LOCAL filmmaker Ben Plazzer is on a mission.
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Having recently directed his debut feature film The Heckler, the Ballarat creative is now hoping his hometown will get behind him and support his latest venture by prebooking tickets so the movie can be screened at Regent Cinemas.
The film has already had sold out screenings in Melbourne, and Plazzer said he would love the same thing to happen here.
“People are definitely receptive but it’s tricky because you have to book your tickets in advance,” he said.
“If you don’t book, it doesn’t go ahead.”
The Heckler follows the story of Steve, a fame-hungry, self-absorbed comedian on the verge of joining the ‘big league’.
But things start to go haywire when he accidentally kills heckler Mike and is then possessed by his spirit. Steve, now existing as a spirit outside of his own body, can only watch as Mike ruins his reputation.
“Basically, the heckler steals the comedian’s body,” Plazzer said.
Shot on a budget of $250,000, the indie comedy has already received official selections at comedy festivals around the country and won the award for best ensemble at the Los Angeles Comedy Festival.
Plazzer said the response had been terrific so far, especially considering the stigma associated with indie films.
“People expect indie films to be low standard and a lot of the time the acting can be sub-par,” he said.
“But with The Heckler, it’s accessible, commercial, it moves along fast and the actors are really great.
“We didn’t have a huge studio budget, but because we did it our way we had full control and could do whatever we wanted.”
Plazzer attended boarding school at St Patrick’s College before studying engineering and later moving to Swan Hill to be a mechanic.
Soon discovering the world of mechanics was not for him, he went to the Victorian College of the Arts and completed a bachelor of film and television.
The filmmaker has shot about 40 short films so far, and said working on his first feature was a lot of fun especially because of the stand-up comedians who were on board.
“All of my films are comedies. I personally find if you do dramas the characters can be in a hard place and that makes it hard for you. That’s why I choose comedies.”
The Heckler is set to be screened at Regent Cinemas on Sunday, September 13 at 6.30pm.
A half-hour Q&A session will follow the movie at 8pm.
Tickets cost $20.
To book, visit www.tugg.com/events/42968