Undertow

The contrast between writing a screenplay and writing a novel couldn’t be more heightened when it comes to seeing your finished work for the first time – in a crowded cinema in Byron Bay in the case of the short film I wrote – Undertow, instead of in the privacy of my study, where I usually first get to see one of my published books. The film is gripping, beautiful, and moving. US audiences think so too, with the film winning loads of prizes, including Best Drama and Best Narrative at the New York Film Festival. The film does a great job of conveying the world of surfie youth culture in Byron Bay, and a compelling personal story – of a young woman struggling through her first day home from rehab – within that world.