Desperation rears its ugly head as Damian Hill juggles work, a gambling addiction, a $15,000 debt payable to a loan-shark by close of business and a day to be spent with his adolescent son.
It’s a small, warm-hearted feature from first-time feature filmmaker Jason Raftopoulos, shot in Melbourne’s inner city suburbs with the focus on Hill and real-life stepson Ty Perham. Whilst West of Sunshine would have benefitted from a harder look at gambling addiction and the impact it has on family and friends, the film is ultimately an intimate exploration of fatherhood.
Rating: 59%
Director: Jason Raftopoulos
Writer: Jason Raftopoulos
Main cast: Damian Hill (Pawno, The Death & Life of Otto Bloom), Ty Perham, Kat Stewart (TV’s Offspring, Tangle)