Bill Mousoulis    (Director/Producer/Editor)

Bill Mousoulis is a Greek-Australian independent filmmaker since 1982, with over 100 films to his name, My Darling in Stirling being his 11th feature. He has been called “an independent film legend” by critic Jake Wilson.

He also runs websites and screenings, promoting under-recognised Australian independent films.

Werner Lach    (Cinematographer)

Werner Lach was an experienced camera operator and manager within Brazilian TV in the 2000s and 2010s.

He migrated to Australia in 2018 and works in the film industry in Adelaide.

My Darling in Stirling is his first feature as a cinematographer.

Chloe Jade Keays   (Production Designer)

Chloe Jade Keays is currently a student at Flinders University, enrolled in a Bachelor of Creative Industries (Film and Television).

She has a passionate interest in the mechanics of film production.

My Darling in Stirling is her first feature as Production Designer.

Vicky Mousoulis   (Stills Photographer)

My work over all my career has been distinctive – realist in its base, but then formalist in its inclination. Whilst I like to capture and express the reality of the world, I also like to view it from a particular angle, be it philosophical or metaphorical. Genre has drawn me occasionally, leading me to My Darling in Stirling, a full-blown musical where every line is sung. The film is a romance (girl betrayed by boy), and a fairy-tale of innocence and growing maturity.

I am very much informed in my work by the history of cinema. From 40 years ago, when I was 20 years of age, I watched films as keenly as I made them. European art cinema spoke to me the most, especially the work of Robert Bresson and Jean-Luc Godard. In recent times, I have been enamoured with the work of Jacques Demy, who was a truly inventive figure when it came to musicals. His film from 1964, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, inspired me in the making of My Darling in Stirling. Demy was the first director to have every line of dialogue in his film sung, and I follow suit in my film.

Thematically, my film is about innocence, and how young women cope with philandering males. My film is at once old-fashioned and innovative, especially in its use of various musical genres (indie rock, jazz, classical, electro-pop).

– Bill Mousoulis

I started working on this film in early 2021, out of a desire to make a "mutant musical" as Adrian Martin calls them, a musical that is unusual in its form. Taking my cue from Jacques Demy's 1964 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, where all the dialogue is sung, I had to firstly work out how I would produce all the music/songs, i.e. without any production financing in place.

Watching a documentary on the origins of hip-hop, I realised that I could take pre-existing instrumental music and use it to then overlay vocals. The Free Music Archive is a goldmine in this regard, full of brilliant composers and musicians keen to have their work used in films. I selected 40 tracks from this database, then wrote the lyrics and melodies, purchased some cheap audio equipment, and then invited 8 different singers (for the 8 characters in the film) to my home to record them (see pic at right). The entire soundtrack was completed in early 2022.

Shooting commenced in April 2022 and proceeded piecemeal until August 2022, interrupted by Covid and other viruses. A true no-budget production, all cast and crew worked for deferred wages only. The total cost of the film was $10,000, with editing completed in March 2023, a great testament to independent/community filmmaking.

– Bill Mousoulis