The Stranger is a short film made by students of the Australian Film Television and Radio School. It is a 20 minute suspense drama with themes of rural drought and mental ill-health.  It was filmed at Pickering Homestead, Denman in the winter of 2020 and has screened at many film festivals in Australia and Internationally.

When a stranger arrives at an isolated farmhouse in the middle of the night, the farmer’s wife is convinced he is a murderer.  In the light of day, she is forced to confront her prejudices.

Mental ill-health affects us all at some stage, either personally or someone in our family or someone we know and care about. 1 in 3 Australians will be contending with mental ill-health at any one time, anxiety, depression and addiction are very common as well as the far less common conditions such as Schizophrenia and other forms of psychotic illness which this film addresses. 

The story recognises our uncertainty when confronted with someone behaving strangely. Our instinct is to turn away, to disengage. We resort to well-known stereotypes and pop culture caricatures – People with mental illness are unpredictable, frightening and potentially dangerous.  

The Stranger is a sensitive and powerful film that counters negative portrayals of mental ill-health and helps demystify negative stereotypes.  The Stranger was made in the hope that through screenings of the film, it encourages mental health conversations in our communities so eventually mental ill-health is normalised to the point that no one is afraid or ashamed to seek help.

We are so excited to be bringing this screening back to where it was filmed, as a thankyou to the whole community of Denman for their support and sponsorship of its production.

ALL TICKETS SALES WILL BE DONATED TO CHARITY

MATINEE 3PM.   EVENING 7PM.   9TH APRIL 2022   DENMAN Memorial HALL