''Hammer Bay'' is a 2007 Australian TV film written and directed by

Ben Briand Benjamin Briand is an Australian film director. Biography Ben is an Australian writer and director. In 2007 he wrote and directed ''Hammer Bay''. The TV film project featured two time Oscar nominated actress Jackie Weaver and was the result ...

. The film's unconventional structure is part narrative and part fabricated documentary. The ensemble cast includes

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

Guy Edmonds Guy Edmonds is an Australian born director, writer, actor and author. He co-created, wrote, acted in and directed the Emmy award-winning comedy series Hardball. He co-authored the hit book series Zombie Diaries and Zoo Crew. As an actor he is b ...

, Jessica McNamee, Sam Smith,

David Michôd David Michôd ( ; born 30 November 1972) is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is best known for directing the critically acclaimed crime drama '' Animal Kingdom'' (2010) and dystopian drama '' The Rover'' (2014). ...

and Amy Mizzi.

Plot

When a documentary crew arrive one morning asking questions about the recent violent beachside murder of Amanda Blakely, teen beauty and drama pet, a captivating study into the minds and psyche of the sleepy town unfolds. The lines between the observant film crew, interview participants and police begin to blur, as family members, friends and strangers all start to demonstrate one common thread, everyone is hiding something.

History

After submitting a largely

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

3 min test pilot for the inaugural

Optus Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singaporean telecommunications company Singte ...

br>ONE80PROJECT
competition, it was awarded the People's Choice Award on 28 January 2007. In a joint venture with

MTV Australia MTV is a 24-hour general entertainment channel specialising in music and youth culture programming which serves Australia and New Zealand. It is operated by parent company Paramount Networks UK & Australia headquartered in London with a local of ...

Sony Ericsson Sony Mobile Communications Inc. ( ja, ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社) was a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Ericsson. ...

and

, the festival was the first round of the initiative designed to expose the talent of standout new directors, writers and producers. Judges for the competition that year were

Abbie Cornish Abbie Cornish (born 7 August 1982) is an Australian actress. Cornish is best known for her film roles as Heidi in ''Somersault'' (2004), Fanny Brawne in '' Bright Star'' (2009), Sweet Pea in ''Sucker Punch'' (2011), Lindy in '' Limitless'' (201 ...

, Neil Armfield, Alice Bell,

Nash Edgerton Nash Edgerton (born 19 January 1973) is an Australian film director, actor and stuntman, and a principal member of the movie-making collective Blue-Tongue Films. Early life Edgerton was born in Blacktown, New South Wales and grew up in Dural ...

and

Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his appearance in the ''Star Wars'' films ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and ''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a young Owen Lars, a role he reprised i ...

. The 1 hour film was produced through MTV and Cherub Pictures.

External links

*
Hammer Bay Trailer

Ben Briand web site

ONE80PROJECT web site
2007 films 2007 short films Australian drama short films 2000s English-language films 2000s Australian films Australian drama television films {{2000s-Australia-film-stub