Man on fire: Burning Man’s Jonathan Teplitzky

Burning Man, Jonathan Teplitzky’s third cinematic offering, proves a small budget Australian film can stand tall on a global stage. Georgina Pearson spoke with Teplitzky about the film’s creation.

Within our society there is a common underlying thread. That unspoken C word, only ever briefly discussed or tentatively skirted during dinner party conversation. Despite a growing abundance of people living with or affected by cancer, it still remains the elephant in the room. Jonathan Teplitzky’s, Burning Man does no such tiptoeing.

Trailing the wake of one man’s grief, it provides a harrowing snapshot of the devastation such a disease can cause. Based in-part on Teplitzky’s personal experience, viewers are plunged headfirst into the fragmented world of Tom (Matthew Goode), a British chef living in Bondi whose wife is dying of breast cancer. Unconventionally raw, Burning Man showcases the often ignored emotional fallibility of 
the male.

Already an accomplished writer/director (Better than Sex, Gettin Square), Burning Man is Teplitzky’s third feature film – and is perhaps his strongest cinematic offering yet. Wearing all three hats – writer, director and co-producer, Teplitzky’s involvement was obviously very hands on. However, he explained that even though his own experience initially got the ball rolling, he didn’t want to make a film based entirely on himself. “It’s no secret that I was writing from my own experiences, but I only wanted them to be a starting point for a fictional story which could really use what cinema has to offer.”