There is crisis in the small rural town of Moree. No one knows when it is appropriate to applaud. The locals rally to form The Moree Society of Claqueurs. Will they be ready when Diva Lucy Dazzling Diamonds comes to town? Drama ensues!
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This is the premise for Merri-May Gill’s latest film which was premiered to a receptive audience at the Moree Rising Sun Film Society on Sunday.
The red carpet was rolled out for the premiere event, as members of the Rising Sun Film Society and all those involved in making The Moree Society of Claqueurs were made to feel like movie stars for a night.
“It was really fun for the people involved; just as a community thing it was a nice thing to do,” Gill said.
The Moree Society of Claqueurs, which officially launches online tomorrow (Thursday, March 23), follows the establishment the fictional clapping group, which attends various local events to bring back the art of applause.
Featuring all local actors, the film is inspired by the claqueurs which were established in France during the 1820s.
“I’ve always known about claqueuers, mum used to talk about it,” Gill said.
“The guy who started it did it to try and improve his audience because people didn’t know how to clap.
“In classical and jazz performances in particular, no-one knows when it’s appropriate to clap. The art is lost – maybe we should start it again.”
Gill said the idea had been in the pipeline for two years and filming began last year at the Moree Show.
She then filmed at various other events in Moree including Moree on a Plate and Moree Arts Community Theatre’s Sticky Sweet performance.
“Everyone’s been really good. We had to get those shots when we could,” she said.
The hardest shoot was the one in the Uniting Church Hall.
“We were there for hours,” Gill said. “Someone said they got arthritis from clapping so much. But afterwards they said they had a great time.”
Earlier this year, Gill entered the film in Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival.
While she’s entered small film festivals around the region, this was the first big festival Gill has entered.
“Never in my wildest mind did I think it would be a finalist, there are thousands of entries, but you have to start somewhere,” she said.
“I’ll start working on the next one soon. The aim is to keep throwing them in there and one day hopefully something will stick. You never know. The main thing is to do it.”
Gill, a singer/songwriter and comedian, has been making films for the past four years.
“It’s just creative, to have the opportunity to work in a creative industry; I couldn’t make any money on music anymore,” she said.
Her filmmaking has since excelled after joining the Rabbit Hop Films team, under the expert guidance of Sascha Estens, in April last year.
The Moree Society of Claqueurs may not have been chosen as a Tropfest finalist, but the Moree community gave it rave reviews after Sunday’s premiere.
“Everyone enjoyed it,” Gill said.
“The whole point was a bit of fun. It was mostly for the actors, I wanted them to feel special. People sure know how to walk a red carpet.”
It was one of the biggest turn-outs the Rising Sun Film Society has seen. The group hosts a film screening at Moree Masonic Centre at 7pm on the third Sunday of every month. Supper is provided afterwards.
To see more of Gill’s work, go to her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpwBke6XMbr6WVBz8PIgQ2w