BIOGRAPHY:Having
studied physical theatre, at James Cook University, and as one of the
founding members of Tropic Line Theatre Company, Perri has worked as
an actor, writer, director, and dramaturg for many independent
theatre productions. She also wrote for 'Neighbours' on and off for
eleven years, played grieving wives and mothers in multiple
Australian TV shows, scaled cliffs in frocks for several Shakespeare
productions, and was pushed in front of a car by her real-life
brother, Stefan Dennis, as Jill Ramsay in 'Neighbours'.
As
one half of Cinema Viscera, with her partner Paul Anthony Nelson, she
has made several self-funded short films and two micro-budget feature
films, 'Trench' (2018), which premiered at the Setting Sun Festival
and was nominated for two OzFlix Independent Film Awards, and
'Apparitions' (2021), which premiered at Monster Fest in 2021, won
Best Film at the Horrific Hope Festival in the US and was nominated
for a couple of Septimius Awards in the Netherlands, winning Best
Oceanic Actress for lead Cate O’Connor.
Up
until now, she and Paul have made films in what Perri calls a "here's
a box of costumes, let's make a movie" kind of way, learning
about the craft and the business as they go, and proving to
themselves that it was actually possible. Now, they are preparing a
leap into more ambitious projects, continuing to build their skill,
refine their voice, and start making the films they really want to
make, realising their ambition to be the filmic roadhouse where
Arthouse and Grindhouse meet. They have just completed their most
ambitious short film, the Shakespeare-inspired 'Three Sisters', a
deadly game of sibling rivalry with dancing, deception, and death,
that marks the next exciting phase for Cinema Viscera - fingers
crossed!.
CRITICAL
OVERVIEW:
.Perri Cummings and Paul Anthony Nelson,
Cinema Viscera promo shot.
STATEMENT:
Coming
from a theatre background, I do love a beautiful image but also want
to show the grit, dirt, and struggle underneath. One of Cinema
Viscera's aims is to throw real, flawed, vulnerable people into dire
genre situations. We want to feel their struggle, cheer their
victories, and force them to face their darkest fears, I also love
films that provoke an emotional reaction, ask questions rather than
answer them, and have the power to shock. With my partner in life and
film, Paul Anthony Nelson, we both feel a bit like babies in the
cinematic woods, and want to keep exploring and developing.
Perri Cummings, April 2024.
FILMOGRAPHY:
Perri Cummings as Regan in Three Sisters (2024)
As
Director:
Last
Breath (2018, web series, 8 x 10min,
digital, creative director with Jennifer Monk)
Apparitions (2021, feature, 83 min, digital; co-directed with Paul Anthony
Nelson, also co-screenwriter, co-producer, actor)
Three
Sisters (2024, short, 11 min, digital;
co-directed with Paul Anthony Nelson, also co-screenwriter,
co-producer, actor)
As
Writer:
Why
Must The Show Go On? (2010, dir: Paul
Anthony Nelson, short,
23 min, digital, co-written with Sally McLean,
also co-producer, actor)
Perri Cummings rehearsing with Fight Choreographer Joshua Bell on the set of Apparitions (2021)
Neighbours (2007-2010, dir: various; TV series - Ch10, 24
episodes; also storyliner on and off from 2007 to 2019)
The
Association (2018, dir: Lee
McClenaghan, short, 34 min, digital)
Trench (2018, dir: Paul Anthony Nelson, feature, 90 min, digital, co-written
with Nelson, also co-producer, actor)
Interference (2020, dir: Paul Anthony Nelson, short, 9 min, digital, also
co-producer, actor)
Hungry (2022, dir: Paul Anthony Nelson, short, 9 min, digital, also
co-producer, actor)
