Tasmanians have just five days to see a new short film about kunanyi. kunanyi – Brutal Beauty premiered with a screening last night at the Salamanca Arts Centre.

The new production – by Joe Shemesh with music by Dean Stevenson – was largely filmed during the winter of 2019, described by the Bureau of Meteorology as one of the wildest on record.

Throughout mid-winter, cinematographer Joe Shemesh made the mountain his base – documenting the rugged beauty of the Gondwanan massif, as it withstood the relentless onslaught of southwest gales, emanating from Antarctica.

Having worked throughout Tasmania’s wilderness areas for more than two decades, Shemesh was no stranger to the hardships experienced by anyone foolhardy enough to purposely immerse themselves within these challenging conditions.

In his soon to be published book Chasing Light Across Australia Shemesh writes:

“Considering the effort and the danger factor, my time on the mountain yielded a relatively small selection of, what I consider to be dramatic imagery. The positive takeout however, was the knowledge that for much of the time, I was the only person on that mountain–allowing infinite moments of spiritual communion with a manifestly higher energy. My vulnerability to the intense conditions raging all around me–achingly humbling.”

Shemesh said he has been collaborating with Dean Stevenson since his arrival in Hobart some 20 years ago. “And over that period, we’ve actually completed a number of memorable projects together … his commitment and talent are an invaluable asset to the Tasmanian music scene.”

Composer Stevenson said Shemesh had worked hard with the council to get access to the mountain when it was ‘closed’, when there was a storm coming and they try hard to get everybody off.

“Joe was up there for a couple of nights in a little camper van, all the water froze, he probably couldn’t drink or shower or anything,” Stevenson said. “But he got kunanyi in the storm. And so I think that has really helped us to get the full story.”

The pair foreshadowed that a longer cut of the material might be made available in the future. For the time being they are looking to show the short at various film festivals.

“I could sit and watch these kinds of images and listen to the sound all day,” said cinematographer Dick Marks at the premiere. “They’re mesmeric.”

The film runs for 11 minutes and is looped is every 15 minutes. It can be viewed at the Long Gallery in the Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, from 8 to 13 June.