Runner-up at Tropfest 2014, Jackson Mullane’s Red Nuts is the darkly comedic tale of Sam, a suppressed 30-something with a real fear of confrontation, who has just discovered he only has two weeks to live. Although that might not sound like the perfect set-up for a comedy, Mullane’s film follows its anti-hero on a hilarious path of destruction as he struggles to come to terms with the fact that his days on Earth are numbered.

“This film is about how sometimes it takes devastating lows to force us to consider change and the comedy in finding new balance” – Director Jackson Mullane

Whether you’ve come to terms with it or not, death is something we all have to face at some point in our lives and how you deal with it, will be for you to decide when that time comes. Aiming to ‘probe at the dark dissatisfaction’ in your soul, it’s almost impossible to watch Red Nuts and not picture yourself in the position of its helpless protagonist. Forcing its viewers to deal with thoughts of mortality and the fragility of life, Red Nuts strikes a delicate balance between confrontation, contemplation and comedy, leaving you feeling amused, entertained…but ultimately a little devastated. As Producer Michelle Nagy describes it, the effects of Red Nuts is like “hitting you over the head with a baseball bat but then offering you some cake”.

“The film became very personal. It’s humour. It’s tone” – Director Jackson Mullane

Directed by ex-professional Rugby player/commercial director/Gladiator Mullane, the filmmaker has taken a subject that for some can be difficult to think about and made it easily digestible by adding a large spoonful of comedy to help the bleakness go down…and that’s no mean feat. Currently working on his next short, BABY BOY – a rugby League short film about an underprivileged repressed teenager that learns to express his anger in the game – you can follow Jackson on Vimeo to keep up with his work or show Red Nuts some love on Facebook