My work is my voice
Local film director Jye Currie combined his greatest passions to create the soul-stirring script of his first feature length movie.
Born and bred Novocastrian film director Jye Currie recently wrapped shooting Beat, his first feature length film on locations all over Newcastle. Jye, who is as passionate about social issues as he is about pursuing his love of film making, says his driving force was to “capture life’s greatest struggles through storytelling.”
“My work is my voice,” he adds, “and when you are obsessed with something, you can’t not do it.
“On my travels through Australia and around the world, I have been deeply moved by the level of homelessness I have seen. It is an issue that so many people are suffering from, but it is rarely at the forefront of public discussion. I’m also a classical music lover. Connecting it with homelessness allowed me to explore homelessness in a unique way, in a way that has never been done before.
“I wanted to show audiences the impact of homelessness but let them think for themselves.”
To be released in cinemas later this year, Beat is a psychological thriller.
“It’s the story of a young woman who, after a heart transplant, connects with a homeless man through classical music, through dramatic performances and emotional events and eventually their two worlds begin to merge as one.”
Building momentum
After earning a Bachelors Degree in Communication (majoring in Media Production), then an Honours Degree in Film, both from the University of Newcastle, Jye went on to win an impressive 11 international awards for his first project, Victim, a short film made in 2020, and he recognised an opportunity to take his film making career to an entirely new level: “I knew that there was momentum after we won the awards,” he recalls.
Jye with female lead Alexandra Jensen at Civic Theatre. 
Shooting in Newcastle was a thrill for Jye and the team. Several local businesses let him take over their premises.
“I had written the script for Beat, but I had no actors and no funding. So, I started to send my script to people in the industry, and everyone seemed to fall in love with it.”
A mere five months later, Jye had secured an investor and several high-profile Australian actors, including Gold Logie winners John Wood (Blue Heelers) and Rachel Carpani (McLeod’s Daughters). Alexandra Jensen (Amazing Grace) and Novocastrian Sebastian Szeszeran had been signed up for the lead roles and filming got underway in Newcastle.
Read more about Jye Currie in our Autumn issue of Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine or subscribe here.
Story by Cornelia Schulze, images courtesy of Jye Currie
