JandamarraJandamarra is a true historical figure who live

between 1873 and 1897

He lived in the Kimberleys in the NE of WA

This is what Jandamarra country looks like

He was a warrior of the Bunuba tribe…

… who waged guerilla war...

… against the white settlers who took over his ancestral lands …

… and had killed and enslaved his race.

Jandamarra used his knowledge of his environment to elude capture for years.

And so with that history as a backdrop, this story of Jandamarra is set in 1916 and tells the story of

Sergeant Major David Grisham VC MM…

… a soldier’s soldier, twice a VC winner, hero, who fought and was wounded at Pozieres fighting the Germans. If he was

born Japanese, he’d be a samurai.

Grisham was repatriated to teach at a military training camp…

Grisham’s problem was that he hates injustice, so when he sees an aboriginal being assaulted by an

officer…

… he intervenes…

…and is subsequently court martialed…

… by a tribunal that takes a hard-line against an NCO assaulting an officer…

He is sent to prison…

…then locked in solitary for stopping prison guards from murdering an inmate

But Colonel Moore recognises Grisham’s warrior code and so offers him a chance to redeem his career by hunting and returning with a dangerous aboriginal waging guerilla warfare in the outback…

But a stubborn Grisham refuses, electing prison to possible freedom…

… but when he is threatened with death at the hands of brutal guards…

… Grisham takes Moore’s offer and heads out…

… to hunt for Jandamarra…

… unaware that his nemesis – Lieutenant Chadwick – has sent out a posse to murder Jandamarra and...

… put him on a collision course with the posse and thereby decide his and Jandamarra’s fates…

… in Jandamarra’s country.

Jandamarra will utilise the colours of the Australian landscape…

… and the environment…

… to paint a character…

… that has a presence in itself.

It also utilises the sounds of the Australian landscape…

… that speaks to the theme of the movie…

… and which resonates with the audience.

In exploiting these colours, a wide angle and long depth of field will be used.

I will contrast these vibrant colors of the landscape with the colder, darker, greyer colours of urban life and the low depth of field (to typify Man’s separation and alienation from his

surroundings) – as in these images from the movie Traffic…

Jandamarra draws on David Lean, Sergio Leone and Australian cinema classics like these for inspiration…

Each of these cinema classics have sympathetic characters who clash against white society…

Images from Schepisi’s The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

… fully utilise the desolate landscape and its earthy, red colours…

Photos from Hillcoat’s The Proposition

… are shot outside, en plein air, utilising natural light and landscape as a character…

Photos from de Heer’s The Tracker…

Photos from Roeg’s

Walkabout……

… and spectacularly shown with the use of wide angle lenses…

Photos from

Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof

Fence……

… and a focal length that gives each shot great depth…

Photos from Weir’s Gallipoli…

… and richness…

Photos from Beresford’s Breaker Morant…

Photos from Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia…

Photos from Lean’s Dr Zhivago…

Photos from Lean’s Bridge Over the River Kwai…

Photos from Sergio Leone’s films…

Grisham will look like this…

Or this…

Jandamarra will look like this…

Or this…

Grisham’s uniform will look like this…

Finally, we will shoot on this…

RESUME – JOSEPH KISCH2012

Writer – Drago Bentley: Space Detective – fifth issue of graphic novel released;Writer, Director, Producer – Drago Bentley: Space Detective, Chapter 2 – short animation film, 20 minutes.

Colt Brody - Equalizer screenplay completed. 

2011Assistant Director – Finding Eric – short film, 10 minutes; writer/Director – Scott Maybury;

Writer, Director, Producer – Drago Bentley: Space Detective, Chapter 1 – short animation film, 20 minutes; Writer – Drago Bentley: Space Detective – fourth issue of graphic novel released;

Writer, Director, Producer – Drago Bentley: Space Detective, Chapter 2 – short animation film, 20 minutes. 

2010 First three issues of the graphic novel, Drago Bentley – Space Detective released. See http://dragobentleycomic.canberrafilms.com

Blue Cat International Screenwriting Competition 2010 – feature script, Devil’s Machine makes the fourth round.Barrio Chino makes quarterfinals of Story Pros Screenwriting Competition 2010.

 2009

Producer – Red – short film, 8 minutes; writer – Scott MayburyProducer – Blind-sided – short film, 7 minutes; writer – Joe Kisch

Assistant Director – Your Own Medicine – short film, 10 minutes; writer/Director – Bruce DavieProducer – Crossing the Line – short film, 15 minutes; writer/Director – Joe Kisch (official selection Dungog Film Festival 2009)

Feature script, Barrio Chino, semi-finalist in Blue Cat Screenwriting Competition 2009 (top 60 out of 3200 submissions)Feature script, Devil’s Machine, semi-finalist in Story Pros Screenwriting Competition 2009.

 2008

Producer – Crossing the Line – short film, 15 minutes; writer/Director – Joe Kisch (short-listed for Canberra Short Film Festival 2008)Assistant Director – Dearth – short film, 15 minutes; writer/Director – Bruce Davie

(wins Canberra Short Film Festival 2008)Short film script, Progress Doors, wins Canberra short seasons script competition

Short film script, Blind Faith, co-written with Bruce Dave, wins third place in Barebones Film Festival 2008 script competition 

2007Feature script, Swimming Against the Currents, wins second place (Diamond Prize) in Category One (Drama Genre) in the Filmmakers International

Screenwriting CompetitionShort film script, Blind Love, co-written with Bruce Dave, wins Canberra short seasons script competition

Short films, Jenni’s Torment and Blind Love selected for semi-finals in Canberra Short Film Festival