The story of 27-year-old director Fairhurst is also one of passion and dedication.

Speaking to the first time north shore director before the premiere of his debut feature film, Reaching Distance, it was clear his life had been leading to this moment.

Growing up in Sydney’s northwest with his Anglican minister father and physiotherapist mother, Fairhurst dreamt from a very early age of having a career in the entertainment industry.

“I have always just loved movies and TV. I was a very imaginative kid and loved playing pretend,” Fairhurst told the North Shore Times.

“To find out that there was a career where people actually made movies, where there was a craftsmanship behind it, I got very enamoured by that idea and I was set on what I wanted to do with my life.”

Fairhurst made his first venture into the creative arts industry at the age of five, in what he describes as a “failed attempt at becoming a child actor”.

By the age of 10, however, he had taken a step in another direction and set his sights on a life behind the camera, attempting his first short film before leaving primary school.

Recalling his earliest inspirations, Fairhurst said he was influenced by a number of genres and, in particular, 1980s films. This is something which impacted his life as a teenager, in particular his hairstyle choices.

“I remember seeing Die Hard when I was way too young and I was obsessed with ’80s action films. I had a terrible Mel Gibson mullet at some point in high school.

“Because of where I lived I was also influenced a lot by Chinese films and then also I fell down the rabbit hole of silent films and was a huge Charlie Chaplin fan.”

After finishing high school at Northmead Performing Arts School, Fairhurst honed his skills at the Academy of Film, Theatre and Television, before moving to Lane Cove.

Despite his passion for the industry, success and career progression were things which did not come easily.

In order to gain a foothold in an extremely competitive industry, Fairhurst would often work 36-hour shifts without sleep or pay as a crew member on films and then work a retail job to fund his dream.

As his career progressed he held smaller, unheralded positions such as behind-the-scenes videographer and red carpet camera man, and directed commercials, all in the effort to reach his goal of sitting in the director’s chair on a film set.

“It can be rough because the Australian industry is so small and it is very competitive and sometimes there can be a dog-eat-dog kind of mentality,” he said.

“I swore early on that I wouldn’t do crew work again, because it can be a draining experience when you’re working 15 hours a day for no pay.”

After spending years in the background, Fairhurst took matters into his own hands. He says he spent months at various cafes around Lane Cove, writing the script for his first feature film. Ironically, the inspiration for Reaching Distance, a psychological thriller, came from his days working the graveyard shifts on movie sets.

“I was working on a film called Drown where I was working all night shifts, so I would work all night and went days without sleep,” he said. “I remember, some of the crew members were hallucinating giant foxes and I would get deja vu really badly, so Reaching Distance was inspired by moments as a crew member on that film.”

Three years after writing the script, much of which was spent seeking support and funding, R eaching Distance is nearing theatrical release, with Filmink magazine hailing the film and Fairhurst’s achievement as a first-time director.

After years of having his name hidden at the end of the credits, Fairhurst describes the moment of seeing his creation on the big screen and his name at the forefront as overwhelmingly emotional.

“It’s been fantastic to have the film in front of an audience because it was made for the cinema. To show it with the surround sound and on a big screen ... it has been incredibly validating to reach the finish line,” he said. “And when you hear them laugh at the jokes or gasp at the more intense scenes it makes it all worthwhile.”

As for what’s next for Fairhurst, he now faces the challenge of repeating the exercise with a new project. Which should not be difficult for someone who has half a lifetime’s worth of work to choose from.

“I have written a lot of scripts and I probably have about 20 feature films filed away. Probably only four of them will be any good,” he said.

“The dream is to be able to continue writing and directing my own films because it haunts you a bit that you get so attached to the characters you create that you can’t really let them go until the film is made.”

ABOUT THE MOVIE

Reaching Distance is the latest homegrown film to hit Australian cinemas and audiences are being told to expect the unexpected.

The main character is Logan, a cynic with perfect recall who struggles with the death of his sister.

The film takes place on a night-rider bus and kicks off with Logan following his sister’s killer.

Described as a psychological thriller, the film tackles themes such as memory, revenge and forgiveness.

Director David Fairhurst, who wrote the script, described as unique the way in which the film was put together.

“It has been a massive learning process but, because of how we shot the film, I felt at home in that it was a DIY approach,” Fairhurst said.

“We had a massive rear projector to make the bus look like it was moving.

“And to make the bus rock we had someone outside just pushing it.”

The film has a limited number of screenings but is expected to attract a wider theatrical release in the near future.

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