The Association - a short Feature

D I R E C T E D  B Y  LEE MCCLENAGHAN

W R I T T E N  B Y  P E R R I  C U M M I N G S

S T O R Y  T E A M - PERRI CUMMINGS, JENNIFER MONK, LEE MCCLENAGHAN AND SHANON KULUPACH

A raw and disturbingly domestic psychological thriller, with splashes of black humour and moments of true humanity, where the idea of “the perfect life” is stripped down before the audience’s eyes.

New to town and having received a mysterious invitation, Joanne finds herself at the local women’s group, The Association.

The invite is from Joanne's new boss Audrey, who encourages her with the news that The Association is a wonderful organisation doing remarkable things for women. Spooked by her initial reception and the opening ritual, Joanne is relieved when the women throw off their cloaks and begin a seemingly normal meeting about tea and recipes. But the group slowly reveal they are using their skills and talents to help “improve” the lives of all – and when they discover Joanne has the final ingredient to bring their major project to life, they are eager to win her over to their cause. The meeting takes a turn when Joanne’s marriage is put on display, The Association’s major project is revealed, and Joanne realises she is being blackmailed into helping the women. Plans backfire and past experiments come crashing back in as the meeting descends into chaos!

This film was created in conjunction with The Association Theatre Immersive Event. The creative team and cast donated their time to this project, with proceeds of all ticket sales from the original Theatre Production going directly to funding the film production of The Association. To keep this project realistic and natural, GAG used a real house in the inner west - Number 64, Yarraville. This allowed the audience to have an authentic experience in the Theatre Immersive Event and the Film to conceptualise the character’s true needs and surroundings.

 The Association premiered at the Lido Cinemas to a sold out audience on July 25th 2018.

Thank you to the following campaign donors:

Bertuola Holdings P/L, Pandora Productions, Aurora RV Conversions, Madonna McGregor, S Bamford Caleo, Ingrid Fennessy, Amy Leeke, Rob Gaetano, Kelley Young-Camp, Lauren Hopley, Marie-Claire Tchernomoroff, Sophie Garnett, Jessica Chapman, Leigh Ormsby, Jenna Sladek, Nicole McElhenny, Samantha Lafranchi, Amanda May, David Macrae, Haylee Deutrom-Wakeling, Kim Dallinger, Kim Hateley, Marc Gracie, Martin Wurt, Tanya Edlington, Wendy Lever, Alicia Joel, Amanda May, Bart Sbeghen, Dianne Gale, Emma Hunt, Emma Caldwell, Canada White, Ruth Katerelos, Ben Groth, Cinema Viscera, Anna Widdrington, Amelia Hunter, Sanjay Parbat, Hey de ho music, Kerry Drumm, Amie Prescott, Jenna Hudson, Liz Delaney, Ashlee Hodges, Kimberely Finnegan, LeeGets WeirdAfterWine, Andrew Robb, Jay Adshead, Harriet Devlin-Dunbar, Christina McLachlan, Michael Bailey, Jaklene Vukasinovic, Katherine Grinlaw, Kendra Kingsbury, Shanon Kulupach, Magnani Papers Australia, Emma Mckay, Rasphal Sohal, Glenn Dallinger, Rachael Jeffery, Julia Hern, F Word films, Paul Jones, Carl Cummaudo, Jana Wilkes, Timothy Davis, Sally McLean, Solange Foley-Dawson and ALL the anonymous contributions.

CINDERS  AND  THE  SEVEN  STAGES  OF  GRIEF

D I R E C T E D  B Y  C O N S T A N C E  W A S H I N G T O N

W R I T T E N  B Y  P E R R I  C U M M I N G S

S T O R Y  T E A M - SHANON KULUPACH, LEE MCCLENAGHAN AND EVA JUSTINE TORKKOLA

Girls Act Good’s first short film is a sassy girl-powered fantasy that explodes the myth of the perfect life, while giving the hopeful message that the only way forward is to be true to yourself.  After a mysterious loss, Cinderella’s picture perfect life is in tatters. Not yet ready to let go of the dream, Cinder enlists the help of a kickass Fairy Godmother as she tries to go back and fix the mistakes of her past but quickly learns happiness can only come when you look toward the future.
GAG are all very proud of this film but especially of their first time director, Constance Washington who with her divine four month old daughter strapped lovingly to the front of her as “1st AD”, worked from first rehearsal through to the final edit without batting an eyelid. Constance is a strong talented woman with a network of supportive, creative colleagues around her. Women who become mothers should be able to continue pursuing their passions and dreams, which is just one thing GAG is all about.

The film was 'officially selected' and premiered at The SETTING SUN Short Film Festival on April 30th at The Sun Theatre in Yarraville.