Taking the plunge to study fulltime may prove to be just the right career move for Bunnan resident Jenny Hicks.
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Jenny who had worked as a film editor for 30 plus years including on the Matrix films decided it was time 'upskill' and was accepted into the Australian Film and Television School in 2019 to study for a Masters in film directing.
"I was a bit over film editing at the time and was looking for a new career challenge and despite my trepidation about directing another film, as I had completely failed in my first attempt decades ago, I thought now is the time to try again," she said.
"Being accepted by the School was wonderful and I really loved the course and studying full time and working alongside other talented students.
"It has been a great couple of years and what made such a difference is being a student you can make mistakes and that was such a relief."
As part of her Masters she directed and wrote the screenplay for the short film The Stranger which was recently announced as one of the ten finalists in the 52nd Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films.
These awards are part of 68th Sydney Film Festival (3-14 November 2021).
The Stranger was shot in Denman over five days in August 2020 with the film based at the Pickering Homestead.
Jenny has lived between her home in Bunnan and Sydney for 20 years having bought what she described as a rundown worker's cottage on a couple of acres in the village west of Scone so she could spend time in the bush.
"I have loved the bush since I was very young having spent time on a family friends farm at Nyngan," she said.
"Even worked on properties and lived at Longreach in Queensland for a few years before becoming a city based film editor."
So it was understandable her film would be shot in a rural setting. She specifically wanted the film to take place in a two storey home ideally with a big staircase to create a type of Hitchcock atmosphere.
Pickering Homestead, which is owned by Glencore as part of their Mangoola mine, was the perfect fit.
The homestead's caretakers Gary and Donna Cooper were also wonderful and helped me so much, said Jenny.
Jenny says the film is about mental health and is a conversation piece looking at how communities respond and react to people when they are unwell.
"The Stranger as in the character in this film has schizophrenia and is not making sense when he arrives at the isolated farmhouse in the middle of the night, the farmer's wife is convinced he is a murderer. In the light of day, she is forced to confront her prejudices," she said.
The film features a cast of familiar faces: Fiona Press (I Am Woman), Steve Bisley (Mad Max) and Harry Greenwood (Hacksaw Ridge).
Very pleased the film has made the ten finalists for the Dendy Awards Jenny said eventually she hopes to show the film in the Upper Hunter.
"We have to wait for the film festival season to be completed but our aim is for the local community to see the film - we also have the COVID-19 lockdown and I am in Sydney so its work in progress," she said.
Jenny is moving onto her next film project but wanted to thank everyone involved in making The Strangers such a success for this newly minted film director.