Kill Your Dinner
SYNOPSIS
A strained father-son relationship is put to the test during an extremely misjudged bonding exercise.
Told with an understated sense of absurdity and an ironic eye for the foibles of human relationships, this short dramedy by writer-director Bryn Chainey is about a family finding its equilibrium, as a father and son try to bridge the gulf between them.
With this humanistic, character-centered approach to comedy, the ensemble of performances in the film always have their pulse on emotional truth, while still hitting their comedic beats. Young actor Nicholas Bakopoulos-Cooke captures the put-upon nature of an archetypal teenager, putting up with ineffectual and often hypocritical grown-up behavior, while as his father actor Steve Rodgers possesses an amiability and eager-to-please quality that is both sweet and passive. It's easy to see how much Lawrence loves his son, and also why Rhys is so frustrated with him.
"Kill Your Dinner" almost verges on farce near its end, but it never quite topples over into it, thanks to pitch-perfect writing and performances. Its emotional conflicts are very real and very relatable, but the storytelling carries this baggage lightly. As the main characters drive off into the distance at the end, the story earns a funny, endearing poignancy, thanks to its affection for the contradictions of human beings -- and its recognition that many of our stumbles and falls are a result of our best intentions.- Omeleto
Financed by Screen Australia
Rhys — Nicholas Bakopoulos-Cooke
Lawrence — Steve Rodgers
Scarlett — Sacha Horler
Writer/Director — Bryn Chainey
Producer — Christopher Sharp & Alexandra Taussig
Cinematographer — Geoffrey Simpson
Editor — Simon Price
awards
Youth Prize - Festival Cinèma Jeune Public
Best Australian Director - Dungog Film Festival
Best Director & Best Casting - Atlas Awards
Best Supporting Performance (Sacha Horler) - Short Circuit: Pacific Rim Film Festival
FESTIVAL SELECTIONS
Berlin International Film Festival, Germany
Palm Springs International ShortFest, USA
Rotterdam International Film Festival, Netherlands
St. Kilda Film Festival, Australia
Heart Of Gold International Film Festival, Australia
Kuki + Teen Screen Film Festival, Germany
Carrousel International du Film of Rimouski, Canada
Dungog Film Festival, Australia
Devour! The Food Film Festival, Canada
Auckland International Film Festival, New Zealand
Ale Kino Festival, Poland
Atlas Awards, Iceland
Fargo Film Festival, USA
Rotterdam International Film Festival, Holland
Irvine International Film Festival, USA
Festival Cinéma Jeune Public, Switzerland
Santa Cruz Film Festival, USA
Salento International Film Festival, Italy
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, USA