So excited to announce that I will be directing my next feature film ‘Nugget’, written by and starring creative geniuses, absolute stars and the kindest collaborators @viczerbst and @bigjwow 🐶💕
‘Nugget’ is a gift of a script. A hilariously relatable and deeply moving comedy about the messiness of families, vulnerability of love, and the innocence of childhood pets.
Even though I didn’t write the script it feels incredibly personal, delicately and specifically unravelling the coming-of-age experience in your late 20s when you finally realise that you are a product of where you come from, and are able to accept all the imperfect love that has built you into who you are, and who you will be.
It’s so funny and big-hearted and wholly original. I can’t wait to share it with you all later this year!
Thank you to the kind folks at @stanaustralia@easytiger.tv our amazing producer @naomi.justnaomi and Jenna and Vic for trusting me to direct this beautiful film ✨
After almost thirty years, we finally know what happened to the characters in Paul Kelly’s iconic track ‘How To Make Gravy’…
Originally told through a letter from Joe, newly incarcerated and writing to his brother Dan as the family prepares to celebrate Christmas without him, ‘How To Make Gravy’ has become the beloved Australian classic of heartache, and longing, with a dollop of tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang. Now, in a sequel song we neither expected nor knew we needed, ‘Rita Wrote A Letter’, fans finally learn what became of Rita while Joe was in jail. And what became of Joe.
🚨🚨🚨 SPOILER ALERT 🚨🚨🚨
Rita moved on. Dan did stab Joe in the back. And that's not all…
In the music video for ‘Rita Wrote A Letter’, Paul embodies the ghost of Joe, haunting the family he left behind. Director Imogen McCluskey brings a cinematic and emotional depth to the story, crafting a visual world where memory, grief, and love blur across time and space. “The video was inspired by the beautiful storytelling of Paul's song and the phantasm of love that remains after a person is gone” says Imogen. “The 'conversation' between Rita and Joe transcends time, space and even death. It’s a call-and-response that begins irreverent in tone, then moves into a richer emotional territory as the song progresses. I hope when people watch, they think of the loved ones they miss, and look for them in the beauty of a sunset, or in the shadow on a wall, or in the gentle rhythm of the earth.”
Write up continued in comments ✍️
So excited to usher ATOMIC LOVE into the world, which began as a short film back way back 2020. I’m fascinated with characters who are yearning to connect, to be loved, to be held, to be understood and accepted, but don’t know how the hell to get there 🫂💕
By looking back at the advent of video dating in the 1980s, this film speaks directly to our modern obsession with algorithms; a symptom of our intense desire for self-protection and optimization. If there are endless matches, who can hurt me? Why invest in someone, or risk rejection, if something ‘better’ is eternally around the next corner? This film is about confronting the terrifying realization that to be loved means to be truly seen, and whether we are brave enough to bear it. But isn’t that what it’s all about in our one precious life?!?
Much love and gratitude to the phenomenal @imogengardam for being my incredible dev exec on my second @screenaustralia supported project, backing my mission to bring laughs and heartbreak back to Australian cinema!!!! Try to stop me!!!!
And thank you to my extraordinary script editor @brita.mcveigh , who is so tender yet sharp and precise, helping me burrow down to the sticky and confronting questions that propel us humans on the terrifying quest for love and understanding ❤️💫
Very excited to have a busy start to the year, diving headfirst into my Emerging Producer Placement with the amazing Investment team at Screen NSW, alongside up-and-coming producing talent @emilycaelli@seb.the.filmmaker 💕
I recently had the immense privilege of writing and directing a music video for the absolute legend, @paulkelly (!!!!) 🧡
Starring the absolutely luminous @justineclarke_ , the song is a follow-up to the much beloved ballad ‘How to Make Gravy’, told from Rita’s perspective.
The video was inspired by the beautiful storytelling of Paul's song, which evoked for me the love that exists ‘in the spaces between’. The space between life and death, above ground and below; or in the same physical space, but separated by time or distance.
I wanted to create a 'conversation' between Rita and Joe that transcended death, inspired by my own families ghost stories. A kind of call-and-response that started irreverent in tone and moved into richer emotional territory as the song progresses.
Like all my work, it comes from a place of love. In my experience, these ghost stories or visitations are often funny and tender: a phantasm of the love that remains after a person is gone, especially if that love was hard or complicated, as it was for Rita and Joe.
How to Make Gravy is a song that has its own rich mythology and means so much to so many. It was an honour to contribute to that legacy and collaborate with one of Australia's most iconic musicians I grew up listening to.
Our video is meant to sit alongside this legacy, but leaves enough space for the audience to project on to. I hope when people watch, they think of the loved ones they miss, and look for them in the beauty of a sunset, or in the shadow on a wall, or in the gentle rhythm of the earth 💚
Check out the video here - /watch?v=EwFUkm1iJ7E&ab_channel=PaulKelly
