Screening of Dale Frank, Nobody's Sweetie
The last film screening in Arrowtown Creative Arts Society’s (ACAS) Winter Film Series will be Dale Frank, Nobody’s Sweetie. On Friday, 24 October, following the film, there’ll be a Q&A with director Jenny Hicks.
Dale Frank is one of Australia’s most successful and prolific contemporary artists, and the documentary paints an intimate portrait of him. The film follows Frank’s ever-evolving rural estate, home to the largest private Natural History collection in Australia, and his studio, where he creates work for a major upcoming exhibition.
“It was really just based on the fact that we got on well and we both were very similar, straightforward people with goodwill and good intention, and it got made,” Hicks says. “And it was tough going because independent filmmaking is very challenging – mainly in financing – it’s very difficult to get people to give you money to make a film, particularly about an artist because it’s not necessarily commercial. Apart from that, we had a lot of fun and we’re still great friends, which is probably the greatest benefit of the whole lot.”
Hicks is a filmmaker with a background in post-production and editing. She’s worked in the industry since the early 1980s and shifted into documentary editing around 2008, before deciding to direct in 2018. She studied a master’s degree in film directing and shortly after met Frank while searching for a filming location for another project.
“I needed a two-storey farmhouse – there’s not that many two-storey farmhouses around, unless they’re Colonial 19th Century houses. I was ringing around all these real estate agents in the Hunter Valley, and one of the agents said ‘yeah, there’s this artist that lives up on the hill in Singleton.’ So, I tracked Dale down.”
Hicks went around to look at the house, but it wasn’t quite right, full of taxidermy and wild colours, it didn’t resemble a farmer’s house. She thanked him for his time and left, not thinking too much more about it and continuing with her project. Once it was released, Dale caught wind and called Hicks to ask why his house wasn’t chosen – they got chatting and the rest is history.
“He said, ‘well why don’t we make a film together? Make a film about me?’ I said, ‘well Dale, do you have any money?’ and he said ‘let’s talk about it.’ So I went around for a cup of tea with him and by the end of that, we decided let’s just do it.”
The documentary shows a rare glimpse into what it’s like to be an artist at the top of your game – the stakes are high, the art world is fickle and Dale spends lavishly as he creates.
“We filmed over the course of a couple of years because it was around Covid – we’d film for a few days and then we couldn’t. Over the course of a couple of years, he relaxed in front of the camera and he understood what I was trying to do, but he never asked to see anything. I said to him from the beginning, just let me rip and at the end, if there’s anything in the film that you don’t want, I will take it out.”
In the end, there was only a few minor changes requested from Frank. The respect was mutual between both parties, which resulted in a vivid and inspirational depiction of Frank.
“A lot of people have seen it and come out feeling very inspired and invigorated about the creative life. It’s a feel-good film – it’s pretty gung ho because Dale’s pretty gung ho.”
Dale Frank – Nobody’s Sweetie will be shown on Friday, 24 October from 6.30pm, followed by a discussion and Q&A with Jenny Hicks at Arrowtown Lifestyle Village. For tickets and more information, head to Eventfinda.
