Bringing their Australian zombie epidemic tale Cargo to Tribeca this week, writer/directors Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling sat down with Deadline this afternoon to discuss the roots of their project in a highly successful seven-minute short.
“That was around the time that The Walking Dead was in its zenith, and we were just really interested in dabbling in the zombie genre and seeing if there was something a little bit fresh that we could bring to that,” Ramke said, sitting down at Deadline’s Tribeca Studio with Howling, producer Kristina Ceyton and star Martin Freeman. “It all came out of this image of a zombie with a baby on its back.”
The first original Australian feature to launch on the Netflix streaming service, the feature-length version of Cargo follows Andy (Freeman), a father living in a post-apocalyptic society who goes to great lengths to protect his family. Finding the image of a zombie with a baby on its back to be quite evocative—as the film’s directors had in conceiving their short—Freeman tapped into the story through the very human themes at the film’s core. “It rang a bell, as a father,” the actor said. “You’re prepared to do all kinds of things as a father for your kids.”
To hear more from the team behind Netflix thriller Cargo, click above.
The Deadline Studio at Tribeca is presented by Nespresso.