–Who is Luke Rex?
Straight to the good stuff eh? Very existential of you lol! Well this is a deep question and could be answered on multiple levels but I’ll say Luke Rex was born in Sydney, Australia in 1975 and moved to the USA in 2006 at the tender age of 31 to pursue an acting career. I moved out to LA in 2009 to pursue a film acting career, however,3 years into my Los Angeles stint, my acting aspirations hadn’t materialized as envisaged. The glittering promise of starring alongside Robert De Niro or Meryl Streep in the Big Apple remained elusive. I enrolled in community college to study psychology in 2011, studied hard, and transferred to UCLA pre-psychology in 2013, did my MA in Psychology in 2016 and graduated with my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2022. I am now about to become a licensed clinical psychologist! What a journey! Luke Rex is also a certified Reiki Master & Teacher, and loves playing golf and playing classical/Spanish guitar!
–What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
I was put on the artistic path by a former mentor/drama teacher from my high school in Sydney. Together, we co-directed some very fine productions at St Aloysius College. After my formal theatre/acting studies, I made some indie films with friends, TV pilots, but I was focused on pursuing an acting career. Bonding, which won Best International Song and Best Thriller Short at 8 & Halfilm Awards was actually the first short film I have ever directed. I was inspired to exercise the courage required to make a short film. I had enough experience from the work I had done as an actor, and decided to bite the bullet and just do it after my psychology doctorate graduation last year. It was an amazing experience! I wrote, directed, produced, acted, and even co-composed the music! We have over 70 Official Selections, 30 Award Wins and as many nominations!
–Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?
100% yes – I mean I think straight away of what Lucas and Spielberg have done to help humanity feel more attuned to a universe bigger than our own planet and solar system. Cinema, like any art form, can elevate our level of consciousness and enhance connectivity to others. Film is a very powerful medium. The moving image: being in a dark, shared space and seeing that giant image up there on the screen – it magnifies our follies and illuminates our potential. It can make us laugh and move us to tears. It is a wonderful vehicle for human transformation. We even use it as a form of therapy! So yes – it can definitely bring change to society for sure! But we have to be careful. Like anything powerful, it can also be used in such a way to lower our level of consciousness and influence and impact us in negative ways.
–What would you change in the world?
The way wealth is distributed. We need not live in a world juxtaposed by multi-billionaires a hundred times over versus people starving to death. Doesn’t make sense to me. Perhaps we need to develop greater compassion and tolerance for one other. Also, no more fighting each other. War. Such a tragedy to see human beings at their worst – usually to attain some form of power, greed, control, ego. And for what?! We are only here a short time in this human embodiment. The true joys of life are in connecting with one another and ultimately, Source.
Finally, lobbying governments in politics. Ban it. I feel like the whole political system is set up to unfortunately not serve the people, but the politicians. I don’t want to take away from the fine work some politicians do, but part of the system has failed before it has even begun.
–Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?
What a great question! In the next 100 years, film could be a completely immersive experience such that you would not know the difference between your waking life and being at, or rather, in, the movies. Rather than the film being on a 2-D screen in a cinema, the audience will instead feel like they are really there – like the holodeck from Star Trek. It seems to me we have become immersed in special effects but I hope we never lose the good old-fashioned story to watch. People need good stories. In 100 years, perhaps in less than 10, even 5, we will have our first AI film – sadly it will break box office records because people will be curious to see it. There will also be films with actors that have died decades ago, acting with one another e.g. James Dean and Robert De Niro in a film with Sophia Loren, and maybe even Luke Rex! Live theatre will have a renaissance because people will be seeking aliveness and immediacy.
