James Francis Khehtie - The Telegram Man director/producer exclusive interview

KHEHTIE: I wanted to explore the human cost of war at the home front, those who wait for news at home, and how their lives and relationships can be utterly devastated by a war that's taking place far away, hundreds, if not thousands of miles away. The Telegram Man focuses on the experience of a close-knit farming community living in a small Australian country town during World War II. The film puts a relationship between two mates under the microscope: a postman, well liked by the townsfolk before the War, but shunned during the War when he has to deliver unpleasant news, and a simple farmer, whose two sons went to the battlefield. I wanted to examine both characters' inner turmoils: the postman's, as he's going to the farmer's place to deliver news about his two sons, and the farmer's, as he's watching his good friend coming up to his house in an official postman capacity.

KHEHTIE: I felt that film was the best format, much superior to digital at the time we were shooting The Telegram Man, and I really wanted to do justice to the story by shooting it on the best possible format. And I love shooting on film, the way it looks and the discipline that comes with it, whereby you have to really plan your shots, rather than shooting endless, aimless material, which tends to happen with digital. With The Telegram Man, I storyboarded the entire film, knowing in advance the frame composition and lenses I'd be using, while at the same time still keeping myself open-minded to new ideas and spontaneous things that came up during the shoot. As a result, I had a very low shooting ratio, was able to finish the shoot within the allocated four days, had a considerably short post-production time, and managed to bring the project to completion on time and within budget.

KHEHTIE: Jack, Gary and Sigrid delivered restrained yet deeply emotional performances. It was an honour and privilege to be able to work with such screen legends on my first professional film. They were all extremely gracious, generous and down-to-earth. I very much enjoyed working with all of them. They have more than a hundred years of cinematic experiences between them and I learned so much from them. I always had Jack in mind for the role of the telegram man. He was the first one to sign on. He was attracted to the project by the story, as well as the preparation and presentation of the storyboard and concept that I brought to him. Having Jack on board helped the project gain the interest of both Gary and Sigrid. This is the first film in which Jack and Gary ever worked together, and a reunion for Jack and Sigrid since working together in the 1982 classic Australian film The Man from Snowy River.

KHEHTIE: The Telegram Man was four years in the making from securing the film rights to raising the finance, to gaining the interest of the film's three screen icons. The film didn't receive any government funding or support. It was a big challenge for me trying to get it off the ground. I raised the finance privately, hoping that someday it'd be enough to make a film that would do justice to the story. It's well worth the effort since the film has been so well received here in Australia, as well as overseas, particularly in the United States, where the film has been screened in more than 90 different film festivals across the country.

KHEHTIE: I had the good fortune to visit the United States on a festival-sponsored trip to present and talk about The Telegram Man. In each of the festivals and commemorations I attended here in Australia and the United States, audiences would approach me after the screenings to let me know how the film had deeply touched their hearts. Some were parents whose children were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some were war widows whose spouses recently died while serving in these two countries. A number of Australian audiences remembered those stories told by their grandparents of how they went through the horrors of World War II, not seeing their sons, husbands, brothers or fathers for the entirety of the War, not knowing from week to week if they were alive or shot dead in some obscure jungle, and the frightening knock on the door, not knowing if it was the telegram man on the other side of the door. I've also been receiving numerous letters from soldiers and returned veterans describing how the film emotionally moved them. As a filmmaker, it's the greatest joy to learn that the film, in which you poured years of blood, sweat and tears to make, resonates well and strikes a chord with audiences.

KHEHTIE: It's a great honour to have The Telegram Man screening at Gallipoli. The film has been screened to over 28,500 people at the Gallipoli commemorations between 2012 - 2019. Even when I couldn't attend in person, I always hoped that the film would have a profound effect on the audience. The Telegram Man has received 50 awards and screened in 200 film festivals around the world, but the film's screenings at the ANZAC Day Commemorations in Gallipoli remain its greatest honour.

KHEHTIE: I'm currently developing a period coming-of-age story, as well as a crime mystery thriller feature film set in contemporary Tasmania.