Written by ZACHARY PEREZ
Directed by ASHLEY HARRIS
Produced by STEVE JABLONSKI and ASHLEY HARRIS
EXILE ENTERTAINMENT presents
a YONNIE PIFFEN AND REVEL FILM production ‘HOW DO YOU KNOW CHRIS?’
LUKE COOK TATIANA QUARESMA TRAVIS McMAHON LYNN GILMARTIN DAN HABERFIELD
RACHEL KIM CROSS ELLEN GRIMSHAW JACOB MACHIN STEPHEN CARRACHER SUSAN STEVENSON WITH LEE MASON
casting by LILLY DAWSON music by ERIN McKIMM edited by PATRICK McCABE
costumer designer JULIET BENNIE production designer JOSEPHINE WAGSTAFF cinematographer MARK MORRIS
executive producers ALEXANDROS OUZAS EMILY TATHEM DAVID GILBERY CHARLIE DORFMAN MARLON VOGELGESANG
produced by STEVE JABLONSKI and ASHLEY HARRIS written by ZACHARY PEREZ directed by ASHLEY HARRIS
© 2020 YONNIE PIFFEN PRODUCTIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
A party full of surprises.
It’s the year 2000 and Chris Black has brought together a group of people, from different stages of his life to celebrate at his inner-city Melbourne apartment. The only problem is, he’s not there when the guests arrive. Finally, Chris appears with dramatic consequences.
The inherently flawed chameleon Chris Black, 28, throws a party at his inner-city Melbourne apartment for people who have been prominent players in his life. But the guests arrive to a strange scenario – their host isn’t even there.
To break the ice, guests discuss topics of conversation ranging from the intellectual and political, to some sexual in nature, and many that are just mind-numbingly mundane. But almost every interaction results in one question, “how do you know Chris?”
Chris Black, 28, has invited an assortment of guests to celebrate with him at his inner-city Melbourne apartment.
There’s an open bar with a bartender serving fancy cocktails and finger food. It’s clear no expense has been spared. The only thing missing is their host.
Most guests aren’t overly familiar with one another, and are initially at great pains to mingle, but as the night goes on, that begins to change.
Topics of conversation range from the intellectual and political, to some sexual in nature, and many that are just mind-numbingly mundane. But almost every interaction results in one question, “how do you know Chris?”
The answers vary, with guests discovering that he is different things to different people. Ex-lovers reunite and old friendships rekindle as it becomes obvious that none of those present are there by accident, not even 19 year old student, Emi Mustafi, who Chris has only met earlier that day.
When he does eventually arrive, nothing is any clearer until he calls everyone together to propose a toast.
Having said his piece, Chris’ real motive becomes apparent.
How Do You Know Chris? is a story that revolves around a deceivingly simple narrative, yet is able to plunge viewers into a dark labyrinthine world they can all easily relate to.
The central character, the inherently flawed chameleon Chris Black, 28, throws a party. He’s invited an assortment of guests to celebrate with him at his inner-city Melbourne apartment.
The scene is set with an open bar and a bartender serving fancy cocktails and finger food. It’s clear no expense has been spared. The only thing missing is their host.
Most guests aren’t overly familiar with one another, and are initially at great pains to mingle.
To break the ice, guests discuss topics of conversation ranging from the intellectual and political, to some sexual in nature, and many that are just mind-numbingly mundane. But almost every interaction results in one question, “how do you know Chris?”
The answers vary, with guests discovering that he is different things to different people.
Ex-lovers reunite and old friendships rekindle as it becomes obvious that none of those present are there by accident, not even 19 year old student, Emi Mustafi, who Chris has only met earlier that day.
When Chris does eventually arrive, nothing is any clearer until he calls everyone together to propose a toast.
Having said his piece, Chris’ real motive becomes apparent – with dramatic consequences.
The film is set just after the turn of the new millennium, in the year 2000, a time before the ubiquitous influence of social media and smartphones. It was a milestone era, fraught with simmering uncertainty and frayed nerves over the Y2K computer ‘bug’.
The bug would supposedly cause worldwide chaos
and a complete breakdown of society via disruptions to water and electricity, food delivery, banking systems and transport. Against this unsettled backdrop, the characters in How Do You Know Chris? also experience a sense of uncertainty.
How Do You Know Chris? is a wonderful and thought-provoking film with a constellation of colourful and complex characters, easily relatable for the intended audience. The sense of turbulence that simmers in the film is reflective of global events today – events that include natural disasters and unpredictable viruses – making it more relevant than ever.
How Do You Know Chris? is a character-driven 86-minute narrative drama proudly developed, written and filmed in Melbourne, Australia. It is the first feature film from Yonnie Piffen Productions.
Featuring a stellar cast of emerging Australian stars, Hollywood Immersive founder and How Do You Know Chris? casting director Lilly Dawson has brought together an ensemble of actors who deliver performances of power and insight.
The premise of the film was first discussed in 2010, but it took until 2017 for writer Zachary Perez to start on the script.
From there things moved quickly, and after handing the first forty pages to director / producer Ashley Harris, the project was optioned. It went into production soon after the first draft was submitted, and just six months later the film was being shot on location in Fitzroy.
How Do You Know Chris? was filmed entirely in Melbourne with principal photography taking place over a very short 15-day period spread across three weeks. The primary filming location was a two-storey apartment with a rooftop deck, on the border of Fitzroy and Collingwood. The film was mainly set at night, so the location had to be blacked out to allow for filming during the day.
Confined to a dark and cramped space for the majority of the time, it made for an interesting shoot with the cast and crew bonding quickly (helped by the fact that the internationally-based cast lived together in a house in South Yarra during filming).
Post-production was completed by Serve Chilled in Brisbane, during the Covid-19 lock-down restrictions. The colour grade and online edit were particularly affected by these restrictions.
How Do You Know Chris? director / producer Ashley Harris, producer Steve Jablonski and cinematographer Mark Morris were scheduled to travel to Brisbane for a grade review and online edit, but were instead forced to do this remotely from Melbourne, due to travel restrictions. Under these unique circumstances Serve Chilled were able to implement innovative and safe measures to allow post to proceed as scheduled, and still be completed on time and without any compromise to the quality of the film.
