CinefestOZ are gearing up for their opening night on August 23 with the screening of Australian romantic comedy What If It Works?
Starring The Black Balloon’s Luke Ford and Anna Samson, the WA premiere of the film will be followed by a special question and answer session with the film’s writer and director Romi Trower.
Trower’s debut feature film had it’s international premiere at the 2017 Cinequest Film and VR Festival in San Jose earlier this year and recently took out the Best Australian Indie Film Award at the Gold Coast Film Festival as well as Best Debut Feature Film for the 2017 Female Eye Film Festival.
The impossible love story stars Australian actors Luke Ford and Anna Samson, who will both attend the opening night of CinefestOZ with Romi Trower and fellow actor Wade Briggs.
In her interview with the Mail, Trower said it’s been an incredible journey bringing the characters to life.
“It’s about a guy called Adrian who is a tech nerd and loves fast cars and he has OCD and he crashes into his neighbour Grace – a beautiful street artist who has multiple personality disorder and a colourful love story ensues,” she said.
“You may not necessarily expect a film with two characters suffering from mental illness to make people feel hopeful, uplifted and happy but these are sentiments across the board and it’s really nice to see.
“Some people may get a tear in their life but they also walk about feeling positive about life.
“I want people to walk away feeling something and thinking about the film.”
Trower said she was inspired by many aspects of her personal life to write and create What If It Works?
“My brother has a severe case of OCD and he has had that ever since I was about five years old so it’s something I’ve grown up with and my aunt is a psychiatrist who specialises in multiple personality disorder and she’s done it for years and I’ve always been interested in her work,” she said.
“I’ve heard stories from her and my mum over the years of people with complex mental illness meeting at clinics and forming relationships that are so surprising and can really work, despite the challenges of two people both suffering.
“In fact, sometimes there’s a greater level of understanding, tolerance and acceptance offered due to each person’s insight from experiencing their own issues which is really inspiring and remarkable.”
Trower said she’s most excited to sit in the middle of the crowd in Bunbury for opening night of CinefestOZ and watch the audience’s reactions to the film.
“I can’t wait to get there and share the film with Western Australian audiences,” she said.
“We’ve been in the States and in Canada and all around the country and it’s been an awesome experience so far. But it’s always exciting to show it to Australian audiences and I’ve never been to WA so I couldn’t think of a better way to arrive.
“My favourite part is watching people’s faces and hearing the little chuckles or sudden gasps or catching a tear roll down someone’s face, that’s just the ultimate for me.”
What If It Works? will screen on the opening night of CinefestOZ at Bunbury’s Grand Cinemas on Wednesday, August 23 at 5.30pm.
Full program details, tickets and Cinepasses are available from CinefestOZ.com, the CinefestOZ iPhone app and local visitor centres.