Flathead (film)

Flathead
Flathead Film Poster
Directed by	Jaydon Martin
Written by	Jaydon Martin Patrick McCabe
Produced by	Jaydon Martin Patrick McCabe
Starring	Cass Cumerford Andrew Wong
Cinematography	Brodie Poole
Edited by	Patrick McCabe
Music by	Lachlan Harris Angharad Van Rijswijk
Production companies	Factotum Pictures Portmanteau Pictures
Release date	April 27, 2024
Running time	89 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English

Flathead is a 2024 docu-fiction-film directed by Jaydon Martin about blue-collar Australian life. The film premiered at the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it won a Special Jury Award in the Tiger Competition

Cast

• Cass Cumerford as Cass
• Andrew Wong as Andrew
• Rob Sheean
• Hayden Rimmington
• Kent Wong as
• Miguel Angel Jitale D’amico
• Tim Lunnon
• Adama Suviste
• Jake Samaya
• Venerable Lama Karma Vajrasambhava Rinpoche

Critical Reception

Peter Bradshaw reviewing for The Guardian rated the film with 4 stars out of 5 and wrote "Jaydon Martin makes an outstanding feature debut with this absorbing, moving and visually beautiful docufiction." Bradshaw went on to describe "The film’s poetry resides in its thoughtful inactivity, its vernacular spirituality and its gentleness."

Wendy Ide writing for ScreenDaily said "The film is an unvarnished, but striking account of life in this working class community."

Martin Kudlac of Screen Anarchy wrote "Flathead exhibits a level of formal polish uncharacteristic of a straightforward documentary, yet its decentralized and loosely structured approach sets it apart from conventional fiction cinema."

Shane Danielsen writing in The Monthly described the film as "Elegant, patient and humane". Carmen Gray wrote in the Sight and Sound's Weekly Film Bulletin about the film ‘The docufiction, with its distinctive vision of spiritual questing in a poor part of Queensland, maximised absurdist detail and laidback sardonic wit while still conferring dignity on its subjects’.

Awards & Accolades

Flathead won the Tiger Competition Special Jury Award at the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam, with Variety reporting the Jury's comments on the film: “calm but touching execution”, and a “naturalistic and realistic film at its best.”