Shane Poss Crosland
Shane P. Crosland is a Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Editor, and Filmmaker, from Boulder, Colorado (USA), currently residing between Sydney and Byron Bay, New South Wales (AUS).
Over the past twelve years, Shane has worked with a number of huge international brands and names including Warren Miller Entertainment, Toy Machine, X-Games, Burton, O'Neill, Nikon, Snowboarder Magazine, Concrete Wave, Loaded Longboards, Active Interest Media, Australia Macadamia, Pedestrian TV, fallenBROKENstreet, Luen, and Ben Hazlewood just to name a few. Shane has also had the opportunity to travel to locations such as Europe, South East Asia, Canada, and several regions of the United States and Australia for film productions and for travel to furthermore gain more life experience in order to write/create fascinating stories. His style as a director is guided by surrealism and experimentalism, while remaining rooted in French New Wave and dry comedy techniques.
In 2020, Shane also started his own brand, SONIK-INO, with other creatives in the Byron Bay area as well as the USA. The structure is multi-faced, targeting film production and also acting as a music label, thriving on the essence of inclusion, and giving other artists in these industries a voice through extensive collaboration and creation.
Your project takes a part in our festival. What is your project about?
'The M Word' is about a nihilistic bartender who cynically leads the viewer through his atypical lifestyle. Acting as a vessel of truth from multiple genuine experiences from those working in the hospitality industry, Dalton shows the ins and outs of his monotonous, yet different lifestyle. Across real time scenes, Dalton shows his life working in the bar, and living outside of it, explaining why he is the way he is, and why he is where he is at this point in his life.
Over the past twelve years, Shane has worked with a number of huge international brands and names including Warren Miller Entertainment, Toy Machine, X-Games, Burton, O'Neill, Nikon, Snowboarder Magazine, Concrete Wave, Loaded Longboards, Active Interest Media, Australia Macadamia, Pedestrian TV, fallenBROKENstreet, Luen, and Ben Hazlewood just to name a few. Shane has also had the opportunity to travel to locations such as Europe, South East Asia, Canada, and several regions of the United States and Australia for film productions and for travel to furthermore gain more life experience in order to write/create fascinating stories. His style as a director is guided by surrealism and experimentalism, while remaining rooted in French New Wave and dry comedy techniques.
In 2020, Shane also started his own brand, SONIK-INO, with other creatives in the Byron Bay area as well as the USA. The structure is multi-faced, targeting film production and also acting as a music label, thriving on the essence of inclusion, and giving other artists in these industries a voice through extensive collaboration and creation.
Your project takes a part in our festival. What is your project about?
'The M Word' is about a nihilistic bartender who cynically leads the viewer through his atypical lifestyle. Acting as a vessel of truth from multiple genuine experiences from those working in the hospitality industry, Dalton shows the ins and outs of his monotonous, yet different lifestyle. Across real time scenes, Dalton shows his life working in the bar, and living outside of it, explaining why he is the way he is, and why he is where he is at this point in his life.
What were your requirements for actors to take a part of your film?
My requirements of were to cast actors who have had some type of experience working in hospitality. I tend to cast characters based on a person who they revolve around in real life whether that person has limited acting experience to none, or is a professional. For this film, I needed someone who could heavily relate to a withered hospitality worker and that was Michael. He also was required to remember 18 pages of direct monologue to camera. His photographic memory definitely helped with that.
How did you communicate with the cameraman?
'The M Word' wasn't so much super technical with camera movements as each scene is essentially one shot so Clementine Bourke (our DoP) and I came up with a type of flow system with our gaffer (Pablo Meija Lopez) that would allow us to swiftly change over into new lighting setups while packing down the previous scene. During their change overs, this gave me ample time to go over the necessary and concise blocking I needed from our cast. Because we were dealing with more frameworked shots, our goal was to make every shot look like a painting with a consistent lighting theme.
What locations did you choose for your project? And why?
Our main location was at Savile Row Bar in Brisbane, QLD (Australia). How could you not choose this bar? It gives off that 1920s speakeasy prohibition vibe mixed in with a twisted hipster attitude. Also, notice that it doesn't have windows. I found this a key part to play into the psychology of the characters and how a work environment can affect your mindset. We then chose various locations around the Byron Bay Shire that could look more like a city to emphasize the late nights and what a somewhat mentally unstable bartender would be potentially doing on his days off.
Why should distributors buy your film?
I'm not sure our intention was for anyone to buy our film, but more so to reveal the truth of the ins and outs of what it really can be like to work in hospitality, therefore, if anyone did want to purchase this, it would be to show a simple truth which is 'you never know who is right in front of you'.
What expression elements did you use in your project? How would you characterize your work?
There are tons of personal expression elements in Dalton's monologue as well as stories from former hospitality peers and from friends as well. Ultimately, I would characterise this work as a philosophical dark comedy analysis on our contemporary society and its social contradictions.
At what festivals have you had success? Has the film already premiered? If so, where?
SELECTIONS
BYRON BAY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2023 - Official Selection
STOCKHOLM CITY FILM FESTIVAL 2023 - Official Selection
VENICE UNDER THE STARS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2023 - Official Selection
NOMINATIONS
INDIEX FILM FESTIVAL JUNE 2023 - Nominations for Best Male Director & Best Original Screenplay
FILM REVOLUTION FILM FESTIVAL- Nominations for Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Lead Actor
AUSTRALIA INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL - Nomination for Best Short Film
VENICE SHORTS 2024 - Nomination for Best Indie Short
AWARDS
ABSURD FILM FESTIVAL - Best Director
HOLLYWOOD SHORTSFEST - Best Producer
SHORT TO THE POINT FILM FESTIVAL - Best Director, Best Short Film Best Leading Actor
SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - Best Comedy
MELBOURNE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL - Best Scriptwriter
INDIEX FILM FESTIVAL - Best Actor, Best Indie Short
ARFF BERLIN - Audience Award
What motivated you to become a filmmaker?
Originally it was skateboarding. No one else had a camera and I was obsessed with the idea of filming my friend's skating down rails, stairs, or whatever obstacle they could get their hands on. This later led to being inspired by legends such as Harmony Korine, Larry Clarke, Goddard, Tarkovsky, Sofia Coppola, Gaspar Noe, the list goes on... Experimental and Avant Garde filmmaking has had a huge impact on my practice. Yes, conceptually, but also to work within limits and budget constraints, getting things done with who you have and momentum, not with what you have.
Which movies are your favorites? And why?
KIDS by Larry Clarke & Harmony Korine has to be one of my favourites and has always been a huge inspiration for me. It's just about life. It's in your face. It can be offensive, it can be fun, it can be sexy, it can be scary, it can be sickening, it's joyous. It's R rated as life is. I would also have to say Slacker by Linklater. This is such a smart one. It's just very much an unconventional style of filmmaking, showing ideas through philosophy paying homage to the avant garde in a way. There's not much story, but small stories of why people are the way they are in a daily walkthrough of Austin, Texas in the early 90s.
What topics do you like to deal with in your work?
I love to challenge my viewers to think critically. My experience is drawn from real life experience and I intend to keep it that way. Truth is stranger than fiction they say and that has always rung true to me. I love to travel and backpack to see the world and learn from different cultures out there, throwing myself into experiences. From this, I am able to bring in ideas of surrealism, impressionism, social ironies and contradictions, as well as topics you might be able to find in religion and philosophy.
What genre do you like to shoot and why?
Dark/Dry comedy. I find this to be the smartest style of humour. You don't always need to hear a laugh out loud to find something humorous. I think the best type of comedy is something you need to think about. Finding humour in topics and conversation that others may find dull.
What project would you like to shoot one day, what would it be about?
Currently, I am writing a feature film about self enlightenment via a young man's journey in Vietnam, which I hope to start shooting by 2026.
What do you do if you're not thinking about a movie? What are your hobbies?
Usually I'm always thinking about a movie or ideas for a movie. My hobbies, however, are music, snowboarding, surfing, running, cooking and doing things that are healthy for a rather productive mind. Physical and mental health is quite important to me to keep things moving positively.
What projects do you plan to shoot in the future?
Up next, I will be shooting a few pieces of branded content for businesses local to the Byron Bay area of NSW, Australia. I am also looking to start pre-production on another short film called 'Language', which is an abstract short film that takes on a toxic relationship.