KT Bonus Edition: An Interview with RubberAmmo’s Elliot Goodyer
Jasper talks to gonzo documentarian Elliot Goodyer ahead of RubberAmmo's doc tour stop at Nova on Thursday
RubberAmmo Double Documentary Tour
Cinema Nova, Thursday 10 April
Tickets here
Interview and preface by Jasper Caverly
Elliot Goodyer is a maverick documentarian with a taste for finding what Kerouac might have called the mad ones - mad to live, desirous of everything - with a particular focus on distinctive subcultural groups such as eshays, jousters and shamans. When asked to produce an audio documentary for the Australian Institute of International Affairs on the Hong Kong protests (Safe Harbour), it was released under the banner of RubberAmmo - a name he continues to produce and release content under.
Despite his growing reservations about the channel’s name, it becomes readily apparent to me why Elliot’s film participants feel so at ease with him as I talk to him in my living room. He takes time to listen to me as I tell him about myself and KinoTopia before the interview. We talk about the irony of the interviewer becoming the interviewee. He is direct and thoughtful in his responses, entirely the same as he appears to be in his documentaries.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Elliot Goodyer (EG): I don't even know about the name RubberAmmo anymore. That was sort of incepted from kids getting smashed with rubber bullets in Hong Kong. The logo we've got is a kid in a yellow gas mask, which is also from the Hong Kong protests.
But the problem with the name RubberAmmo is that if you're going to a jousting event, like we did this weekend, if you come in saying, “Hey, we're RubberAmmo.” It's a very aggressive name.
It doesn't necessarily capture the essence of what we're trying to do either. It was an early idea, but it's one of those things where the words lose meaning over time.
JC: What was the jousting event like?
EG: It's a brutal, Herculean sport. The armor alone costs $50,000 and they're going at 50 kilometers per hour with a giant jousting pole aimed at the other person.
It was described to us as a game of chicken, but no one can get out of the way. It would be like the equivalent of someone driving in a car with a giant pole aimed at you and you can't move, you know?
JC: What is it about a subject matter that attracts you at first? How do you discern whether there's a story in that as well?
EG: We went to Ukraine to cover the war and that one was just a trial by fire. It was the first video we'd done or I'd ever done. I didn't really know what we were doing before we’d done a couple more domestic documentaries.
About a year ago, I just sat down and really tried to figure out what kind of stories are missing from a lot of news coverage. A lot of modern news coverage is incredibly fragmented and separated, it's just looking at single stories in a vacuum. And I think that it makes the world feel very big and confusing.
A lot of anxiety now is that the world's overwhelmingly full of information. To counteract that, I'm trying to look at stories that have domestic subcultural importance, but tie into global affairs.
I was in South Korea just recently investigating this report that shamans in North Korea were being executed. I wanted to go there to find an actual North Korean shaman who'd made it out alive and could verify the report. But the reason that story had so much depth was because martial law [was incurred] in South Korea at the end of last year. They tried to storm the capitol effectively and that was all shaman related.
JC: You've got a double bill of unreleased work coming up with two dates here (Naarm) and then Sydney and Adelaide as well. Can you tell me about Buffer Riding Train Popping and The Thin Line?
EG: Both of these documentaries are actually B-side offshoots of the series I've been working on called the Anthropology of Eshay. I just had an idea one day where I was thinking about subcultures that are important to Australia, but have been overlooked and I thought, right, where did eshays come from?
The initial idea was that I'd look at it generation by generation. Buffer Riding Train Popping came from looking at young eshays effectively, because there was a sort of somewhat justified panic about an uptick in people doing train popping [breaking open and hanging out the doors of moving trains] and buffer riding [riding the back of a moving train.] Some of these kids have smacked their head or they've fallen out and died or broken their legs doing it.
And then with The Thin Line, the main character from my anthropology story disappeared one day and we had no idea where he went. We went to meet up with him at this midnight rendezvous and he just didn't show up.
We had to spend six months trying to find him. I messaged all of his friends on Instagram and one of them was Benji PK, who is the pro-Palestinian protagonist of The Thin Line. On his Instagram page, I just saw him doing a freestyle Israel dis and thought, that aligns with the ethos of stories that I'm trying to explore.
JC: I heard you experienced a concussion during a boxing match in the Outback. And also something about rodeo clowns that I'm supposed to ask you about too. What's all that about?
EG: I was working as a removalist at the beginning of last year and this guy who was really into boxing and asked me, “Have you heard of Fred Brophy’s Boxing Tent?”. He told me about this 200 year old tradition that came from the Gold Rush era of bare knuckle boxing. Eventually they realized that they could make more money if they had a tent and charged entry.
Within a week of hearing about this, I roped a friend in and we drove like 30 hours up to Queensland to cover this roving boxing tent. They've got a cast of pro fighters, ex-Muay Thai world champions, kickboxers, incredibly skilled boxers, all this sort of thing. They all have characters names and dress up in these outlandish clothes. They set up in a small country town and locals can fight them.
That in itself is just insane. People just get mowed down. I was trying to understand the importance of this tradition and the mentality of a contender. Why would you want to fight a pro kickboxer and get your legs caved in?
I traveled with them for a month, all the way to the Mount Isa rodeo and it was their hundredth year. 40,000 people were there. And I was like, fuck, well, I've gotta get in and fight.
I did five minutes of sparring practice with Chopstix [a Fred Brohpy’s fighter] in Cloncurry and a 15 minute boxing tutorial on YouTube in the car park beforehand. Then I just had two Monsters and got in the ring.
And I didn't get knocked out, but I got knocked down twice. For people who've played Call of Duty, when a stun grenade goes off and there's a flash of white light and that noise, like a static noise: that's literally what happened.
It’s all part of a book that I've got coming up called: ‘Big in the North’.
JC: That kind of journalism, I suppose you would call gonzo. Is that a way of making that inspires you? Who are the people that inspire you?
EG: I've always liked that sort of Hunter S. Thompson or Tom Wolfe-style, New Journalism of the sixties. It hasn't really been done, in my eyes, effectively in Australia. So I thought, all right, well I'm gonna go and give that a shot.
But I realized that you have to force your friends to read a book, whereas people can't stop watching YouTube. The book will be fine and that's its own separate thing, but it's not gonna make it a functional, sustainable model.
JC: Do you prefer to have the camera there?
EG: Uh, I mean, it's easier. Writing is painful. It is incredibly painful to do.
JC: Is there anything that surprises you about people when you do have the camera there?
EG: You can inspire, you can ask deeper questions of people who wouldn't normally think of them, or people wouldn't normally think of them as having depth. And so it's really satisfying to bring out the corners of people that wouldn't normally come out. It's like magic, honestly.
JC: What do you want to do with RubberAmmo in the future?
EG: Become independently self-sufficient doing six international, six domestic docos per year. We wanna bring on a First Nations correspondent too. Building up to a model that isn't beholden to an ad model.
Vice fell prey to having to scale up because they needed more clicks for ad revenue, and in doing so, they undermined their quality. The idea for us would be to scale up but maintain quality by bringing on new documentarians who fit within the artistic vision of RubberAmmo.
JC: Where do I apply?
‘Buffer Riding Train Popping’ and ‘The Thin Line’ will screen at Cinema Nova on Thursday April 10th as part of RubberAmmo’s Double Documentary Tour. A screening at a secret Melbourne location on April 12th is TBA via Instagram.
Listings | Thurs 3 April - Wednesday 9 April
Notable Screenings / In Review
Neptune Frost
Various, 2021
Screening Sun at ACMI
New Films in Release
Head South
Jonathan Ogilvie, 2024
Screening at Cinema Nova and Thornbury Picture House
Cyberpunk Cinema
Neptune Frost
Various, 2021
Screening Sun
Unholy Cats & Wholesome Dogs
Cat People
Jacques Tourneur, 1942
Screening Sat
Inside Llewyn Davis
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, 2013
Screening Sun
Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便)
Hayao Miyazaki, 1989
Screening Mon
Lassie Come Home
Fred M. Wilcox, 1943
Screening Tue
Matinees
The Cats of Gokogu Shrine
Kazuhiro Soda, 2024
Screening Fri, Sat, Sun
The Raid
Gareth Evans, 2011
Screening Wednesday 9 April
No screening this week
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Andrew Dominik, 2007
Screening tonight
Wake in Fright
Ted Kotcheff, 1971
Screening Fri, Sat, Sun and Mon
Empire Records — Rex Manning Day Anniversary Screening
Allan Moyle, 1995
Screening Tue
BBBC CINEMA (GALLERYGALLERY BRUNSWICK)
Back in June — keep up to date!
No screening this week
CHINATOWN CINEMA
Ne Zha 2
Yang Yu, 2025
Screening Daily
Mickey 17
Bong Joon Ho, 2025
Screening Daily
The Last Dance
Anselm Chan, 2024
Screening Daily
Coming back in some variety soon
No screening this week
Events / Previews
The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre de La Patellière & Matthieu Delaporte, 2024
Screening Fri, Sat and Sun
Death of a Unicorn
Alex Scharfman, 2025
Advance screening Fri, Sat and Sun
Wake in Fright (Restoration)
Ted Kotcheff, 1971
Screening Daily
Dog Day Afternoon
Sidney Lumet, 1975
Screening Thu, Mon, Wed
Goodfellas (35th Anniversary)
Martin Scorsese, 1990
Screening Mon
Eyes Without a Face (60th Anniversary)
Georges Franjou, 1960
Screening Thursday
New Release
Head South
Jonathan Ogilvie, 2024
Screening Daily
Oh, Canada
Paul Schrader, 2024
Screening Daily
The Cats of Gokogu Shrine
Kazuhiro Soda, 2024
Screening Daily
In Vitro
Will Howart, Tom McKeith, 2025
Screening Daily
The Return
Uberto Pasolini, 2024
Screening Daily
Flow
Gints Zilbalodis, 2024
Screening Daily
Black Bag
Steven Soderbergh, 2025
Screening Daily
Ange and the Boss: Puskas in Australia
Cam Fink & Tony Wilson, 2024
Screening Daily
Mickey 17
Bong Joon Ho, 2025
Screening Daily
Hard Truths
Mike Leigh, 2024
Screening Daily
Dahomey
Mati Diop, 2024
Screening Daily
Bob Trevino Likes It
Tracie Laymon, 2024
Screening Daily
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mohammad Rasoulof, 2024
Screening Daily
I’m Still Here
Walter Salles, 2024
Screening Daily
Bird
Andrea Arnold, 2024
Screening Daily
The Last Showgirl
Gia Coppola, 2024
Screening Daily
Grand Tour
Miguel Gomes, 2024
Screening Daily
Queer
Luca Guadanigno, 2024
Screening Daily
Babygirl
Halina Reijn, 2024
Screening Daily
A Complete Unknown
James Mangold, 2024
Screening Daily
The Brutalist
Brady Corbet, 2024
Screening Daily
Presence
Steven Soderbergh, 2025
Screening Daily
Becoming Led Zeppelin
Bernard MacMahon, 2025
Screening Daily
Conclave
Edward Berger, 2024
Screening Daily
Anora
Sean Baker, 2024
Screening Daily
Last days of every other film, probably, see calendar.
DOGMILK DEGUSTATIONS: @ Miscellania
No screening this week
No screening this week
GAY24 (Bar Flippy’s)
No screening this week.
No screening this week…
LIDO / CLASSIC / CAMEO
Events
Sculpting in Time: The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky.
To see all events, click here.
General Release
Oh, Canada
Paul Schrader, 2024
Screening Daily
Flow
Gints Zilbalodis, 2024
Screening Daily
Black Bag
Steven Soderbergh, 2025
Screening Daily
Mickey 17
Bong Joon Ho, 2025
Screening Daily
Inside
Charles Williams, 2024
Screening Daily
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mohammad Rasoulof, 2024
Screening Daily
I’m Still Here
Walter Salles, 2024
Screening Daily
A Complete Unknown
James Mangold, 2024
Screening Daily
Conclave
Edward Berger, 2024
Screening Daily
The Brutalist
Brady Corbet, 2024
Screening Daily
Anora
Sean Baker, 2024
Screening Daily
Ivan’s Childhood
Andrei Tarkovsky, 1964
Screening Thursday 27
Andrei Rublev
Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966
Screening Thursday 2
OVA CLUB
No screening this week
No screening this week — we will report back ASAP
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY: SCREENING IDEAS
No screening this week
PALACE BALWYN / BRIGHTON / COMO / KINO / PENTRIDGE / MOONEE PONDS / WESTGARTH
Events / Previews
Clueless
Amy Heckerling, 1995
Screening Mon at Palace Westgarth
General Release
The Return
Uberto Pasolini, 2024
Screening Daily
Flow
Gints Zilbalodis, 2024
Screening Daily
Black Bag
Steven Soderbergh, 2025
Screening Daily
Mickey 17
Bong Joon Ho, 2025
Screening Daily
Inside
Charles Williams, 2024
Screening Daily
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mohammad Rasoulof, 2024
Screening Daily
I’m Still Here
Walter Salles, 2024
Screening Daily
The Last Journey
Filip Hammar, Fredrik Wikingsson, 2024
Screening Daily
Bird
Andrea Arnold, 2024
Screening Daily
The Last Showgirl
Gia Coppola, 2024
Screening Daily
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Michael Morris, 2025
Screening Daily
A Complete Unknown
James Mangold, 2024
Screening Daily
Babygirl
Halina Reijn, 2024
Screening Daily
Hard Truths
Mike Leigh, 2024
Screening Wed & Sat
Conclave
Edward Berger, 2024
Screening Daily
Anora
Sean Baker, 2024
Screening Daily
Wicked
John M. Chu, 2024
Screening Daily
Between shows.
Screening Next Week
THE MELBOURNE CINÉMATHÈQUE (ACMI)
Out of the Past and into the Flares: Neo-Noir in ‘70s America
Chinatown
Roman Polanski, 1974
Screening from 7pm
+
The Honeymoon Killers
Leonard Castle, 1970
Screening from 9.25pm
Melb Short Film Festival 2025
Head South
Jonathan Ogilvie, 2024
Screening Thu, Sun, Mon, Wed
Goodfellas
Martin Scorsese, 1990
Screening Fri
Flow
Gints Zilbalodis, 2024
Screening Sat, Sun, Wed
Black Bag
Steven Soderbergh, 2024
Screening Wed
Wake in Fright
Ted Kotcheff, 1971
Screening Sat
Ange & the Boss: Puskas in Australia
Cam Fink, Rob Heath & Tony Wilson, 2024
Screening Fri, Sun
Mickey 17
Bong Joon Ho, 2025
Screening Tue
Hard Truths
Mike Leigh, 2024
Screening Sun
UNKNOWN PLEASURES @ Thornbury Picture House
No Screening this week