Rush

Director: Philippe Charluet
Country: Australia
Runtime: 56'
Language: English
Year: 2007

A Cinema Vérité look at Australia’s obsession with speed, joyriding and car theft, and its implications for three young men's lives, providing a deeper understanding to their motivations and subculture. Rush is a considered an intimate observation of youth today; at the same time it reveals the difficult transition between worlds, from childhood to manhood, capturing the sense of immediacy, of immortality and the fearlessness which characterises this unique phase of life. Our main characters are:

David (The Recidivist), 19, heavily involved in organized car theft since a very young age, currently serving a sentence in a Youth Detention Centre. David is fighting for his release; will he make it as he tries to establish himself into a world he has no experience in?

Michael (The Speed Fanatic), 22, of Lebanese descent, has never stolen cars. He lives with his girlfriend and baby in the suburbs. His whole life, dreams and most of his money are devoted to his hot car and his need for speed. He drag-races regularly at a nearby Speedway, or spontaneously drags on the streets, and he ultimately has to pay the price.

Raymond (The Thrill Seeker), 18, lives with his pregnant girlfriend, daughter, mother and father in-law as well as his dog on the 20th floor of their housing commission flats. Ray spent most of his youth institutionalised for a range of car related crimes. Determined to turn his life around, the odds seem against him as his past catches up with him.