On Thursday, October 20, at Event Cinemas in Sydney Havas Group and Val Morgan screened a short film series, Sirens, by Organic Pacific account director, Orla Doyle. Doyle’s work was chosen to be the second instalment of Hava-Listen, the Group’s initiative to support the creative passions of its staff.

Doyle began production in her final year at the Australian Film Television and Radio School before completing the remaining episodes independently last year. She is now developing Sirens into a longer form series. The series has gained official selection for Seoul Webfest 2022, MN WEBFEST, New Jersey Web Fest 2022 and LAWWEBFEST 2022, and Official Student Selection at Melbourne WebFest 2022.

That’s quite an achievement for a 22-year-old’s passion project. Doyle told The Stable how it all came about and why she must create.

The Stable: Where did the idea for Sirens come from. What do you hope your audiences will take from it?

Orla Doyle: I was originally inspired to write Sirens after spending a lot of time in the Great Lakes Region on the Mid-North Coast of NSW. There was something about the beautiful, watery landscapes there that really captured my imagination, and the eery siren metaphor emerged from this almost immediately. I was interested in using the metaphor of the siren to represent a young woman’s journey to understanding her sexual agency and power, and its consequences. We set up a story in which we fear for the girl’s safety but subvert it as we begin to fear for the boys they pursue. I never wanted to present a definitive answer with Sirens. I’m far more interested in asking questions and submerging the audience in an uncomfortable grey area that leaves them thinking. I hope that Sirens brings the audience back to those dark, intense feelings we experience as teenagers, and, of course, leaves them on the edge of their seat.

TS: What was the brief you were given by the Australian Film Television and Radio School?

OD: We began making Sirens as our graduating project, so the brief was to create a short film or project that showcased our skills and interests as we moved out into the industry. My producer, Kaitlyn McMurtry, and I were determined that we wanted to challenge ourselves to make something bigger than a short film – so we committed to making the whole damn web series, and it’s one of the best decisions we ever made.

TS: It was a very ambitious project. How did you make the film?

OD: We made the series across two different shooting blocks, one in November 2020 with AFTRS, and the second we shot independently in February 2021, adding up to almost three weeks of filming altogether. We had a crew of about 15-20 depending on the day, and scrounged gear and equipment from wherever we could find it. We ran a crowdfunding campaign which raised $10,000 (most of which goes towards feeding and housing everyone on location), and we were fortunate to have received a lot of locations for free from the beautiful community at Smith’s Lake. I guess when we started, we didn’t know what we didn’t know. This was the biggest thing we’d ever attempted, so we just took it step by step and tried to keep the faith that we would get there in the end. That beginner’s mindset I think was a real asset for us, because while we knew there was always the chance of failure, we were all just ready to give it our best shot and see where it took us.

TS: Greatest challenges? Best moments?

OD: Ah gosh, well every film is a constant battle of problem solving and logistics, it is unavoidable chaos, and there are times where you feel totally defeated by it. But the beautiful moments on set made it all so worth it. Filming honestly was an absolute joy. We were surrounded by the most incredible cast and crew, chasing the sun all day to shoot with natural light. We spent a lot of time with bare feet, salty from ocean swims, sleep deprived and running on adrenaline, but creating something that we all really cared about, and wanted to be amazing. I’d never felt so certain that I was exactly where I was meant to be. 

TS: How do you plan to make the longer series?

OD: Now that we’ve made series one, I’m working on developing the concept into a longer form episodic series of six, one-hour episodes. I think there’s still so much scope to expand the story out, and I’m so excited to see where these characters will take me. It’s also great to be back in screenwriting mode after many months of post-production.

TS: How has Havas helped?

OD: My peers at Havas have been so unbelievably supportive of Sirens and my filmmaking endeavours. I was still in post-production when I first joined, which meant working at Havas until 5:30, then spending the evening with my sound editor often until late, and then doing it all again. It’s a lot to balance, so having a team that was understanding of that and excited about it really energised me and gave me the stamina to continue. The Hava-Listen initiative has already sparked so many warm and supportive conversations with colleagues across the agencies, and I’ve learnt a huge amount about film publicity, marketing and distribution that has absolutely informed the choices we’ve made when bringing Sirens into the world. There’s a culture of support and building each other up that is infectious, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it. 

TS:  What does creating mean to you, bring to you (why do you create)? Is there a creative career in your future?

OD: I’ve never really felt like I’ve had the choice not to create. It’s just a part of me, it’s an instinct. I sometimes feel like events in my life haven’t really happened until I’ve written them down – there’s something about translating feelings into words or images that I find cathartic and comforting. My parents bought me an old camcorder when I was about 9 years old and it just changed my world, and I knew then there was no turning back (as did my family, as I followed them around with that camera relentlessly). I guess I feel very lucky to know exactly what it is that I love to do, and to be surrounded by family, friends and colleagues who support me in pursuit of that. Film is a hard road, but the feeling you get when you see actors bring a scene to life on the monitor, or put a sequence to score for the first time, or watch your work with an audience, is just magic. I can only hope to be lucky enough to experience those things many more times in my life.