Local filmmaker Anthony Firth lands a gig with The Asylum, the studio behind Sharknado. Tasked with directing a schlock film, The Land That Time Forgot, in Adelaide on a shoestring budget, he turns the camera on himself, filming a behind-the-scenes documentary. Both productions will push their director to the brink.




Mockbuster
World Premiere.
Guest in attendance.
Pink Carpet.
Director
Runtime
90 Minutes
Country
Australia
Classification
Unclassified 15+
Once-promising South Australian filmmaker Anthony Frith, now languishing in the world of corporate video, brazenly pitches himself to Hollywood’s kings of B-movie schlock, The Asylum, and somehow lands the gig. The studio behind Sharknado (motto: ‘shitty movies for people with bad taste’) hires him to direct The Land That Time Forgot, a lost-world dinosaur epic to be shot in suburban Adelaide on a six-day schedule and a shoestring budget.
Scorsese, Coppola and Demme all got their starts with this kind of movie, so why not? But Anthony has another camera rolling too – he is also directing the behind-the-scenes documentary, capturing the chaos and compromise of full-blown exploitation filmmaking. Between demanding LA executives, a game but bewildered cast, and his own creeping self-doubt, the pressure builds. Mockbuster is an unexpectedly tender documentary about chasing the dream through the absurd hustle of genre filmmaking, but finding a different kind of success behind the scenes.
Film Credits
Director
Anthony Frith
Year
2025
Country
Australia
Language
English
Type
Documentary & Feature
Program Strand
Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund & World Documentary
Producer
David Elliot-Jones, Sandy Cameron & Naomi Ball
Writer
Anthony Frith & Sandy Cameron
Cinematographer
Maxx Corkindale
Editor
David Scarborough ASE
Music
Bryony Marks
Film Source
Umbrella Entertainment
Genre
Black Comedy, Cult, Documentary & Satire



