“When Alex and Eve’s family meet for the first time in the film, I purposely didn’t rehearse this scene beforehand, as I had with other scenes. This was the first time the actors from both sides came together. It is a well-written scene, which brought the house down while we were filming.”
Alex & Eve is a romantic comedy about the journey of Alex, a Greek Orthodox school teacher, who falls for a Lebanese Muslim lawyer Eve. Both families forbid the relationship, and thus the emotional dilemma of ‘Alex & Eve’ is unleashed.
The script, written by Alex Lykos, is original and my feeling is that modern audiences would like to see something that accurately reflects the changing religious demographic present in our country. I directed this film with visual pace, energy and controlled chaos, which is a formula I have utilized on previous work. I feel this technique of direction would successfully engage an audience in the world of the characters and ensure they are fully connected with the story. It is a colorful and exciting film, using the multicultural city of Sydney as a central character.
One of the great features of this story is its ability to bring comedy to the serious issue of discrimination that is prevalent in today’s society. In this way, the performances are truthful and in no way stylized to reflect the dramatic nature of the story. I aimed for the performances to reflect the improvised and naturalistic style of Magnolia. The dialogue of Alex & Eve is driven with energy and the performances illicit excitement and engagement with audiences. I took this film down a stylistic route similar to my previous work of Grass Roots (ABC series).
This has been an amazing journey for me. It all started with an idea I had back in 2004. When I wrote and shopped around the stage play in 2005, every theatre company in Sydney rejected it – even local community theatre groups turned it down. So this project had encountered a lot of dark times early on. However, after it premiered on the stage in 2006, it took a bright colorful life of its own. With a sequel (Alex & Eve: The Wedding) and another sequel (Alex & Eve: The Baby), the story and characters evolved. To see Alex & Eve make it to the cinema nearly 10 years later has been surreal.
“Alex & Eve is a very funny love story. We follow two characters as they start off in a pretty bad predicament with regards to love, mainly due to themselves, but also plenty of the outside factors and four insane parents. Their difficult journey to being with each other is like an odyssey, a Greek and Lebanese odyssey.”
Andrea is an actor originally from Western Australia. Since graduating from NIDA in 2006, she has worked consistently in Film, Television and Theatre.
Feature films include the title female role in Around The Block (dir: Sarah Spillane) and Nerve (dir: Sebastien Guy).
Television includes a main cast role in both Janet King & Crownies for Screentime/ABC, and guest roles in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (ABC), Mr & Mrs Murder (Network 10/Fremantle Media), Think Tank and All Saints (Seven Network).
“Films like this are really good at making people confront their issues because it doesn’t approach people in a harsh manner. It employs comedy and lightheartedness, which is a great way to get people to listen. It makes them feel that they have come up with their own thoughts and decisions.”
Actor and musician Richard Brancatisano has just finished shooting the second season of ABC Family’ Chasing Life. The first season saw both Richard and the show nominated for Teen Choice Awards in 2014. Prior to working in the USA he filmed the Australian drama series Reef Doctors for Network Ten, opposite award-winning actor Lisa McCune. He also starred as Rhys in the third season of the Australian teen television series Dance Academy.
Brancatisano’s other television credits include Saxon in the telemovie Dripping In Chocolate for Southern Star/BBC, series regular Guido in the Australian series Underbelly Razor, series regular Vittorio in the long-running Australian soap opera Home & Away, the lead role of Caleb in The Elephant Princess and the guest role of Darcy in White Collar Blue, both for Network Ten in Australia. His first series regular role was as Xander in Disney television’s Power Rangers: MYSTIC FORCE.