures. International sales by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.