publicity for the project, which attracted media interest through the Seven Network and Rolling Stone magazine. Shooting took place at various locations throughout New South Wales and Queensland, with most of the beach scenes being shot on the Central Coast, using improvisation in place of a formal script. Large parts of the film have no dialogue at all, while others are narrated through haiku poetry. None of the cast had any acting experience, nor was a professional film crew used. As an independent foreign language film, Bondi Tsunami was unable to secure a cinema release. Instead, the producers hired a number of theatres around the country and embarked on a national publicity tour. A competition on the film's official website allowed people to vote for the movie to screen in their home town. After receiving the most votes, the town of Cobar was selected for the premiere on 3 September 2004 before the film's official release in Sydney on 23 September. Reception The film was received with mixed reactions from reviewers. Variety magazine reviewer Russell Edwards described Bondi Tsunami as misguided, aimless and amateurish "sun-bronzed, but lacklustre imitation of the Japanese slacker flicks which regularly unspool at international fests" and was critical of the films production techniques. Megan Spencer of national youth radio network Triple J was more generous in her review, giving the film a rating of 3.5/5, praising it as ambitious and experimental, but noting that its repetitious imagery and style akin to music videos may become tedious to some audiences. References External links Bondi Tsunami review Bondi Tsunami at the National Film and Sound Archive 2004 films Australian comedy-drama films Australian road movies 2000s road comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films