The Ballad of Betty & Joe, a little silent comedy, is doco director Martha Ansara’s first short drama. Martha is beginning to realise that, unlike documentaries, short films have no predictable markets and there have been some surprises – good and bad. However, with a growing appreciation of shorts on the part of audiences everywhere, The Ballad of Betty & Joe is finding interesting ways of reaching them.
Last Saturday night, the film received a rapturous reception from hundreds of children and parents in the Adelaide Fringe Festival’s Rymill Park. In this case, it was selected for screening by the programmer’s ten-year-old daughter – but “mature” audiences have received it equally as well, for example, at the Woodford Folk Festival and at regional cinemas.
