SHORT
What's a girl to do, when a rare hair-loss condition leaves her with an obsession for zany wigs and make-up?

Become a drag queen, of course

LONG
Ever since she was a young girl, Prada always knew she was different because she was named after the famous shoe designer. However, her hair falling out wasn't quite what she had in mind.

As her Alopecia manifests into an obsession with zany wigs and make-up, Prada finds it very hard to fit in. She receives a job in a kooky drag bar where she meets an assortment of colourful characters and realises that being normal is seriously overrated.

Determined to be a widely successful drag performer, Prada soon learns that mistaken identity is an understatement, and acceptance can be found in the most unlikely of places.

LONG 2
"THE BALD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
What's a girl to do when a rare hair-loss condition leaves her with an obsession for zany wigs and make-up? Become a drag queen, of course!

Prada Hamburg, child of the famous shoe designer, may not have any hair, but she does have a fabulous wig collection.

Having always been an outsider, Prada finally finds her niche when she lands a job at a kooky drag bar full of colourful characters - a world of sequins, feathers and false eyelashes - and assumes the new identity of Prada Handbag.

When Prada is mistaken for a drag queen, she decides to take the stage herself as a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman, and discovers that acceptance - and self-acceptance - can be found in the most unlikely of places.

Muriel's Wedding meets Priscilla - Queen of the Desert in this glitzy, glam cinematic extravaganza which ravishes the eye and warms the heart." STEPHANIE WHITELOCK, SBS TV

TECHNICAL DETAILS

FILM TITLE
PRADA HANDBAG

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE
ENGLISH

RUNNING TIME
22 Minutes

GAUGE
Super 16mm Colour

SCREEN RATIO
16:9

SCREENING FORMATS
Digital Beta(PAL/NTSC)
SP Beta (PAL/NTSC)
DVD
VHS

PRODUCTION STILLS
Available on request (Colour & B/W)

When a close female friend confided in me one night, during a drag show at Sydney's Stonewall Hotel, she said that she had always wanted to be a drag queen. I began to ponder what attraction was. Do all women have this secret ambition to wear too much make-up, big hair and sequins, and mime to pop songs in a room full of gay men?

Then it dawned on me. What girl wouldn't want to be Kylie Minogue or Madonna, even if it was just once-in-a-lifetime?

Drag gives the performer a chance to become someone they're not by hiding behind all that sparkle. It isn't purely about men who want to be women, but people who want to become someone else.

The wacky, superficial world of drag was a perfect backdrop to tell a story of a young woman desperately trying to find herself in a world obsessed with convention and beauty. It seemed ideal to tell a story of self-discovery in a world of transvestites; who themselves are a minority.

Prada Handbag is largely inspired by the Sydney drag scene, from the iconic Imperial Hotel in Sydney's Inner West, to the original amateur drag night, "Polly's Follies", at the (now non-existent) Albury Hotel in Paddington.

This film is for every tragic drag queen who ever humiliated themselves for our sheer delight, and to all those gay-loving handbags for loving us just the way we are.

Prada Handbag
Rita Kalnejais

Audrey
Garry Scale

Bruce
Patrick Brammall

Crystal
Vashti Hughes

Meryl
Lynette Curran

Jacinta Doyle
Andy McDonnell

Interviewer
Danielle Antaki

Woman in Make-up Shop
Emily Holt

Writer/Director
Stuart Vauvert

Producer
Vanessa Barrett

Associate Producer
Einar Johansen

Cinematographer
Oliver Lawrance

Editor
Andrew Soo

Graphic Design/Illustrations
Einar Johansen

Animation/Titles
Antonia Fredman

Sound Designer
Adrian Bilinsky

Composer
Ryan Grogan

Production Design
Michael Turner

Art Director
Ana Deak

Costume Designers
Radhika Rani Mishra
Anna Yeung

Head Make-up Artist
Joanne Haldane

Soundtrack
Christa Hughes

Stills Photographer
Robert Grima

Rita graduated from the prestigious Victoria College of the Arts (VCA) in 2001 with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art. She has since enjoyed a fruitful career as a stage performer in such theatre productions as Morph, Life Is A Dream, and Mr. Kolpert at the Sydney Theatre Company; A Midsummer Night's Dream and Lieutenant Of Inishmore at the Belvoir Theatre; and most recently, Odyssey, at the Malthouse Theatre in Perth.

Rita's unique acting style has made her a filmmaker's favourite starring in many short films including Nash Edgerton's thriller, Fuel, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005. Rita has also appeared in several feature-length films, including Mask II, Ghostrider, and Boytown.

LYNETTE CURRAN
Meryl

Lynette's extensive acting career has expanded across film, television, and the stage. A true veteran in the Australian film industry, Lynette has always been a favourite with filmmakers and audiences alike. Best known for her ability to take on non-conventional roles, Lynette won the Beyond Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the controversial film, The Boys, in 1998.

Lynette's exceptional career has seen her in some of Australia's most celebrated productions, including the AFI-winning Japanese Story, and the award-winning Australian series, Love My Way.

Most recently, Lynette won and AFI and a Film Critic Circle Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her performance in the film, Somersault.

Garry is a NIDA graduate who has had an extensive career in both independent and musical theatre. During his career, Garry has portrayed many outlandish characters such as Frank N. Furter in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. He has performed in a number of large scale productions including Fiddler On The Roof, Buddy The Musical, The Boy From Oz, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Sunset Boulevarde, and Phantom of the Opera.

Garry has also made several appearances on film and television, including Billy Holiday, All Saints, The Sullivans, Heartbreak High, Police Rescue, Swap Shop, The Retrial of Ned Kelly, and Menotti.

Patrick graduated from the highly regarded, Victoria College of the Arts (VCA) in 2001, with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art. He has since performed in a number of critically acclaimed theatre productions in both Sydney and Melbourne.

As well as appearing in a number of short films, Patrick landed the role of Matt Marione in the Channel 9 program, The Alice, as well as playing a semi-regular role in Home & Away.

In 2006, Patrick wrote and performed in The Suitors, for which he won the Philip Parsons Young Playwright's Award.

Vashti is a Sydney-based performer who works extensively in theatre, cabaret, and performance art. Known for her distinctive comedy style, Vashti has entertained audiences as an MC and performer in the alternative cabaret and burlesque scene; most recently with her vaudeville inspired production, KABOOM! at the Darlinghurst Theater.

Vashti has travelled with her productions around Australia and to Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, with her show, Shnecke-Nüdel. She has also worked as a performance artist on tour with the controversial band, Machine Gun Fellatio.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Andy studied acting in both Marino College, and The National Performing Arts School. His credits within Ireland include various short films, theatre and television productions including the feature film, Olive, by filmmaker, Neasa Hardiman.

Arriving in Australia in 2003, Andy began stand-up comedy playing a kooky array of personas, including Jacinta Doyle, performing in many clubs around Sydney. Andy has made several Australian television appearances including the Comedy Channel on FOXTEL.

Danielle studied Performance at UWS Nepean, and has since performed for many companies including The Stables, Sidetrack, The Sydney Art Theatre, Jigsaw, Playworks, The Street Theatre, Troubadour, and the Darlinghurst Theatre.

Danielle has appeared in several film and television productions including appearances on Backburner, All Saints, So Close to Home, and the feature film, 2 Door Mansion.

Stuart's original take on life is what makes his films stand out. This is never more apparent than in his first short, Heather Locklear Chocolate (1999). Stuart proved that with a little imagination good things could come from "no budget" films; telling the story of a young, yet eccentric, man's obsession with nail polish. Since its release in 2000, it became an instant success; winning awards, screening all over the globe, opening the Melbourne Queer Film Festival in 2001, and being purchased by SBS Television, and FOXTEL in Australia.

After some years abroad, Stuart returned to Australia, and made his next short film, Glory (2003), which was a finalist in several festivals. Not one to shy from a bit of controversy, Stuart had audiences shocked with amusement, asking themselves what was real and what wasn't.

Such themes couldn't be more apparent than in Stuart's next short film, Hitch Cock (2005), a parody on Alfred Hitchcock's classic film, Blackmail (1929). Described by critics as a "zany homage/spoof (which) has everything from severe camera angles to a soaring Hermann-esque score", it instantly became a festival favourite. Since its release in 2005, it has screened in over 40 film festivals internationally, and has been purchased by SBS Television, Australia, and Canal+ Broadcasting in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and several French-African territories.

Following this success, Stuart received his first film grant for PRADA HANDBAG from the NSW Film and Television Office (Australia).

Vanessa gained her passion for independent cinema working for five years as Front of House Manager, and later as Cinema Administrator, at Sydney's Chauvel Cinema. She then studied at UNSW to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communications, Theatre and Film, and is currently undertaking a Masters degree in Arts Management.

Vanessa has assisted on many student theatre and short film productions, which lead to a Production Assistant role at post production house, Postmodern; working on international commercials. She then went on to become Production Manager and Facilities Coordinator at edit house, The Tait Gallery, where she worked with some of Sydney's top editors on TVCs, short films, and video clips.

Vanessa currently works as Post Production Supervisor at SBS Television.

Cinematographer
OLIVER LAWRANCE

Oliver worked as Cinematographer on a number of short films including the award winning Liu Awaiting Spring in 1998 (Best Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival, 2000). Soon after, Oliver was accepted into the cinematography course at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School (AFTRS), where he received the ACS (Australian Cinematographer's Society) Award for Best Young Cinematographer in Australia when he graduated.
This success was followed by Oliver receiving the Best Cinematographer award for the short film, Lightness, at the International St. Kilda Festival in 2003.
He has received several Australian Cinematographer awards since graduating, and was recently awarded Best Young Cinematographer at the Australasian Kodak Gongs 2006.

Michael began his feature film career as a Set Designer on such prestigious films as the Oscar Nominated Anna and The King (Best Art Direction); and Oscar winner, Moulin Rouge (Best Art Direction). He continued working in Art Direction and Set Design on various studio productions such at Scooby Doo (parts 1 & 2), The Matrix Trilogy, and Supermans Returns. During this time, Michael has displayed his skills in Production Design in several short and feature films as well as the highly acclaimed Australian drama series, The Surgeon.

Most recently, Michael worked as Assistant Director on Marc Forster's new feature film, The Kite Runner, and now he will work as Assistant Art Director on Baz Luhrmann's new film, Australia, in 2007.

After completing his BA in Mass Communications, Andrew spent several years working as an editor in film, television, and advertising. With a Berlin Film Festival Teddy Award, and two Austalian Film Institute (AFI) nominations under his belt for his short film, Liu Awaiting Spring (1998), Andrew then studied drama editing at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School (AFTRS). On completion, he spent 3 years editing commercials at The Tait Gallery in Sydney.

Andrew is currently a freelance Editor, and has worked on numerous award-winning short films, television commercials, and music videos.

Described as Dive Bar Diva, Torch Singer, Blues Belter, Burlesque Babe, Cabaret Hag, Goddess of Gargle, Performance Yartist, and Rock'n'Roll Has-Been, Christa has certainly had an interesting career to date.

She is best known for performing with successful Sydney band, Machine Gun Fellatio, with whom she release 3 albums and performed on numerous tours within Australia, Europe, and the United States.

Well known on the cabaret scene, Christa tours regularly with her own productions such as Beer Drinking Woman; Sleepless Beauty; Vaudevillains; Go-Go Burlesco; and Temptation; which contained the songs, Dirty Fucking Whore, and Bikini Parade, featured in Prada Handbag.

Ryan is a highly accomplished jazz pianist and trumpeter who is originally from South Africa. He completed his Masters in jazz composition and arrangement at the University of Cape Town, where he was awarded a scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA.

From 2000, Ryan has been primarily involved in writing compositions for film and television, including many high-profile commercials, programs and documentaries which included the Emmy-nominated City Slickers.

In 2004, he received the Dogstar Award for best music in a South African TV commercial.