By Josh Timewell.

The following is part-eight of a series of interviews with filmmakers who are featured in the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, which takes place from 9-16 July, 2017.

Drop The Mic, directed by James Blannin-Ferguson and Nathaniel Jackson, and presented by Jackson Speed, follows the story of Australasian wrestling announcer Kieran ”Duke” Burns. Suffering a rare, muscle weakening disease, we watch as he attempts to overcome his fears.

The film was also a Platinum Award winner at the Spotlight Documentary Film Festival 2017.

I spoke with Nathaniel and was able to ask a few questions. His responses are below.

Could you provide a brief summary of the film in the Documentary Film Festival?

“Drop The Mic is a short documentary film about Kieran ‘Duke’ Burns – a wrestling announcer who must summon the will to keep his body moving after being thwarted by a rare, muscle weakening disease.”

What was your motivation to put together this film? 

“Drop The Mic came about from a chance meeting with the charismatic ‘Duke’ Kieran Burns on a friend’s music video shoot. At the time, I was hunting for content to sink my teeth in to, and skill up as a director. My colleague and co-producer then strongly encouraged me to pursue the project and we teed up a meet with Duke almost immediately after.

But overall, it was Duke’s strength of character and sheer will to overcome his struggle with the debilitating Guillain-Barre syndrome (a rare, muscle weakening disease) that convinced me to pursue the making of this documentary.”

What have been your favourite/most rewarding aspects of the making of the film?

“Portraying Duke’s struggle and day-to-day life in a very stylized, theatrical way was a risk, and I know he had hesitations ‘putting himself out there’. Luckily, we received a big fat thumbs-up from Duke after his first viewing of the film, so for me personally, garnering his approval felt most rewarding.”

What is on your radar for the next few years of your career?

“The media production company I work for; Jackson Speed, are in pre-prod for a feature film I will be directing called ‘Auto Pilot’ – about a ‘dinosaur’ cab driver who must adapt or die within a modern, rapidly evolving environment.”

How has the making of this film been any different to other films you have been part of?

“Having the luxury of time in pre-prod certainly contributed to the overall quality of the film – perhaps more so than the odd ‘run-and-gun’ type work I’m accustomed to!”

Drop The Mic was shown July 9, Melbourne.

For more information and tickets, visit www.mdff.org.au

*featured image credit: http://dropthemic.com.au

To learn more about Drop The Mic, visit http://dropthemic.com.au

For more about Nathaniel Jackson, visit http://jacksonspeed.com