by Dov Kornits | January 21, 2009 13:17 | Edited January 21, 2009 14:01
Matt Norman’s documentary Salute seemingly came out of nowhere to find a premiere slot at the 2008 Sydney Film Festival, and then went on to positive reviews and attendance on its theatrical release. It now arrives on DVD, just in time to get on the back of Obama’s inauguration, and Norman isn’t mincing his words.
Your film is called Salute. In honour of that, can you ‘salute' some of the filmmakers/people who have inspired you, and tell us why?
"I am a huge fan of good Australian cinema. The people that inspire me are those that have come from humble beginnings and that have worked to be where and who they are now. Baz Lurhmann's films are something that I look forward to whenever he has something new. I think he has a true essence of what a film should be. Robert Connolly is also someone who I respect greatly as a filmmaker and someone who I have had the great opportunity of being directed by on The Bank. Rolf De Heer is also one of my favourites as he seems to be the underdog. His films have truth no matter what the consequence and you can see the work he's put into every film he does.
"In documentary my all time favourite has to be any film made by one of the greatest filmmakers of my generation John Pilger. Pilger is a journalist who makes film for knowledge not fame. He truly knows the difference between truth and justice and to me is one of the most reliable story tellers we've ever had in this country and the world. He tells it as it is. It's something that I try to replicate in my own film experiences. I don't want to tell stories for the sake of it, I want to engage and question my audience."
I understand that although Salute did well for a documentary on theatrical release that the DVD has been a bit of a phenomenon. Can you clarify?
"The film became number one at the box office for an Australian documentary in 2008 and number 10 for all Australian features. To me that doesn't mean money, as the sharks circling cleared me out of all of that, but what it does do is make a promise that I made to Peter Norman before he died come true. I promised him that I would tell his story to the world so that he can finally be recognised not only for his incredible achievements in sport but also his belief and action toward the Civil and human rights of all mankind.
"Getting back on the point, the DVD has been out a week and is flying off the shelf literally. I have had the nicest feeling of going into my local JB HIFI or Blockbuster etc to see that not only did the film sell out within a few hours but that reports of a week long waiting list to rent it at the video's rental shops have flooded in to the film's webpage and blog. I am completely shocked by the response of Australian audiences."
“I believe our great assets in this industry are our filmmakers that don’t get funding and of course our cast and crews who I believe are the best of the best.”
I understand that you are making a feature film inspired by the Salute story.
"The film that's currently in development is called 1968. It's a film that I started researching in 2002. I am speaking with American producers and cast to secure finance. This film is certainly an ambitious project but the support from well known American companies has been terrific. A few years ago when I was toying with the idea I was lucky enough to get Heath Ledger interested to play Peter Norman. I was thrilled that Heath wanted to do it and was surprised on how much alike Peter and Heath were. With Heath's passing I was ready to give up the film as Peter's passing really got to me and in fact still does obviously. With initial talks currently underway with American agents, managers, attorneys etc I'm hoping to finally pin down my dream team this year.
"This won't be an Australian made film as I'm not ready to go back into the dungeon to seek Screen Australia funding after the way both the film Salute and I have been treated thus far, so I'll make the entire film in Mexico and the United States. Obviously with the Americans knowing who Peter is gives me a good running start and also the fact that the American industry seems to be more open to opportunity to showcase new talent. The Australian industry seems to support 80% mates and the rest with crumbs. It's such a pity as I believe our great assets in this industry are our filmmakers that don't get funding and of course our cast and crews who I believe are the best of the best."
I believe that you are also working on developing other feature films and documentaries. Can you tell us more about those?
"I have other films in development which are true stories that shed light on atrocities around the world. One being a film called Stillborn Bastards, which is the true story of two Bosnian women who were captured during the Bosnian war by soldiers and held captive for two years in an underground car park. [They were] raped repeatedly for those two years and ended up mothering children to their attackers. If no one talks about things like this then we seem to pretend that it's not happening. Another film I want to shoot this year is a TV style documentary called Men in Court. For the past 13 years I have lived with the fact that I have a daughter somewhere in Australia that has been taken by the mother even though our court system says that bringing up children should be done with both parents. I have a wife and 4 other children that also have to live with the fact. In the last several years I have known of men committing suicide because all they wanted was an opportunity to hold their child.
"Obviously you can see a pattern starting to form with the type of work I like doing. I love films that provoke thought and that give versions of a story most people choose not to talk about. I also like to do films that have something close to me."
Salute is out now on DVD. If you'd like to purchase a signed copy of Salute and a signed copy of A Race to Remember - The Peter Norman biography please go to http://www.theactorscafe.com/onlinestore or you can purchase the DVD at JB-HIFI and all good DVD retailers.
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