AARON PEDERSEN

The actor, 48, stars in Out of Range, a short film about a man trying to reconnect with his estranged son. It is part of the SBS Short Film Festival (on SBS On Demand from Fri., Sep. 13).

Other than the shorter shoot, what is different about working on a short film?

You really have to work on your feet. You don’t have the luxury of time you have with a feature film or TV series – you have to capture those moments in that timeframe. There is a great sense of telling the story in such a short amount of time – and that takes a great skill, I think.

You acted solely with Araluen Lee Baxter, who plays your character’s son. How did that go?

It was amazing working with Araluen. I think he was the adult and I was the child [Laughs]. He’s a shy young lad, but really happy in his own skin and has a great sense of thought about him. He is definitely going to be a little star.

What did you take away from the film?

What I loved was the journey of life in different beautiful ways, whether it is being a father or coming of age; the fears you have as a man or as a father building a relationship with your son. Why are short films an important part of the Australian industry?

That’s where stories start. As an actor, there are no jobs too small, and same goes for stories. It is important to embrace Australian stories no matter what format they come in. What else have you got coming up? Mystery Road – I am shooting the second season now in Broome. I finished shooting The Gloaming in Tasmania, I did another TV series called Black Bitch with Deborah Mailman, which will be coming out on the ABC, and another film called High Ground, so yeah, very busy.

“Careers often start in short film – that’s where all your building blocks are built,” Pedersen says.

“In Out of Range, two men from different eras come together,” Pedersen says.