Interview with Australian filmmaker Matt Bolin

Welcome Mr Bolin we are very excited to have you today with us to discuss about your work.

First off, Who is Matt Bolin and how did the passion for filmmaking start ?

I am an independent Australian filmmaker who has been in the industry for over a decade now who specializes in a diverse range of genres, From Comedy, Animation, Satire, Documentaries and Live action. Currently based in Melbourne Australia.

My passion for filmmaking and acting started from a young age, as a child I was always fascinated by television and screen. I used to then pretend to be in my own tv show in the loungeroom somedays. In 1999 I produced my own albeit very poor-quality little film as an 8-year-old on one of those home movie dv cameras.

My first real filmmaking passion started in 2010 just as I’d finished Year 12 High School and enrolled in a Bachelor of Screen Production at the now defunct media department in Holmesglen, Glen Waverley campus. (Glen Waverley is a suburb in Melbourne).

It was at Holmesglen where I first learned the fundamentals of filmmaking and made my first proper short film as a filmmaker in 2011 called ‘‘Give me confidence’’.

Anyway, long story short got halfway through that degree took time off uni and finished my degree at JMC Academy in South Melbourne that’s a whole new story though.

Can you tell us about your previous work ?
Before The Adventures of Wolfdogg and Red Ridinghood, I produced another couple of animations also inspired by classic fairytales which went on to win multiple awards in the global festival circuit that are now available for viewing on my YouTube channel “Matt Bolin’’ I produced a documentary on Philosophy ‘’The Philosophy Documentary’’ to articulate just how vital and relevant it is in the 21st Century, I interviewed a range of lecturers, phd students and heads of departments from Swinburne University to get their view on it and there preferred teachings, My Favorite philosopher is Aristotle by the way. I also produced a number of other films on my YouTube channel however to remain modest I won’t delve into it further.

CONVERSATION ABOUT: The Adventures of Wolfdogg and Red Ridinghood

Talk to us about your film ''The Adventures of Wolfdogg and Red Ridinghood'‘ , how was it created and what inspired it ?

The Adventures of Wolfdogg and Red Ridinghood is a classic fairytale with an adult twist.

It wasn’t actually the first animation I created in this format however it was by far the most challenging and complex shot wise and production wise.

What inspired me to experiment with this format was a mixture of paying homage to these fairytales I use to hear growing up, my love for adult swim and some of the adult animations which have been produced over time eg South Park and the next one is going to sound quirky but going into donut and candy shops and seeing the section called candy for adults. Basically, a range of confectionery people grew up with but also had ingredients in them which only adults could appreciate eg Liquor, Dark Chocolate etc so I figured why not try and make a fairytale which only adults can appreciate. Thus, Fairytales for Adults.

The Adventures of Wolfdogg and Red Ridinghood tells the story of a young woman named Ridinghood who has to accept what she perceives as the annoying chore of visiting her grandmother’s house, She leaves home walks through the woods with a basket of cookies before meeting an irreverent wolf named Wolfdogg who is also a hip hop artist. Reluctant to trust him at first he ‘’shows her a better way to grandma’s house’’ after that it becomes a race for who can get to grandmother's house first without spoiling it let’s just say when they arrive that is when things don’t go according to plan for either parties concerned. I managed to get a veteran Australian actor to narrate the film George Spartels who coincidentally is a Greek Australian by the way and a very talented set of voice actors to play the roles, Chelsea Hyde as Red Ridinghood, Stig Weymss as Wolfdogg/Ranger Abbe Holmes as Grandpa/mother I even feature in a cameo along with George in the narration scene, It was really a fun production to orchestrate plus our crew was amazing too like our primary animator Atteb Rabbani he worked wonders with some of the intense animating, Stephen Mclean who filmed the live action sequence, Elijah Massanour as editor, Joseph Marshall foley, John Astley other animator and Vitaly Zolotev as composer, all were 100% Australian based crew involved.

Would you see your project as an episodic animated adult comedy series ?

I think so, because it connects into the same universe as the first two animations, both are of the same length same humor style and when I first started to create these scripts and films, I produced them with the intention of them being a sort of webisode series. It’s more of a trilogy than a series however I guess you could call it a series, It definitely has potential to evolve into a series of more episodes if I had the hunger and I came across the right distributer who saw merit in what has been produced so far and wanted to work with me. Although distribution is another end of the industry within itself, and you would really need to have everybody on the same page to make it work fairly.

Talk to us about the animating and dubbing work that went into your film ?

As I mentioned earlier it was the definitely challenging even more so than the other animations for a number of reasons first the types of shots and angles involved were more sophisticated in this animation and because of their complexity it required more time and skill development from the animators to physically execute them. Co- void was another reason which took a toll on the crews and my own mental health which caused production to stagnate a little at times and just generally the amount of work which goes into an animation, I am not sure if you’ve tried it before but animations are lengthy and tedious methods of filmmaking, whimsical when their finished and pulled off however to get them beautiful they require patience and intense designing. It’s not anything like live action where you have a camera and you film in front of you for post production with animation you physically have to build the image from nothing. The dubbing went pretty well too, we recorded the audio at Mezzanine Films (Stig’s studios) in South Melbourne. We started production in late 2020 and we finally finished it early this year (2023). In the end I am very thankful for all who were involved as it could not be possible without you and your contribution.

What are the challenges of adapting and alternating a classic story ?

I don’t think there was any significant challenges to it, I am an experimental filmmaker who likes to think outside the box which is how in my opinion quality cinema and art should be, you try you give it your best sometimes it succeeds sometimes it doesn’t however wanting it to succeed usually acts as a motivator to do whatever it takes to get it right.

What is the target audience of your project ?

Obviously, adults however to be more specific I would say the age group of 20-35 the sort of mixture of gen z and millennials there’s no hard and fast rules if you’re 80 your allowed to see it and be entertained by it however that is the sort of age group (20-35) I envisioned it to be skewed towards.

Is there any hidden symbolism and what is the message the audience should convey leaving the screening of your film ?

I don’t really think there was symbolism hidden in it, There was definitely some satire and cheeky humor in parts of it directed at pop culture but no message infused in it overall, it’s merely a means of art and entertainment for the viewer. You could come to the conclusion there is a running gag of respect for your elders in it however I wouldn’t call that a message either just old-fashioned tongue and cheek humor.

Any future projects incoming ? Along with personal aspirations.

I’ve got a couple of new projects on the horizon, one is in post-production the other is more of a pipeline project however most of my energy now is going into promoting and marketing The Adventures of Wolfdog and Red Riding hood. It would be nice to do some travelling too for both potential work and leisure, I’ve never been to Greece before so maybe that should be my next ambition to save up and see you guys in person.

My personal aspirations film wise would I guess be to continue producing films which can entertain, and, in the case of documentaries, inform people of a great story or thing. I am a strong believer in using local talent where you are based as first preference as it’s important to give something back to the community and also provide work for people who share your industry domestically.

Film is a great way to preserve culture and even contribute to it as art. It also enables creatives to get an opportunity to work and not have to part from their families if they prefer not to. Basically, producing your own local produce to then showcase to the world.

Hollywood certainly interests me too. They’ve been very supportive in screening my films in their festivals. Whether or not I would desire to relocate there is more of a longer-term goal to ponder, I am not sure if we're both ready for each other yet. Maybe we are who knows what tomorrow may bring.

That was the interview with our beloved creator Matt Bolin. Our community is rising everyday, new talented filmakers and screenwriters get onboard. Be sure to check the rest of our interviews and why not schedule one for yourself to promote your work. To publish an interview simply submit on the INTERVIEW OF YOUR FILM category on our Filmfreeway page.