HItch: Young Aussie duo keep up the quality

Hitch is a captivating story of a young, deaf boy in rural Australia who, when faced with unfortunate circumstances, runs away from home.This universally resonant tale highlights the turbulent journey of understanding and learning to cope with loss through the eyes of achild. The young runaway (Xander Mclean) communicates the experience without saying a word, in a powerfully artistic portrayal of inner conflict and isolation.This creative piece of storytelling, written and directed by collaborative duo Sophie Hexter and Poppy Walker, is among several poignant and innovative motion pictures created by the Sydney-based duo’s the H.W Collective.Their 2015 documentary The Battle was an Official Selection in the 2016 Best Documentary Short Film category at Flickerfest earlier this year as well as five other film festival official selections internationally.Hexter and Walker have garnered acclaim for their original material both as a collaborative team and independently with a range of works including narrative films, documentaries, short series and commercial projects with features on Australia's ABC channel and internationally televised pieces.Hitch, the pair’s most recent film to be released into the film festival circuit, is no exception to their impressive resume.It stars Aussie actor and multiple Logie Award winner Martin Sacks (Blue Heelers, Wentworth, Underbelly) in an artistically compelling depiction of love, support, and hardship and tells a compelling, thrilling and anxiety inducing story with no dialog what so ever.It acts as a testament to what can be achieved with the use of a glance, a well-placed dramatic beat, and a brilliant cinematic eye.Tense, sombre, and uplifting, this film is visual poetry and will stick with you in the best of ways.It shows us that it is not through running away, but by coming home that we can begin to understand, accept and eventually heal. – Tamara Roxanne and Avram Parker