FilmLocal logo

Bootlegged | Dark Comedy | Melbourne, VIC

It’s 10 years into the future, and comedy has been banned. A young boy re-discovers stand up comedy and searches to find a place he can be free to laugh.

With the intention of entering next year’s Tropfest Film Festival, Toprock Productions had set out to film a short drama, “Zarephath”. However after deciding that Zarephath would be at its best without the limitations of time production was pushed back. Now, with a free December, the crew at Toprock have decided they want something else to enter into next year’s Tropfest Festival and that was how Bootlegged came up!

Bootlegged follows an 8 year old boy as he searches for laughter. With comedy banned, by the government (due to the over sensitivity of the population) all jokes and anything funny had been phased out. In this world, animals now have more rights than humans. Humans can no longer refer to each other as humans, but now only as fellow living organisms or FLO’s. And so, every living thing is now equal. Conversations between “fellow living organisms” is cold and distant, for the fear of offending someone is upon them!

Many inspirations for this film have been drawn upon from a lot of recent events and trends in today’s society. This includes baby’s rights in having to give consent for nappy changes, new diets becoming super popular, comedians getting fined for telling jokes… oh so many influences. And you’ll never know. With the way society is heading now, who’s to say that we’re not heading in that direction? Only time will tell!

Production has already started. With the first production meeting only happening two weeks ago. Casting was done without auditions, but mainly from referrals and reuse of actors and talent. Principal photography began last weekend and will continue over the next couple of weekends as Toprock Productions rushes to film and complete this film by the early January deadline. There is always a fear that a rushed production may lack in certain areas, however Toprock has aimed to reuse the same crew they worked with on their recent 48 Hour Film Festival Venture.

With filming underway during this busy time of year, the team at Toprock Productions would appreciate any support and love they can get from fellow filmmakers! Make sure to follow their journey on Instagram: @toprockproductions to find out how the rest of their story plays out or to lend some encouraging words of wisdom.

Website: https://toprockproductions.com/upcoming-productions

 

Want your film project featured on Local Films? Fill out this form!

Share this post!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get work notifications, local event invites and in-depth film industry articles.