AU - LOVESTRUCK

A few issues ago we reviewed the Australian made documentary 'Lovestruck' directed by Megan Spencer. The intimate and entertaining film told the story of Melbourne woman, Sue Chuter, Australia's most devoted fan of Professional Wrestling. After a successful theatrical release the film is now available on DVD and boasts a huge three hour bonus section. If you're a fan of exceptional long term (It took over ten years to make) documentary film making, hulk Hogan style wrestling or just want to see the result of some homegrown talent then be sure to check it out. We caught up with Megan for a chat about the film and find out why she is obsessed with the obsessive.

So this was your 4th documentary? Tell us about the first three.

The first one I made was called 'Heathens' and was about the very one-eyed St. Kilda football fans that I shot in the early 90s. The second film was a feature called 'Hooked On Christmas' and it's a portrait of two people who were very obsessed with Christmas. As you can see there's a theme emerging here. They were a suburban couple who used to put on a light show every Christmas for the local neighbourhood – build a shrine to Christmas every year. And the third one was a half hour doco called 'Strange Hungers' which was an "educational film-come-stand up comedy" about BDSM. It's basically a film about a dominatrix called Mistress Ursula. Sue the star of 'Lovestruck' found me working in a CD store when she came in to buy some videotapes. She was wearing a t-shirt with a wrestler on the front and we got to talking. The collaboration just happened overnight really.

This took you 10 years to make. That's a long time to live with a project that ends up being an hour long?

It actually took me 11 years to make! I knew it would take a while but not that long. I'm a fan of the long term documentary. I think you get a better idea of who people really are and how they see the world. It took as long as it needed to take. You have to make a decision to stop at some point. It's like a never-ending road.

It's endlessly fascinating watching a character like Sue. Do you think that has to do with the viewer being mean or judgemental?

It's a fine line of course but I don't think my film makes fun of Sue at all. In fact quite the opposite. What it does do is to throw the viewer in the deep end without a safety net and not 'over explain' what's going on – they need to work things out for themselves. The audience is entitled to make up their own minds at any given moment as to what life they think Sue is making. In documentaries – as in life - at any given second we can be one thing and in the next we can be another, and redeem ourselves. I think that's what's great about documentaries - that in the end it's a reflection of us. We need that courage and we need people who are prepared to go in front of the camera who aren't afraid to show who they really are. Sometimes that can make you feel uncomfortable but ultimately it allows us to evolve and know ourselves culturally. Sue has been the star of her own life for 55 years and I think the reason she was in this means that she can recruit more people into her wresting 'family'. Documentaries can drag people from the margins into the centre of our culture – even if only for the duration of the film and they get the floor and a voice and it doesn't necessarily happen in real life. Sue might be the kind of person that you look away from on the street. This film means that you are acknowledging and validating someone else's life. That's what great about docos. We get to know a bit more about who we are and our culture and as a collective community.

What films have influenced you?

I love American Movie – about a guy trying to make a film in Milwawkee. I love doc because unlike fiction, real life writes the script. There's a lot of poetry. If you can document it and construct it the right way you can make something that is very entertaining.

You're a film critic and filmmaker. What's that like for you?

Making films is my night job. It's what I like doing best but it's not easy to make a career out of it, particularly in Australia, and when you surrender to that idea it's all becomes pretty clear. Being a filmmaker isn't about being a salary earner. I'm largely self taught and pretty hands on from watching a lot of films too. There have been a variety of influences over the way I make films.

Wrestling is the strangest thing and it's so popular. Do you see the appeal after making the film?

Yeah, I've been a quiet fan since I was four years old. I used to watch it on channel 9. World Championship Wrestling from Festival Hall was a big thing with the Gen-Xers. Then we got a double dose in the 80's when the WWF it really took off with Hulk Hogan, the Ultimate Warrior and Junkyard Dog. It was a TV phenomenon and it's never looked back since. I'm not a full on fan but I love the "carnie" aspect to it, the circus or "sideshow" energy and show. Live wrestling still happens in Australia. There are guys out there working every week at places like RSL's and at cultural clubs and pubs like the Greyhound in Melbourne. It's continuing the tradition of sideshow married to sport. Like sport theatre. You suspend your belief willingly when you walk into the arena.

Is there good opportunity for young film makers in Australia?

Everyone can be a filmmaker. I put a lot of stock in the video diary. I think it's great when "non" filmmakers document their lives and become filmmakers almost by accident. It's really fascinating and beautiful. I think some of the most powerful stuff in my film was shot by Sue. She has a hand in shaping the material so you get a really personal view of who she is. The access to equipment is getting better. People don't have to go to film school any more If they want to make movies. As long as you watch lots of films and have an editing program you can make a simple film now.

What's in the future for you?

I'm in the process of finishing a film called La Mascara which is a short film about another person who has a passionate interest in Mexican Mask wrestling. That will be a lot of fun rather than a 10-year odyssey. Right now though I'm Artistic Director of the inaugural Destination Film Festival at Carriageworks in Sydney, this amazing new art space. It reminds me of Berlin! I'm putting together 3 Saturday afternoons of talk and film – films with a difference and made with a DIY ethic. www.destfest.com. Check it out!

'Lovestruck' is available now on DVD from Madman entertainment.

www.myspace.com/lovestruckthemovie