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Darren Maxwell -
Writer/Director
Although Darren was interested
in making films from as far back as the 1980s, it
wasn't until 2000 where he had the opportunity to
finally realise his passion.
Starting off with a simple $50
production which was finally completed in 2004,
Darren was eventually able to direct larger scale
productions with higher budgets, professional actors,
more advanced equipment and larger crews.
"No where is the the joy
of film making more evident than when everyone is
gathered together on a shoot. This is because people
love being part of the creative process of a
production, the fact that you end up with a great
film at the end is a bonus." Darren
Maxwell - 2005
Film Listing (from
most recent)
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Red
Darren
always knew he wouldn't be making short films
forever, so as part of his long term strategy he
wanted to finish this portion of his career by making
something truly special. The result is Red, a film
that was originally conceived by Darren's good friend
Rob Hamilton back in 2005 which Darren adapted into a
short film screenplay in 2006.
Red
is based on the classic Little Red Riding Hood
fairytale, but takes it into a totally new direction
which Darren hopes will provide a new perspective to
the original story.
As
this is Darren's last short film, his aim is to make
it the best he possibly can as it leads him
(hopefully) into the feature film arena which will be
the final step in his film making journey.
Red
is currently in pre production and has an anticipated
release date of 2012.
For
more information, refer to the Red web site
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Oneself Three
Despite
the success of the first two films, there was never a
plan for Oneself Three, however, as soon as the
second film was released Darren found it impossible
not to write a third and final instalment - which was
designed to bring the new "Oneself Trilogy"
to a more satisfactory conclusion.
Oneself
Three returned to the more jovial and less serious
side of the first film but was not without its own
challenges as it featured more main characters
interacting with each other than had occured in
previous instalments.
Oneself
Three was completed in March 2010.
For
more information, refer to the Oneself
Trilogy website.
Oneself
Three can be viewed from the following web site
--> here
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Oneself Two
Because
Flair was completed months ahead of schedule, Darren
was keen to make a second "Oneself" where
once again all the tasks of the production were
performed by himself with no outside assistance -
this included a complete musical soundtrack which was
an achievement in itself as Darren can't play any
instruments.
Unlike
the first film, Oneself Two is more of a dramatic
piece designed to see if the unique "one
person" production style can be applied to an
area beyond the comedy of the original.
Oneself
Two was completed in December 2009.
For
more information, refer to the Oneself
Trilogy website.
Oneself
Two can be viewed from the following web site --> here
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Oneself
Exactly
one week after filming Flair, Darren needed to take
on a project that was a bit of lighthearted fun. The
result is Oneself, a short, self indulgent film which
allowed Darren to try out some very basic editing
tricks to make the story work.
Oneself
was filmed in one night and edited within a week. It
mainly addressed the question of whether it is
possible for a film to be made solely by one person -
including writing, acting, lighting, filming,
editing, sound, makeup and even music.
Oneself
was completed in July 2009.
For
more information, refer to the Oneself
Trilogy website.
Oneself
can be viewed from the following web site --> here
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Flair -The Psychology of Killing
Revisited
With
the completion of The Psychology of Killing, Darren
was keen to explore a story where the genders of the
victim and aggressor were reversed. The result is
Flair, which is a sequel to the original film.
Flair
was Darren's most challenging project as it was very
intense, very dark and pushed his abilities into a
totally new area.
Flair
was completed in November 2009.
For
more information, refer to the Flair web site.
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Reality Check
As
The Psychology of Killing was nearing completion,
Darren took the opportunity to create a new film
based on an idea from a work colleague which focuses
on the frustration in dealing with IT Help Desks.
Reality
Check is a simple comedy revolving around the
problems we all experience when dealing with
technology. Unlike most films where technology is
always fast and reliable, this film is aimed at
bringing a more realistic view to it.
Reality
Check was completed in May 2008.
Part
1 can be viewed from the following web site --> here
Part 2 can be viewed from the
following web site --> here
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Continuity
With
a couple of completed productions under his belt.
Darren felt it was time to create something for
Tropfest 2007.
Continuity
was intended to be a change of pace from the dark
stories of ALONE and PsyofK. As a short comedy,
something which Darren hasn't attempted before, the
aim was for the film to be a worthy entrant in the
film competition whilst at the same time not be a
production that was overly lavish in scale and scope.
Continuity
was completed in January 2007 and can be viewed from
the following web site --> here
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The Psychology of Killing
After gaining some valuable
experience directing dramatic sequences in Jedi
Heritage and Alone, Darren opted to push his
directorial skills one step further by writing the
intense thriller The Psychology of Killing (PsyofK).
This film presented a challenge
for Darren to create a quality production with only
two characters of which only one character had any
dialogue.
PsyofK was completed in August
2007.
For more information, refer to
the PsyofK
web site.
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Alone
In late 2004, Darren teamed up
with his regular Director of Photography along with
the Jedi Heritage Production Designer to create the
first of his quality original productions, Alone.
Alone was intended to be used as
a showcase for Darren's skills and abilities as both
a Writer and a Director.
Alone was completed in October
2005.
Although the official website is
now closed, details can still be found here
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Jedi Heritage
With a passionate interest in
Science Fiction films, Darren was given the great
opportunity to direct the large scale $8,000
production Jedi Heritage. Unlike other independent
films based in the Star Wars genre, Jedi Heritage was
a dramatic piece that presented a number of
challenges in that it contained no action sequences
nor have a reliance on special effects.
Jedi Heritage was completed in
December 2005.
For more information, refer to
the Jedi
Heritage web
site.
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The Dead of Night
The Dead of Night was a simple
$50 production that was mostly filmed in one night
using a cheap analogue camera and first time actors.
As Darren didn't own an editing
system, the footage wasn't touched until 2004,
however, it still holds the distinction of being the
first production to come under the DMFilms banner.
Unfortunately the film cannot be showcased as it
features copyrighted music.
The Dead of Night was completed
in September 2004.
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