Aussie filmmaker Elissa Down should be pretty chuffed with herself. Her feature film debut, The Black Balloon is not only up for a swag of awards at this evening's IF Awards on the Gold Coast, it has also enjoyed enviable success overseas.

After premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival, the film - which stars Gemma Ward, Rhys Wakefield and Toni Collette and focuses on a teenager's relationship with his autistic brother - received the prize for best feature-length film in the Generation 14plus category.

The experience went by in a blur for Down.

"It’s funny because when I look at photos from Berlin I go, 'oh yeah, that’s right I was there!' she reflects.

"It was both exciting and overwhelming. A lot of the cast and crew were there and it was so wonderful to have them there to celebrate it. It was such a validation to have this festival audience take the film to their hearts in such a way."

The Black Balloon was the West Australian's first feature after a string of successful shorts, which included The Cherry Orchard,The Bathers, Pink Pyjamas and Summer Angst, for which she won a best actress award at Tropfest in 2004.

After writing the semi-autobiographical script and receiving funding for The Black Balloon, Down went about finding her ideal ensemble cast.

She recalls being particularly awe struck when Toni Collette signed on for the role of Maggie Mollison.

"Toni was just amazing to work with," she says.

"I was sitting there watching her do a camera rehearsal and I had that moment of 'Oh my god, there is Toni Collette and she’s in my film! Pinch. Pinch.'

"She is one of the best actors out there. She took on learning the Makiton signing and wanted to use it more than was scripted. She wore a pregnancy suit in the middle of summer in Holsworthy. She also laughed at my jokes and that makes her a top chick," she says with a giggle.

Down also signed on supermodel Gemma Ward, who she had worked with before Ward's modeling career took off.

"I’d worked with Gemma on the short film Pink Pyjamas ... She is such a natural talent. We had a lot of fun being silly on set. She was teaching me this “Ass and Titties” song which was hilarious. She was the only actor that liked her early '90s wardrobe."

While Down is enjoying the critical accolades, how does she feel when she reads the news that the combined box office takings for the four "best" Australian films of the year are less than one bad American comedy?

"Oh, I don’t know, people discuss this issues until the cows come home," she says.

"Other countries all bemoan audiences not seeing their own films and the US films taking the biggest share. When I was at the Edinburgh Film Festival I mentioned the UK industry looked great and make good films. They responded by complaining that everyone makes Jane Austen films and another version of Four Weddings and a Funeral.

"But they went on to say how much they like Aussie films. It seems that for many countries, the grass is always greener – they don’t like their own product but like movies from other countries ... For example Death at a Funeral tanked in the UK but was a big hit here.

"In our local industry we constantly hear the cry "we don’t make films that Australians want to see" ... but then when Kenny comes along and is a hit, other parts of the country complain that it's just toilet humour. People also ask the question 'why can't we make genre films', but then there was no support for Gabriel or Rogue. Is it because we expect every film to be a hit – much like our cricket team?"

Rather than becoming pessimistic about the state of Australian film scene, Down is looking forward to seeing how some new local releases will be received by the film-going public.

“Australia and Max and Mary are coming out soon and are highly anticipated ... it will be interesting to see how they’re received," she says.

"We don’t currently have the budgets to compete with the production or marketing of US films ... maybe the new offset will see things change because we will have the budgets to tell bigger stories," she muses.

"Who knows? All I know is that I am excited about doing bigger productions here and with overseas co-production, and I know a lot of my colleagues are as well."

Down is currently in LA spruiking The Black Balloon, which launches in the US  on December 5. But she admits she's looking forward to returning to Australia to catch up with her family and friends at this evening's awards.

"It’s a buzz to be nominated ... and it’s also a great excuse to celebrate on the Gold Coast," she says with a smile.


Keep your eyes on TheVine over the next few days for all the action from the 2008 IF Awards.

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In the mean time, take a look at The Black Balloon trailer.
The Black Balloon is now available on DVD.