The following excerpt is taken form the "The Weekend Bulletin Magazine" Paradise Magazine
"Family follows a fine script"
Dec 30-31, 2006
Anna Waters-Massey and Cleo exemplify the point. Their eyes sparkle when they look at each other. They joke around. They’re mates as well as mum and daughter. Even so, laughter and joking are in short supply in the pair’s most recent professional acting collaboration, the award-winning short film Humidity Rising.
Worlds apart from anything either Anna or Cleo had done previously, it is a harrowing study of a vulnerable woman, a calculating and violent man and a child forced into an untenable situation. Filmed on a property at Jacobs Well and directed by Louise Alston and starring Kane Sarota (also Producer), Humidity Rising was an acting challenge too good to miss for Anna and Cleo. “This was a real gutsy role for Cleo, a real change, and for me it was such a great experience to play such a flawed character,” says Anna. “There were some awkward moments. Kane and I had a bedroom scene which as it progressed becomes more tense and violent. I was worried about how Cleo would respond to seeing me in that situation. Kane was also concerned that Cleo be kept off the set and was very aware of how she might feel. “We got through it. Cleo wasn’t on the set when that scene was filmed, but she’s seen it since and is very down to earth about it. It’s acting. To tell the truth; I think Cleo dealt with it better than me because my mind was on two things – my performance, as well as what she might think.”
Anna is selling herself short. The truth is that Cleo’s down to earth attitude is a product of her down to earth upbringing. The feeling is that even though Cleo seems to have a bright future as a performer, she will not be sacrificing her childhood or youth to achieve it. For the moment, she's having fun and sharing and reveling in that reality is satisfying enough for the entire family.
The future is always unknown, perhaps even more so for performers. However, the past is a matter of record and is all the better if able to be regarded fondly. No matter what she does with her life, if Cleo Massey can one day look back on her past with as much pleasure as her parents can theirs, she will have been enriched in ways beyond anything mere fame and fortune could ever match, let alone hope to surpass.
The following excerpt is taken from the "The Gold Coast Bulletin Weekend Edition”
Thirsty Work for Blood Brothers
Weekend 10th & 11th March 2007
As Gold Coast filmmakers Kane Sarota and Shane Dempsey make the transition from award-winning short films to the heady world of full-length features, one of their first projects is one with plenty of bite.
The books on Kane Sarota's shelves reveal an actor and filmmaker's passion. Spielberg, Brando and Stanislavsky are among the subjects, names to offer inspiration and education. For Kane's business partner and film director Shane Dempsey, his fervor for filmmaking was awakened in the 1980's when, as a six-year old, he marveled at director George Lucas's Hollywood blockbuster Return of the Jedi.
Now the pair are working to make their own mark on movie making, their company Shakane Productions having already enjoyed success with short films and about to take the big step into the big time of full-length features.
Kane and Shane can approach their clients with the necessary mix of enthusiasm, experience and expertise. For instance, their most recent collaboration, the harrowing and memorable short film Humidity Rising, is enjoying widespread acclaim and awards here and overseas. Kane is a decidedly more affable bloke in real life than the one he plays in Humidity Rising, his pathway to acting began in unconventional territory: triathlon. "I might have been all right had my knees not given out on me, so I had to give up on any thoughts of pursuing a triathlon career," he says. "When Shane and I met, we found we had similar goals, and so we formed Shakane Productions. The Colony is a defining project for us."
"We work well together and Ironically, I had written a character called Kane before I'd even met Kane." says Shane. "We've already achieved quite a lot and we've learned what can go wrong along the way and how to make it right. Making a film in Australia is a bit like climbing Mount Everest, but that doesn't mean you stop trying to climb. It's a matter of doing the groundwork, sticking to your objectives and taking things one step at a time."
As for projects beyond The Colony, both accept they have a long way to go to emulate the achievements of the Spielberg and the Lucas’s of this world. Nevertheless, though cinematic luminaries now, there was a time when even their bookshelves contained the names of the filmmakers they admired.
For Kane Sarota and Shane Dempsey, their journey is just beginning. Most importantly, however, each conveys the passion and purpose to see it to its end.
The following excerpt is from 'The Queensland Times' newspaper
Starring Springfield
Friday, 03 November 2006
With their short film up for awards, this duo has their sights set on the Hollywood big time, Tegan Taylor writes.
Remember the name Shane Dempsey and Kane Sarota. You'll be hearing them a lot in the future. The Springfield Lakes entrepreneur's and film producer's have a short film in the running for awards and feature length films in the works. Together with Gold Coast-based business partner and producer Kane Sarota, Mr. Dempsey made Humidity Rising, which is up for five gongs at the Queensland Short Film Festival this weekend, including Best Actor and Best Cinematography.
With the Queensland Short Film Festival awards to be announced tomorrow night, Mr. Dempsey said the short film was successful because he and Mr. Sarota were professional in the way they went about making it. "We went about the film as a business”, he said. It's a technique that is already paying off in the preparation for one of the pair's next projects.
Most of the crew (33 in total) from Humidity Rising had said how they would love to work on anything else that Shakane produces because they enjoyed their style of work. "We were treating this (Humidity Rising) like a feature film," he said. "Doing the paperwork, going through every detail of the film and that really stood out to people"
"One of the biggest things I learned is communication... communication is paramount," Mr. Sarota said. Some of the lessons learned were more important than others. "If you're ever going to drink alcohol in a scene, make sure you taste what's in the bottle first," Mr. Sarota said.
The following excerpt taken from 'The Cairns Eye' Magazine 2011
Who's That Guy? - Cairns Eye Magazine
Many of us joke that we have multiple personalities and perhaps some of us do, but when you meet man-of-many-hats Kane Sarota, you start to wonder if maybe he really does...
That’s about the time he hands you his three, yes three resumes, for the three aspects of his working life. Kane comes across as an energetic, passionate, interesting person. Then you check out clips of some of his films on the internet – and you become a little scared. But that’s just the character he plays. Funnily enough, Kane seems to have been drawn to darker characters in recent years, from what we can tell.A relative newcomer to the Far North due to his wife’s work bringing them here, Kane has embraced the opportunity to spend some time refining scripts and developing the corporate team-building sides of his working life.
Melbourne born, Kane was preparing to study architecture when he attended an audition as moral support for a friend. After much coercing, Kane also auditioned and scored a role in his school’s theater restaurant, instigating his lifelong passion for performance. Since discovering his talents, he has performed in a number of films and written his own.
Together with a friend, he formed Shakane Productions, which wrote the scripts for The Harvester and produced Humidity Rising. Humidity Rising received worldwide critical acclaim with 22 award nominations and two best film awards. The concept to the former was sold in the US, but was struck down by the GFC. “So then we had to get real jobs and start all over again but it’s made us smarter and wiser and more patient,” Kane explains of the tough times. Since then, they have re-written the screenplay and are about to start trying to sell it again. Kane says now he is living in the Far North, he hopes it can be filmed up here – good news indeed for the local film production industry if his hopes are realized.
Other film credits to his name include the soon-to-be-released Rodney Fickel – Online Athlete, Sharkmen, ICU, Thirst for Knowledge, Tom’s Wake, Identity, The Job Interview, The Number One Girl, The Watcher, Psycho Bob, Pitching, King of the Coast, Local Legends, The Door and The Waiting Room.
In a past life in London, Kane worked on films featuring Dennis Hopper, Jean Claude Van Damme, Andy Garcia, Dolph Lundgren, Jerry Springer and Armand Assante, but he has relished the move to the tropics, saying he and wife Tammy spend more time together than ever before, and both enjoy the relaxed lifestyle and great food. “I kinda am doing what I’m meant to do,”Kane explains. That includes regular gigs with Sabre Corporate Development managing team-building events, his regular day-job, and hanging out with his beloved Tammy. He’s living the dream in the tropics.
Queensland Short Film Festival 2006 - The Sun Article
Award Nominees Long for Short-Film Fame
Filmmaker Steve Baker's drawing skills, practiced since he was young, have led to a glittering career in film. His artistic efforts have paid off with the 29-year-old Sherwood man nominated in this year's Queensland Short Film Festival closing night awards, held on Sunday night, for the best screenplay category with The Apprentice. Mr. Baker also had two animated movies screen at the festival but the apprentice is a "live" movie. He studied animation after leaving school and since then has been involved in the production of music clips and television commercials. He recently directed a 13-part, one minute children's series for the ABC. "I've been drawing since I was a kid," Mr. Baker said. "My mum encouraged me which was good".
Springfield man Shane Dempsey was also nominated in the awards in the best use of a Queensland location for Humidity Rising. Mr. Dempsey, 28, has been involved with film making since 1998. "I have been interested in films since I first saw Star Wars - Return of the Jedi when I was six," Mr. Dempsey said. Moving from Adelaide to Queensland when he "found" scriptwriting after always being interested in art. "I love the business side of filmmaking as well as the creative side" he said. At the festival, 16 world premiers, 20 Australian premiers and 28 Queensland premiers were screened.
Award Nominees Long for Short-Film Fame
Filmmaker Steve Baker's drawing skills, practiced since he was young, have led to a glittering career in film. His artistic efforts have paid off with the 29-year-old Sherwood man nominated in this year's Queensland Short Film Festival closing night awards, held on Sunday night, for the best screenplay category with The Apprentice. Mr. Baker also had two animated movies screen at the festival but the apprentice is a "live" movie. He studied animation after leaving school and since then has been involved in the production of music clips and television commercials. He recently directed a 13-part, one minute children's series for the ABC. "I've been drawing since I was a kid," Mr. Baker said. "My mum encouraged me which was good".
Springfield man Shane Dempsey was also nominated in the awards in the best use of a Queensland location for Humidity Rising. Mr. Dempsey, 28, has been involved with film making since 1998. "I have been interested in films since I first saw Star Wars - Return of the Jedi when I was six," Mr. Dempsey said. Moving from Adelaide to Queensland when he "found" scriptwriting after always being interested in art. "I love the business side of filmmaking as well as the creative side" he said. At the festival, 16 world premiers, 20 Australian premiers and 28 Queensland premiers were screened.