Note: a day after publishing my review of The 10 Conditions of Love I received this email from the film’s script editor, David Tiley. It was not intended for publication but Tiley has given me persmission to share it with you. The email responses to a couple of points I made in the review, namely the film’s unusually short running time.
Fair enough on Ten Conditions. Probably not fair for me to comment publically, since I was the script editor and hugely biased, and I don’t want to be the spokesperson for it either.
But I did want to respond to the length issue. The piece is designed for television, at a television length, and therefore creates an anomaly being in a festival in the first place. These days, with a lot more longer docs around which have a useful but limited life in fests or theatrically, it is pretty obvious when a work obeys the formulae of television, which is in itself becoming more sadly rigid.
I can tell you the original script was looser and longer, and entered the culture a lot more. Two problems – one is money, cos it just didnt have the budget to grow, and the Chinese attitude. Can’t shoot more in the country, because Jeff would have been arrested and we know what that would have been like.
Interesting that no Australian broadcaster has picked it up. An important issue, a respectably made film…
You are doing good work, btw. We need more of your kind of stuff in the culture.
- david tiley
Screen Hub
see it
skip it
don't rush
