Glenbrook's Heath Davis is quietly confident he achieved everything he set out to during almost a full month of filming scenes in Gladstone and Rockhampton in July for Broke, his first feature film as writer and director.
But he admitted during a chat to the Gazette last Thursday that it feels like it was all a blur.
"You kind of forget about yourself [on set] because you are concentrating on everything that is going on and every single hour counts, but I can now start to reflect on and enjoy that experience.
"I don't think anyone's made a film in Gladstone before - it is a very industrial and rustic town which suited the gritty nature of this film.
"I wanted it to be authentic and it was a lot more confronting at times than I'd thought - that's a big plus and what you want as a director, because it [Broke] is about a very serious subject matter."
Broke - which stars Blue Mountains resident Steve Le Marquand in the lead role of Ben Kelly alongside co-stars Claire van der Boom, Max Cullen and Steve Bastoni - examines the problem of gambling addiction through the eyes of a disgraced former rugby league star who hopes to turn his life around with the help of his number one fan.
Leura resident Roger Wang is the movie's production designer.
Upon release, all profits made from the film will be donated to the Men of League Foundation.
Davis said he knew "straight away" the casting was right.
"They stayed together in the same house for the duration of the shoot, which is quite unorthodox and it could have easily gone sour, in a Big Brother kind of way," he said.
"But quite the opposite happened - it became a bit like a family, it was a collaborative effort and I think they all felt very involved.
"Filming it in such a short time on a very low budget was a big lesson and somewhat insane when I think about it now, but I can take a lot from that experience.
Davis said a crowd funding target of $41,000 was reached in January to help cover production costs [approximately $100,000] for Broke, thanks to the generosity of the public.
"Now we are in the post-production phase which I'd say will take about three months, including recording sessions with The Jezabels, who composed the music for the film.
"We have a distributor and hope to have the movie released in conjunction with the 2015 National Rugby League season launch in March.
"We'll also [subject to confirmation] be taking it on a kind of travelling jubilee at events around regional Australia, including the Blue Mountains," he said.
To find out more about the movie, visit www.facebook.com/brokefilm.