A movie about moviemaking runs the risk of being self-indulgent and too clever. That said, the self-reflexive genre includes some extraordinary works such as “The Player,” “The Day of the Locust,” and “Sunset Boulevard.” We can now add to that list —in the mobile movie subcategory—Christopher Stollery’s witty “No Budget.”

“No Budget” artfully creates the appearance of an improvised movie. But it uses smart camera work and sophisticated editing to accomplish some astonishing visual effects. The film also demonstrates the importance of careful casting, even down to the smallest walk-on parts.

The film won the Best Short Film award at the International Mobile Film Festival (San Diego).  At the Smartfone Flick Fest (Australia) it won both the Best Film and the Best Cinematography awards.

In the following interview, the Sydney-based director takes us behind the scenes of this acclaimed comedy.

MMM: Could you give us a bit of background on how you got into filmmaking?

Stollery: Always into movies from a young age. Primary interest was (and still is) the acting field. I went to the national drama school here in Australia (NIDA) and went straight into the business. On the set of my first TV series I became curious about how the whole process worked, and by the styles of different directors. I was also a gadget freak and was an early adopter of the cam-corder and filmed everyone and everything obsessively. Finally I made a few short films and very late in the day went to film school.

MMM: Is there a filmmaker who influenced you?

Stollery: I don’t think there was just one. There were particular films that left strong impressions and they were all from pretty diverse creators, ranging from Hitchcock to The Monty Python crew.

MMM: How did you come up with the concept for this movie about moviemaking

Stollery: The film was initially made for Tropfest – a huge short film festival begun in the 90s at the Tropicana cafe. (“No Budget: begins there.) The festival is always heralding that it isn’t about big budgets – anyone with a video camera could enter. The gag that two Trop customers discussing the world of cinema while taking public transport around the world seemed amusing.

MMM: Was the film tightly scripted or did it involve any improvisation?

Stollery: It was a loose process but strangely I knew two things had to be consistent – their clothing and the script. They were both set early.

MMM: Could you give a secret or two about how you achieved all those locations?

Stollery: No 😉 I’ve discovered that, like any magic trick, it’s really better for an audience not to know.

MMM:  Did you encounter any big challenges during the filmmaking?

Stollery: The biggest problem we never solved was how to fit in with Cate Blanchett’s schedule (her role was eventually given to the two wannabes Hugo Weaving and David Wenham)

MMM: Why did you decide to shoot the movie using a phone?

Stollery: Filming on the iPhone meant we avoided costs and it made us very agile enough to deal with lots of problems. It also means the audience is more forgiving of any shortcomings. Using the actors’ own iPhones to record sound precluded so many common pitfalls in traditional filmmaking.

MMM: Is there anything you’d have done different now that you look back on the movie?

Stollery: Maybe waited until the iPhone 6 came out? Camera is so much better. Or the Osmo stabiliser? but you’d never start if you waited for the perfect technology.

MMM: Can you tell us what you’re currently working on?

Stollery: We’re looking to raise finance and distribution for a very different project – a modern day Australian film adaption of The Comedy of Errors. It will also be a very agile innovative project and anyone keen to help us with our goals is most welcome to approach.

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You can learn more about Christopher by following him @christopherstol and via Paper Moose.

And here’s a list of films about films.

“No Budget” was chosen as a Mobile Movie of the Week by the editors of MobileMovieMaking.com.