Making Venus

This Australian documentary about filmmaking stands as a testament to everything that can possibly go wrong in the process of producing and directing a feature film. Cousins Jason Gooden and Julian Saggers are exuberant, if inexperienced, producers of their first low-budget feature called “The Venus factory”; they’ve raised $100 000 and plan to seek a distributor once the film is completed. This work follows the cousins over the next four years, displaying everything that can and does go wrong with the production - a chaotic shoot; an evolving script; investors, including friends and family, pouring more money into the flailing production; escalating costs; two directors (Glenn Fraser and Denis Whitburn); three title changes; numerous re-edits, re-writes and re-shoots; uninterested distributors; and finally, a scathing audience reaction. One cannot help but admire the producers’ tenacity, who despite fielding nasty letters from investors and crew, persist with dogged determination to finish their debut work. Displays the perils of guerrilla filmmaking, whilst providing a fascinating and raw insight into the mixed fortunes of a difficult business. This is the cinema version, containing twenty minutes of extra footage from the television cut.