A LITTLE bit of Hollywood is set for the hinterland this year with former local, now New York-based actor/director Chelsea Ingram set to produce a short film here.
For Chelsea, to be able to use the hinterland as the backdrop for a professional movie shoot is a dream come true for the talented artist, who aims to start shooting in August.
“I really wanted to come back to Glass House Mountains – it’s so beautiful,” she said.
“I grew up out there, dad give me driving lesson on the tracks out there. The landscape is so beautiful, to shoot with that backdrop is phenomenal.”
The movie, titled ‘Yolk’, is about a girl who struggles with life inside her poverty-stricken blended family and one day takes her stepsiblings on an unexpected and increasingly crazy road trip across the region.
“This short film is my baby, I love this,” Chelsea told GC&M News from her New York studio.
“I wrote it about a year ago and have been editing it since then.”
Chelsea moved to New York to pursue acting at the age of 19. She graduated at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and has landed roles in three feature films, two CBS television series and a host of short films and commercials.
But the welcome home comes after a tough two years for the Australian who had just started filming Tommy alongside Sopranos star Edie Falco before it was cancelled at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I had savings but as soon as I found out the show wasn’t happening I knew I had to take control of my career,” she said.
She set about producing and directing music clips, as well as working in cafes, to make ends meet.
Chelsea produced music videos for Brooklyn-based artist Synead and commercials including Nike and MasterCard.
She also just finished shooting and directing short films Bulky Shoulders and Good People which are hitting the festival circuit later this year.
But Australia is now calling Chelsea home, albeit temporarily, and she is currently scouting for locations as well as local actors who may want to try their hand on a professional movie set.
“After working here in New York for so long I can’t wait to get back and work alongside some talented and emerging artists,” she said.
She plans on being in Australia for two months including three weeks of filming.
“I would love any local crew interested in throwing their hat this way,” she said, adding that roles were paid roles.
Chelsea is seeking experienced, local actors including a young woman aged 15-17 and two children aged five to eight as well as local adults 30 years and over.
For more information go to www.cmifilms.com or email Cmifilms.nyc@gmail.com
