A 10-minute dark comedy.

Shooting July 2026 in the Northern Territory.

LATCH

THE FILM

Hitman, ranger, one very inconvenient car door.

LATCH is a 10-minute dark comedy responding to the SPARK 2026 theme: In a Pickle.

A bumbling city hitman, Leo, is trying to dispose of a body on a baking Northern Territory dirt track when his linen shirt gets caught in the boot latch, and a Parks ranger pulls up for a friendly chat. What unfolds is a tense, blackly funny stand-off in the heat, the flies and the lies, ending with a quiet, unsettling moment of recognition between two people who probably shouldn't be on the same side.

Think Fargo on a station road, or a Coen Brothers short with a Bunnings tarp.

Why we need your support

We're one of three teams selected by Screen Territory for the SPARK Short Film Initiative 2026.

SPARK gives us $30,000, however only about $22,000 of that reaches the actual production with $8,000 going allocated to fixed professional costs, and we also have an additional Panavision gear package.

The film itself costs around $55,000 to make properly: insurance on $300K+ of camera gear, freight from interstate to Alice Springs, two days of cast and crew wages, location, music, sound design, costumes, props, catering, unit, vehicles and lots of incidentlas like the porta loos!

We're raising the $22,000 gap through the Australian Cultural Fund. Every dollar goes to paying the people doing the work, and spent in the NT, and donations are fully tax-deductible.

Support LATCH

All donations are fully tax-deductible through the Australian Cultural Fund (DGR1 endorsed by Creative Australia). Donations of any size make a difference.

$55K

Total film budget

$30K

SPARK Provides

$3K

In Kind Support

$22K

We're raising

DONATE

Our Team.

Trisha Morton-Thomas

Sue.

Actor, writer, producer and director. Co-founder of Brindle Films. Credits include Radiance, Redfern Now, Total Control, True Colours, 8MMM Aboriginal Radio

Dylan River

Director of Photography & Director Mentor AACTA-nominated cinematographer and director. Credits include Mystery Road: Origin, Robbie Hood, Total Control.

Jez Conlon

Sound and Music Design. Credits include the ARIA Award–winning Gurrumul and Rrakala albums.

Matt Phillips

Editor Mentored by Chris Plummer (Boy dir. Taika Waititi, In My Father's Den, Black Sheep).

Pedrea Jackson

Leo.

Credits include Robbie Hood, High Country, Wolfram, Crazy Fun Park, MaveriX, Sweet As, and Blueback.

Naithan Wiles

1st AC. Credits include Sweet Country (Warwick Thornton) and True Spirit (Netflix), bringing a senior camera-department perspective to the production.

Jesse Tyssen

Director. LATCH is Jesse's first credit as director, building on years of Alice Springs–based videography. Mentored by Dylan River.

Alana Pfua

Prop Master. Emerging Alice Springs prop master and art department artist working her first feature-scale short.

Bridget May

Writer & Producer LATCH is Bridget's debut short film as writer; she is mentored on the script by Greg Haddrick (Underbelly, Pine Gap, Janet King).

David Tranter

Sound Recordist One of the most respected sound recordists in Australian film.

Thomas Howlett