“People seem to either really love it or fucking despise it.”There’s no sugar-coating the divisiveness of Hail, the new film from Melbourne based filmmaker Amiel Courtin-Wilson. Known for the documentaries Chasing Buddha, Bastardy and most recently Ben Lee: Catch My Disease, Courtin-Wilson’s first feature narrative came about after an intense six year collaboration with Daniel P. Jones, a former convict turned actor whose life and stories inspired the film, and who also stars as a fictionalised version of himself. The result is a grim, distressing tale of love, loss and vengeance realised through a combination of cinema vérité and wild, surreal experimentalism – an approach that’s sure to enthral some viewer while disturbing and alienating others.
After a year on the international festival circuit, including stops in Rotterdam, Venice and Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas (not to mention Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide), Hail is set for a limited theatrical release in Australia on October 25th. In the lead up, we spoke to Courtin-Wilson about the film’s back-story and style, as well as its reception from both audiences and its subjects. That and dropping a dead horse out of a helicopter.
Tom Clift: I’m really curious about the back-story to this movie. Specifically, can you tell me a little bit about Daniel and how you came into contact with him?
Amiel Courtin-Wilson: I’d made three or four documentaries by the time I started documenting this theatre company called Plan B [in 2005], which at the time was based out of Footscray in Melbourne. It started out as a favour for a friend actually, but then I was quite taken by what they were doing with this bunch of guys straight out of prison. And I’d been filming for just over a month when I showed up at the rehearsal space and saw this guy decked out in double denim just standing on the periphery of the group looking a little more than awkward, and so I went up and introduced myself. And when he turned to look at me it was Dan. I was just instantly taken with this strange coalescing of different elements. It was kind of part nerves part, rage…but also this instant kind of charm that came shining through. And those eyes…at once open and compassionate but also kind of reptilian and, when he wants to be, altogether frightening.
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