Nature's Calling

A funny and down to earth 48 hour film that captures the chaos of camping. Plenty of laughs about bush toilets, it is made with warmth, honesty and a great sense of humour.

I loved this film. Good cinematography and editing. Great performances – entertaining and authentic.

I love the films of Inclusive Performance Academy. They never fail to deliver true, honest-to-god, authentic humour.

Their stories are tight, their pacing is beautiful and this year is no exception.

I could genuinely watch an entire feature or series of the lead (American, who is apparently not American) character just listing off his frustrations with the world. Born for the screen.

I was particularly impressed with Jasper's editing and voice work this year. Had me hooked from the first second.

So much fun to watch! Heartwarming, crack up funny, I was chuckling the whole way through. So many camping experiences I can relate too. I really enjoyed the narrator-led style.

This was really awesome; standout pacing, all the characters had their time to shine.
I really enjoy the alternate reality elements such as the cold related diarrhetic condition. It reminded me of the rat puppet from last year.
I'd like to see a film from these guys that goes a little harder on those otherworldly elements

Another excellent movie from the Inclusive Performance Academy. Absolutely, stellar performances all round which were expertly glued together by the editing and voiceover. Such an enjoyable watch. Ka pai to everyone

What got my attention:
It’s good fun & everyone seems to be having a great time. Getting ‘caught short’ away from a toilet is a terrible experience.

Take it or Leave it:
Realty TV shows in the 48HRs – not my personal favourite approach. Could you have told the same story without the reality TV angle? Just a bunch of people forced to camp in the backyard? Or, our lead as she does being a real hard-out gatekeeper to the toilet? This short probably doesn’t lean into the reality tv tropes enough as there are no interviews, confession cams, lower thirds etc. Or is it actually a nature doco? Likewise, it doesn’t lean into that enough. While fun, I don’t think enough happens in this short story-wise – everyone is a protagonist really and there’s no real conflict. The technical side is solid even if the shot selection is rather stock-standard.

Final thoughts:
A real judge favourite this team and they’ve produced yet another crowd pleaser.

Inclusive Performance Academy returns to finals! And once again, they bring a whole lot of heart to the screen. It was great to see more superstars step into the spotlight alongside the returning cast. The pacing is strong, and the voiceover work provides a great bridge between some funny and heartfelt moments.

On a technical level this film was a step up from last year, going outside and sending your crew off on a little adventure really does make the whole thing feel more lived in compared to last years entry - although I’d say perhaps the ending of last years film was more of a slam dunk than this one.

Judges had similar feedback for this one as they had with almost every finalist - too light on story, with a good chunk of the runtime given to poo-related gags, and no real solid conclusion or arc beyond failing their mission to camp out. Perhaps wilder weather, spooks in the night, or getting lost amongst the trees and bushes, would have been ways to really raise the stakes.

THE BEST THING: The performers bring authenticity, humour, and energy, making this film a crowd-pleaser through and through. It was also so cool to be able to visit your set and see how you bring it all together - what an incredible support team you have!

THE NEXT THING: This team has earned its stripes! So the next thing is to see what dials can be turned up to 11. We reckon it would be to really commit to your genre as tightly as you can. We’ll be rooting for a crazy genre for you next year - action, horror, crime… something you can really sink your teeth into and tell a story that's a bit bolder than people having a chat. It would bring with it some new challenges, but ones we know you can take on!