I recently wrote about the Australian production company, Blue Tongue Films, and decided to take a deeper look into two founders, Joel and Nash Edgerton. They have received 25 awards since they began in 1998, including a Short Film Award Honorable Mention at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Since 1992, they have directed, produced, acted, edited or wrote in over 90 films.

The Edgertons provided interesting insights into both their inspiration and background, especially if you are considering a career in the film industry and require some guidance.

Blue Tongue

I know you two were already involved in the film business, but this was acting and stunt doubling. What was it that inspired both of you to start directing and writing?

JOEL – It really came from a need to be noticed in our separate fields. The medium we wanted to work in was film, but the bi-product of creating showreels for ourselves (and that’s what our first film was) was that we fell in love with filmmaking.

NASH – Yeah basically we had so much fun making Loaded (which was intended to be an action scene for mine and Tony’s showreels and an acting scene for Joel and Kieran’s) and suddenly we realised that ultimately we wanted to tell stories and make films. But if I think back – going to the video store when our parents first got a Betamax player and hiring movies every chance we got is probably what really started it. We just didn’t think of it as something we could do as a career at the time.

How and why did Blue-Tongue begin, how did you get connected with Kieran Darcy-Smith and Tony Lynch?

JOEL – Blue-Tongue began as a name when we needed to formalize things for our group bank account to make our second film. Tony was a stunt mate of Nash’s and Kieran was a buddy of mine from drama school and wanted similar gains from the project as I did. We dragged Kieran in to write the script for our first little film.

NASH – And at the time we couldn’t really find anyone to help us make the films and so we ended up having to take on most of the roles behind and in front of camera ourselves – and we really we had no idea what we were doing so it was hard – but such a great learning experience whether we knew it at the time or not. And from that it grew.

If you had to pick a favorite… Which would it be out of all of the short films that have come from Blue-Tongue?

JOEL – I love Bloodlock for the reason that it was truly a joint collaboration, it was made at a time when we knew almost nothing and during that film we all grew up as filmmakers… As directors, actors and writers, not to mention producers.

NASH – Yeah Bloodlock was a pretty special time – it took nearly 2 years to make.

Nash is so ready to eat…

The Square

Blue-Tongue had only directed short films prior to the release of The Square, and there have been two more features released since then. Are you guys planning on narrowing the focus of your productions into more feature length films, or will short films always be the main aspect of Blue-Tongue?

JOEL – I have a feeling the form of the films will all depend on who wants to do what at any given time. The task of a full length is film is so consuming that I imagine we may always return to shorts when the ideas arise that suit.

NASH – Yeah I don’t think we are going to give up on shorts just cause we’ve been making features. Some ideas and stories are just meant to be short. David, Spencer and I were talking the other day about each trying to make another short this year. Oh and actually the first feature we were involved in was The Magician directed by Scott Ryan.

Sundance 2010

What were some of your favorite films from this year’s festival? How was it compared to other years?

JOEL – Not being biased but I was so taken with Animal Kingdom. I felt so proud to be involved in it. I also loved Hesher for similar reasons. My favourite film made by someone I didn’t know was Waiting For Superman.

NASH – This year was really special having a lot of the gang there. I felt the same about Animal Kingdom and Hesher. There is something truly inspiring about seeing your friends work on the big screen. They both premiered on the same day. That night Joel and I got back to where we were staying and started writing again. I also loved Boy, Waiting For Superman, Cyrus and the Banksy film Exit Through the Gift Shop.

I saw that you (Joel) were there to accept the award for David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom. Was this a frightening experience, or do you not mind being in front of crowds?

JOEL – I actually got very nervous accepting David’s award. I don’t mind crowds, but usually its easier when you are speaking someone else’s words. David didn’t provide me with a speech so I felt nervous that I wouldn’t represent him, the film or the excitement surrounding the event with the right sentiment.

Present & Future

Are either of you working on anything currently?

JOEL – Yes.

NASH – Haha.

I came across (and quoted in an article) this quote, “for too long short films have remained the forgotten art form; a consistently underrated medium that has never been given the exposure it demands.” What do you think of this quote and where do you see the future of short films?

JOEL – Short films are a necessary art for people moving into bigger films. A way of cutting your teeth on the medium in a smaller way. But the short film becomes a skill in itself… How to tell a compelling story in such a short space of time… to give a great sense of charater and place and atmosphere in such a short time.

NASH – The internet has really given a larger life and an audience to short films that they have never had just playing at film festivals. I think short films are really special and sometimes because of the freedom and lack of interference can potentially show you a filmmakers true voice more than a feature film can. And then I guess other times they can be complete shit. :)

The Inksie Staff would like to thank Blue Tongue Films as well as Joel & Nash Edgerton for their responses. If you missed our earlier post on Blue Tongue, note that Nash’s film The Square is slated for a US release of April 9th. Check your local theater for listings. Please have a look at some of their films as well as their blog for updates on upcoming productions.