Tristan Barr Watch The Sunset Interview

Tristan Barr Watch The Sunset Interview

Cast: Tristan Barr, Chelsea Zeller, Annabelle Williamson, Aaron Walton, Michael Gosden, Zia Zantis-Vinycomb, Catherine Dawson, Dennis Robertson
Directors: Tristan Barr, Michael Gosden
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Running Time: 82 minutes

Synopsis: Outlaw bikie member Danny Biaro wants to change his ways and start a new life with his estranged family. But his past quickly catches up to him and he is compelled to make a decision that will affect his life forever. Now he must race against the clock to save his family.

Watch The Sunset
Trailer

Interview with Tristan Barr

Question: How would you describe Watch The Sunset?

Tristan Barr: Watch The Sunset is about a bikie gang member who is on the run from his bikie gang, an hour after a big incident happens, within the club.


Question: How did you go about being involved in all aspects of Watch The Sunset from writing to acting and directing?

Tristan Barr: Yes, it was quite a large process, for me which started six months prior to shooting. I had scenes written about the content and it evolved from there. Damien E. Lipp and I went to the regional town where we wanted to set the film and we worked on how the story would work into the locations as Watch The Sunset is all in the one shot, which was a logistical nightmare to try and get it all together. We made the decision, early on, that we wanted the camera to stick with the action to have the audience feel as if they were really there and involved with the story – no escape or cutting away for relief. It was quite a process to make sure we could even film it.

As we'd worked so intensely on that and I have an acting background, it was a bunch of mates and I who worked together, as the actors, to produce the film.


Question: Did you write the character of Danny, with you in mind as the actor?

Tristan Barr: No actually I had another few actors in mind, which I won't name and disappoint them. I don't like directing and acting as I find it quite hard – it's getting more manageable now as I've learnt to deal with it but there is a lot to do in both of those roles. When I wrote Watch The Sunset I definitely had a few other actors in mind. Through working with Damien E. Lipp so closely we decided it would be best for me to play the role as catching any actor, up to date, with the process we'd been through already would take months of work. Eventually I played Danny and I hope I do a good enough of a job.


Question: What did you learn about yourself during this challenging filming concept?

Tristan Barr: Film is about compromises and variables, depending on how things go with performance or cinematography is what you take away from the film. In filming Watch The Sunset in one shot, I learnt that a lot of sacrifices had to be made and at the end of the day the story is the most important thing. Something I like in filmmaking is when there is a raw energy and in the one take you definitely get that as you can't go stop and go back to re-do a line; what you do on the day is what ends up, in the film. When I watch the film now I really like the energy – to think we shot that, over an hour and a half, on one day, and that's now a film is pretty exciting.


Question: Why was it important to you to be involved in a project which shows the reality of drugs and addiction?

Tristan Barr: A few of my films have dealt with this issue; I have done a lot of research and have experiences in different areas. It is a problem and it's hard to ignore it – the story for me was essentially a love story but when I kept writing the story kept going into these darker places where there were issues we couldn't escape which meant the film had themes of drugs and addiction which is very prevalent in today's underworld. Essentially it all boils down to the big things of fear and love – the film is a love story, a pretty dark love story.


Question: What message would you like viewers to take from Watch The Sunset?
Tristan Barr: Yes, I think people should take away that no matter who the individual is or what their history that you can do good for the world, if you decide to. In a small way the characters, in this film, do that; I hope that is the message.


Question: How can we watch Watch The Sunset?

Tristan Barr: Watch The Sunset is finally getting its premiere at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival. Then it will be at the Brisbane International Film Festival in August and hopefully continue to Sydney and Melbourne prior to overseas. In terms of a cinema release it will be released, in various areas.

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Interview by Brooke Hunter