Short film to premiere at Cinema Paradiso

A fantasy adventure short film shot entirely on the Central Coast will premiere at Ettalong Beach’s Cinema Paradiso on January 20, with a short season hopefully to follow.

Written and directed by Woy Woy filmmaker Guillermo Mártin Sepúlveda, The Key Lord follows the adventures of two young girls who are having issues with their parents and embark on an adventure which takes them through pre-COVID, COVID and post-COVID timeframes.

“During their journey they meet the Key Lord, who holds the ability to open all the doors of time and power,” Sepúlveda said.

“He helps the girls to realise their potential as they overcome their own issues.”

Sepúlveda said the film was a “labour of love” shot entirely around Ettalong and featuring a cast of locals and Sydney actors, with most production staff coming from the Central Coast.

Sepúlveda and his wife moved to the Peninsula three years ago.

“We had both travelled here as children and had been holidaying here for around five years together,” he said.

“I immediately thought this would be a great place to set a film and during COVID lockdowns no one was around so filming was made easy.

“I wanted to make a film which highlighted the area, with extensive use of Cinema Paradiso, to reach out into art and imagination in a time of darkness.

“It was a time of being alone and feeling left out of society and I hope the film shows that art can help us reach out and connect with each other, our feelings and our imagination and create something which allows us to sustain who we are and grow larger.”

With many scenes shot beneath the cinema and in the cinema itself, the film was completed a year or so ago but took some time to edit, with COVID taking its toll on some of the production team.

“We sourced about half of the actors from Sydney because we were under time constraints, but all our composers and visual arts, special effects and make up people live on the Coast,” Sepúlveda said.

While he wrote, directed and edited the film, it was shot and produced by a range of other people, with many giving their time for free because they believed in the idea of the film.

“It’s very much a story about what we have all been going through,” Sepúlveda said.

“There has been so much pain in the world, with shops and streets everywhere deserted – but there is also a new spark of hope going into the future.

“I also hope the film will help people understand the beautiful diverse area we live in with so many cultures contributing to this great lifestyle we have.”

The 17-minute short film The Key Lord will premiere at Cinema Paradiso at 5pm on Friday, January 20.

Sepúlveda’s prior short film, Last Goodbye, has now been selected in 61 International Film Festivals – Paris, Rome, London, New York, Sydney, Barcelona, Berlin, L.A., Tokyo and many others – with 42 award wins including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Composer.

Terry Collins