Sydney Film School Founder Ben Ferris has showcased his award-winning film ‘Penelope’ at the University of Wollongong’s Hope Theatre.
The screening on Wednesday 7 August marked 15 years since the release of the film back in 2009. The film was screened in conjunction with a lecture the following day, which Ferris presented.
Mr. Ferris, who also works as both a founder and producer for Breathless Films, premiered Penelope in Zagreb, Croatia, before taking it to the Amsterdam Film Festival, where it won the Van Gogh award for Best Fantasy Film in 2009.
Ferris said he hadn’t watched the film for about ten years and that he was curious to see how a contemporary audience might respond to the film.
“Hopefully some of the more universal ideas and themes hold up… the elements not so specific to a certain time period,” Mr Ferris said.
‘Penelope’ is a modern retelling of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’. The film, co-starring Natalie Finderle, and the Croatian Frano Maskovic, features an original score by renowned composer Max Richter, who went on to work with such names as Damon Lindelof, creator of LOST, and Denis Villeneuve, director of Arrival, Prisoners, and Dune.
UOW lecturer Tristan Bradshaw, who invited Ferris to the campus said the rare combination of Ferris’s role as a filmmaker, and as a Homer scholar, makes him a valuable figure.
“I hoped [the student audience] would see Homer, which they learn in their first year, in a new light and think through the Odyssey’s form and substance in new ways,” Dr Bradshaw said.
“We really aimed to make this film in dialogue, not only with the original text, but with other adaptations, such as Joyce’s Ulysses,” Ferris said, regarding the process of adapting such a storied text.
Reflecting on his success both as an independent filmmaker and producer, Ferris said there are reasons for local artists and filmmakers to feel optimistic.
“There’s a lot of momentum in the ‘counter-space’… You’ve got the success of the RackaRacka boys, with ‘Talk to Me’, and we’re working with some exciting younger filmmakers,” Ferris said.
“There’s a lot of talent in that space. I’m seeing a lot of energy there, that I haven’t seen before.”
‘Penelope’ is also available to stream on MUBI.