‘Edward and Isabella’ Malgana Editor’s Debut Film

Daniel Barwick and Chloe Hurst in ‘Edward and Isabella’. Courtesy of AC Mag, 2022.

Filmed during the pandemic, ‘Edward and Isabella’ is Malgana woman Talarah Pedrocchi Roelof’s debut as a film editor. The film was written, directed and produced by her partner Adam Morris, also a first time filmmaker. Incredibly, this self-funded production is now gaining acclaim, winning awards in Australia and overseas including Italy, the Czech Republic, Singapore and Sweden (NIT, 2022). 

Adam Morris began writing ‘Edward and Isabella’ in January 2020. Unfortunately, a couple months later COVID-19 hit, but that didn’t stop the couple from taking a leap of faith and making the film. After all, nobody knew how long the pandemic was going to last. Lachlan Gillet and Kim Lofts were brought on for light and sound, and after a casting call Chloe Hurst and Daniel Barwick sent in their audition tapes (AC MAG, 2022). 

Cast and crew of ‘Edward of Isabella’ on location at Bluff Knoll, WA. Courtesy of HALO Films, 2022.

‘Edward and Isabella’ was filmed in the sleepy coastal town of Albany in Western Australia. The film tells the story of a successful Perth couple who go on holiday to determine the fate of their relationship. It stars Perth actress Chloe Hurst and emerging WA actor and musician Daniel Barwick (ABC News, 2022). 

Adam Morris came up with the idea for ‘Edward and Isabella’ on a train trip in Germany. In an interview with ABC News (2020), Morris talked about how the concept came to him: 

"It struck me as something that I needed to write about…It's the oldest story — it's a relationship story between a man and a woman.”

Daniel Barwick and Chloe Hurst in ‘Edward and Isabella.’ Courtesy of IF, 2021.

The film was made with a budget of just $15,000 and approximately $300,000 of in-kind contributions, which involved people giving their time to the project for free. It was filmed in just 18 days! Roelof mentioned in an interview with NIT (2022) that, once the filming was done, Morris and herself spent 6 months editing: 

“In mid-2020 we took the computer and the equipment up to Hamelin Station in Shark Bay, my home country, and edited the film…We literally sat down and watched YouTube videos on how to work the programs.” 

Despite Roelof and Morris’s low expectations, the launch has seen incredible success so far, as Roelof told NIT:  

“At the moment it is in some film festivals in WA and has been accepted into a bunch of film festivals around the world, and has won awards internationally as well, including Best Film at the Prague International Film Festival and Best Director at the Tokyo Film Awards.”

It’s incredible to see the creativity and projects that have emerged out of the pandemic! Despite these trying times, many creatives including film makers have produced such incredible works.

Check out the trailer for ‘Edward and Isabella’ below: