Filmmaker Rhiannon Bannenberg has a very simple philosophy to making movies. “You need to get out there and make something, and you need to finish it,” was Bannenberg’s advice to young women filmmakers at the World Premiere of her second feature RIP TIDE at the Sydney Film Festival.
Bannenberg’s feature debut Ambrosia was a exemplar of this, with the self-taught writer/director drawing on personal experience with chronic pain to create something both personal and universal.
With her second film RIP TIDE, Bannenberg sought out the talents of Disney Channel star Debby Ryan for a fish-out-of-water youth drama that once again highlights New South Wales’ Illawarra region. Shot in just 18 days, we chat with the director on the process, working with Ryan, and what else she has in the pipeline. You can check that out in the player below.
The film is about teenage model Cora (Ryan), the daughter of the head of a major modelling agency, who has always lived under her mother’s (Danielle Carter) shadow. When a video of Cora’s emotional breakdown on set goes viral, she takes some time out in Australia with her estranged aunt Margot (Genevieve Hegney), a former pro-surfer. With her aunt’s surfing business on the rocks, Cora’s presence provides a mutual learning experience for everyone.
In our review for the film, we called it “a youth-oriented coming-of-age story with a positive message for young women.”
RIP TIDE is out this week (14 September 2017) in Australian cinemas from Umbrella Entertainment.
