STRANGERS LOVERS KILLERS
By Oliver Torr, Ross Wilson, Matt Zeremes
SYNOPSIS
Strangers Lovers Killers explores the way a seemingly small event can have profound effects on individuals and how we don’t really know who we are until thrust into the most extreme scenarios.
The timeframe for the film is 12 hours.
Simon is a London law firm courier. While completing a document exchange in Sydney, he is accosted by a young woman, Mei Li, in need of ‘help’. In a moment of uncertainty, he decides to escort Mei Li to her hotel but in the process she is abducted, Simon’s passport goes missing and all that is left is Mei Li’s mobile phone.
David is Mei Li's boyfriend. He glimpsed Mei Li entering the hotel with Simon. Anxious that Mei Li is having an affair and also increasingly concerned about her safety, David is desperate to find her. Before he can make much progress, David is contacted by a member of the South East Asian Crime Squad: Detective Andropoulos, and told Mei Li has left the country and that her father, the Mayor of Shanghai, is about to be arrested.
As afternoon peak hour begins in Sydney, David and Simon finally connect through Mei Li's mobile phone. After meeting, they suspect that the Detective who tried to assist them is not quite right. It dawns on them that they and Mei Li are right in the middle of a multi-million dollar war between corrupt Chinese officials, triads in Sydney and police on the take.
After a series of events Simon and David's world is tipped upside down. No matter how they resist, they are drawn into a labyrinth of violence. The experience and the awful self knowledge brought on by these events create an unholy bond between David and Simon.
Simon returns on the evening flight to London and David takes the train back to his home.
DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY
Oliver Torr and Matt Zeremes have worked together since meeting at university. They wrote, starred in and directed their first feature film "Burke and Wills", which was shot on a miniscule budget, with the almost unbelievable shooting ratio of 1:1.5. "Burke and Wills" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival before beginning a nationwide theatrical release in Australia. For their next film project, "Strangers Lovers Killers" they collaborated with Ross Wilson, a television producer whose writing credits include the Channel Four film "Backsliding" starring Tim Roth and a recent animated film musical for the hugely popular Wiggles.
Matt and Oliver are currently completing their third film "JB and the Mule".
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Mei Li – a psychological thriller that aims to explore the degredation of two ordinary men profoundly affected by events across the world. Written, directed and produced by Matt Zeremes, Oliver Torr and Ross Wilson. Initially the idea was to find a story that would allow us to milk the stunning locations scattered throughout Sydney. However, the writing process soon took over and we found ourselves getting drawn into the characters and plot.
One of the attractions of the collaboration was using each other to strengthen our weaknesses. Whilst Matt and Oliver have worked closely in the past, Ross is from another generation and has a different set of values and aesthetics. We thought it exciting to bring these three brains together to work on one common idea.
We were also excited by the idea of creating something outside of the normal framework, minimizing the time spent waiting for funding and putting the power into our own hands. We wanted to make a film that we thought people would enjoy, we could achieve on our budget, would utilise the plethora of locations Sydney has to offer, was plot driven, allowed us to shoot in Shangahi and would have a place in the market.
The disintegration of two ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances was an idea that we were all attracted to. It was a simple premise that enabled us a lot of flexibility with the story. We also thought it would have visual power pitting the story of these two characters against the backdrop of a city going about it’s normal business.
The film was shot over a month in Sydney and Shanghai. Due to budget constraints there were elements of guerrilla film making employed throughout the shoot. This was considered a positive as it gave us a gritty and realistic view of both cities, which was beneficial to the tone of our film…and from memory unique to a lot of other Australian films.
CAST
Simon: Matthew Zeremes
David: Oliver Torr
Mei Li: Li Leng Au
Chris: Tabrett Bethell
The Mayor: Kee Chan
Detective Andropoulos: Ashley Lyons
Jim: Alan Flower
Neville: Jonathan Hardy
Peter: Patrick Dickson
Su Chen: Tony Chu
Terrence: Jordan Ling
Benny Wong: Warren Lee
CREW
Director: Oliver Torr, Ross Wilson, Matt Zeremes
Script: Oliver Torr, Ross Wilson, Matt Zeremes
DOP: Shing Fung Cheung
Editing: Katie Flaxman
Music: Peter Head
Sound: Tony Robson
Art Director/ Costume Designer: Alice Morgan
Producer: Oliver Torr, Ross Wilson, Matt Zeremes
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Original Title: Strangers Lovers Killers / HDCam, Digital Beta / 1:2.35 - 1080i / Frame rate 25 / 87 min / Stereo / Original Language English / Australia 2009
