Independent filmmaker's big 'journey of self-belief' and $100k spend to make movie

Australia Broadcast Center

20-07-2025

Mara Jean Quinn, 35, has spent all her money making a movie.
Her film, Andamooka, is about a woman whose life crumbles before her 30th birthday, so in search of comfort and clarity, she sets out to spend the milestone in the outback.
"I don't own a house, I don't have any money to my name and I have a family."
Her film, which culminates in the South Australian town of the same name, was shot in 2019 on a shoestring budget, by a crew of three.
Quinn said it was inspired by a break-up and most characters were found during the trip from Longreach to Alice Springs and Andamooka.
"I was working in post-production in Sydney … and it just wasn't giving me any joy and I really wanted to go see central Australia," she said.
Quinn is doing the hard yards taking her film on the road and screening it at any film festival she can, a reality for most independent filmmakers in Australia.
"Distribution has been impossible. It's been a huge journey of self-belief," she said.
Andamooka recently screened at Vision Splendid, a film festival that's been running in Winton in central-west Queensland for 11 years.
Festival creative director Greg Dolgopolov said Australian indie, or independent, films should be better supported.
"The costs for releasing a film are often so high that those films will play in a few select cinemas or film festivals before they kind of disappear," Dr Dolgopolov said.
Andamooka sat untouched until 2023, when Quinn again gave up any income to start post-production and make the film a reality.
Another Australian filmmaker Tristan Barr recently screened his fifth indie production as an "audience test" at the festival in Winton, the town that inspired the film.
He directed Dunny Derby — The Legend of Derek Dallas & The Underbogs, written by Matthew Caffow.
It follows a team trying to beat the "city slicker" antagonists in an infamous dunny race in town.
"We were in Winton shooting a horror film and heard about the local dunny races," Barr said.
"We just thought this is an amazing environment and unlike anything we'd ever seen."
But it took almost six years to get the movie together.
"We got supported in many ways by different people along the way.
"Festivals are incredible because you get feedback."
Barr said the film was likely to officially premiere late this year or early next year.
Dr Dolgopolov said film festivals played a crucial role for independent productions.
"They inspire people and people often want more, but you know in the real world they can't access more outside of film festivals and that's where the real problem lies.
"If you look at any regional or even outer suburban cinema complex, they're not the venues for screening Australian independent films, they just don't make it there."
Cinema Association Australasia executive director Cameron Mitchell said local Australian-made films contributed about 5 per cent of Australia's box-office revenue annually.
"In 2024, 85 Australian local films were released in Australian cinemas," Mr Mitchell said.
"The Australian cinema community works closely with Australian filmmakers to support the creation of Australian content for the enjoyment of Australian audiences."
Quinn is still on the road to finding a wider audience for her film.
"Other filmmakers have been really inspired by the fact that I did make a feature film on the smell of an oily rag as a nobody."