"THE ASSIGNMENT" Wraps Production
- Presidential Productions
- Jun 1, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 28, 2025
Melbourne Rooftops, Lockdown Origins
Filmed entirely on location in Melbourne, Australia, short film THE ASSIGNMENT – featuring David Kara and Francis Ryan – transforms familiar urban spaces into sites of tension, threat and intimacy, embracing bold independent filmmaking and using restriction as a creative advantage rather than a limitation.
Production took place against the backdrop of the post-lockdown city with much of the film unfolding within a single residential environment and culminating on a rooftop at sunset. The choice of location is integral to the film’s impact; suburban brickwork, open skies and domestic interiors become silent witnesses to escalating danger.
Cunningham’s approach to directing THE ASSIGNMENT was shaped by the film’s origins in isolation. Developed during months of lockdown, the script was designed to be lean and controllable, allowing the production to move efficiently while maintaining a high level of craft. This discipline extends to the film’s visual grammar, which favours stillness, observation and incremental dread over overt shock.
Filmed on a Panasonic Lumix S1 with a 24–105mm lens, the film’s cinematography prioritises clarity and texture. Natural light plays a crucial role, particularly in the rooftop sequence, where the descending sun casts long shadows across exposed skin and concrete, heightening vulnerability and unease. The setting itself becomes a psychological space — open, exposed and inescapable.
The film’s pivotal rooftop sequence was filmed against a rapidly fading Melbourne sunset, leaving cast and crew with a matter of minutes to capture the final moments before the city slipped into dusk. As the light softened and shadows lengthened, the pressure on set echoed the tension unfolding on screen. A deliberate alignment of form and narrative.
During filming, Cunningham maintained an unusually quiet set, particularly for the film’s most restrained scenes. Crew members were asked to remain still between takes, allowing performances to build without interruption; an approach that prioritised psychological precision over momentum.
Though restrictions had eased by the time cameras rolled, the production retained the discipline forged during lockdown development. For Ryan, THE ASSIGNMENT marked his first professional film acting role — a fact that subtly informed the character of Leo. Rather than smoothing over uncertainty, the production leaned into it, allowing hesitation and vulnerability to remain part of Ryan's subtle and delicate performance.
Although physically imposing featuring a fit athletic physique covered in tattoos, Kara’s performance as Harrison was directed toward stillness rather than overt threat. A dedicated actor, Kara was in peak physical condition for the role. Cunningham encouraged bold creative choices using Kara's physicality coupled with subtle performance restraint, allowing the character's calm behaviour to become more unsettling than violence itself.
Despite its brevity, the shoot demanded precision. Performance, blocking and timing were rehearsed, ensuring that every moment carried narrative weight. The result is a film that feels both effortless and exacting, where atmosphere is built not through excess, but through control. Filming in Melbourne was not merely an aesthetic choice — it was thematic. The city’s quiet rooftops, laneways and modest interiors reflect the film’s interest in ordinary environments becoming sites of extraordinary moral rupture.
For more information visit presproductionsco.com/the-assignment
