performedwithrockstarPeterGarrettasnarrator.
ThefollowingyearLeunigwrotesongsandlyrical
poetrywithNeilFinn,BrettDeanandTognettifora
performance calledParables, Lullabies and Secrets.
In 2005 cameLuminous, a breathtaking collaboration
with photographic artist Bill Henson, whose dark,
dramatic, painterly photographs were projected onto
ascreen.ThescoreincludedmusicbySchnittke,
Britten, Janác ̆ek and George Crumb’sBlack Angels,
whilesingerPaulCapsis(thenKatieNoonanafew
yearslater)performedsongssuchasLouReed’s
Perfect Dayand Astor Piazzolla’sOblivion.
“It was finely chiselled by the genius of Bill Henson
[whonotonlydecidedontheimagesbuthelpedchoose
therepertoireanddesignthestagesetting],”says
Tognetti.“WelearnedalotwithLuminousand it was
amazing collaborating with an artist.”
TheACOfirstventuredintothesurfin2008when
Tognetti teamed up with pro surfer Derek Hynd.
Together,theygatheredmusiciansandtopsurferson
remote King Island, off Tasmania’s north-west coast,
tomakeadocumentarycalledMusica Surfica,which
explorednewboundariesinexperimentalsurfing.
“Itfeltreallygood,”admitsTognettiwithalaugh.“It
wasreallyfuntodo,andthenoutofthatweplayedlive
tothefootage.Wecalled[theconcertversion]The Glide,
anditwasprettyrough-and-ready,butitcertainlyhad
something.Andthen,ofcourse,therewasThe Reefand
nowMountain.Sothereisthislonglineofprojectsand
eachoneistotallydifferent,butwehavelearnedasa
consequenceofputtingthesethingson.Wehavejust
expandedtheparadigm,ifyoulike.”
Born in Canberra, Peedom’s filmmaking career
beganin2000,aroundthesametimeastheACO’sfirst
cross-artformventure,whenshewasaparticipantin
the ABC seriesRace Around Oz(the final instalment of
Race Around the World). Moving to Sydney afterwards,
shesharedahousewithabunchofKiwitrekkersand
workedasacameraoperatorfortheminherdowntime.
“That led fairly quickly to the mountains. I was
captivatedandhadoneofthoselife-changing
experiences.WhenIfirstwenttoNepalIdiscovered
my body worked extremely well at altitude and that
led to other documentary work,” she says.
Tognetti approached Peedom before she made
Sherpa–herBAFTA-nominateddocumentary
filmedin2014afteranavalanchetragicallykilled
16 Nepalese mountain guides on Everest. Though
sheimmediatelysaid“yes”,itwasonlyafterSherpa
wasreleasedthatshehadthetimetoturnhermind
toMountain.“Thetimingturnedouttobeperfect
because in makingSherpaIhaddevelopedalotof
really important relationships with cinematographers,
in particular Renan Ozturk, who was the main
cinematographer onSherpa,”shesays.
“Whilewe’dbeenintheHimalayasshooting,Italked
to him aboutMountain.Itturnsouthismotherwasa
flautistandhe’sapainterhimselfsoheimmediately
lovedtheidea.Wechattedaboutitwalkingalong
mountaintrailsandheagreedtocomeonboardasone
of the major collaborators,” adds Peedom.
WhentheACOtouredtoJapanin2015,Peedom
andOzturkwentwiththemandfilmednewfootagein
Hakkaido.TheyalsobegandiscussionswithTognetti
aboutwhatotherexistingfootagetouseandwhat
music.ThescoreincludesmusicbyBeethoven,Chopin,
Grieg,ArvoPärt,PeterSculthorpeandVivaldi,aswell
as several new compositions by Tognetti himself.
“Thatwasoneofthemostchallengingpartsforme
because classical music does different things to normal
cinematicmusic,”saysPeedom.“Oftenit’smuch
longer,anditdoesn’tnecessarilyescalateascinema
music can. This was always a music-first project soHelena Rathbone32 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au
OMOUNTAIN
Mont Blanc, French Alps © Renan Ozturk