Episode #97 | Hassibullah Kushkaki

Cinema Australia

In this episode, I’m joined by Rampage Electra writer, director and producer Hassibullah Kushkaki who takes us on a deep dive into the making of this independently produced, action thriller gem which was shot throughout many Perth locations including the historic Fremantle Prison where a majority of the film was shot. Rampage Electra follows an outcast teenager Hannah who finds herself framed as a violent delinquent owing to the undisclosed history of her family’s troublesome past. As 17-year-old Hannah is coming to terms with the revelation of her mother’s circumstances, she witnesses the untimely death of her father. A story of wrong doing and revenge, Hannah’s longing for a maternal kinship fuels her arbitrary decisions and drives a revolt into an uncontrollable rampage. In this interview Hassibullah discusses the making of Rampage Electra as well as his move to Perth four years ago, the cultural impacts of growing up in Germany and the US, and how Rolf de Heer’s Bad Boy Bubby and Alex Lorian’s Good For Nothing Blues inspired his filmmaking career. It was a great joy to welcome Perth-based filmmaker Hassib Kushkaki to the Cinema Australia Podcast recently. Hassib is a filmmaker who I have a tremendous amount of respect for and a filmmaker whose career I will be keeping a close eye on over the next few years. This chat truly is great insight into making a grand independent feature film which I’m sure listeners will get a lot out of.