Long before directing Grammy-nominated (one-billion-views-plus) music videos for Sia’s “Chandelier” and “Elastic Heart,” and working with the likes of Paul McCartney and Phoenix, the Australian filmmaker and artist Daniel Askill explored mortality-defying mental states and the irrelevance of logic in his first-ever film, We Have Decided Not to Die. "It was very much a family affair," says the director. "Jordan Askill, my brother, is the one jumping out the window, my girlfriend at the time was the girl in the pool, and the original score is by my father, Daniel Askill."

This unseen edit of the award-winning 2004 short – produced by Collider, a Sydney-based film and design collective that Askill co-founded – spotlights the early days of the director’s career, revealing that the crisp, haunting aesthetic and the off-kilter plot lines that he has become known for were fine-tuned from the start.

The film went on to do the festival rounds and picked up several accolades along the way, including South by Southwest’s BAFTA Award, and the Brooklyn Film Festival’s prize for Best Experimental Film. Askill’s subsequent celluloid and photography work has also been featured at the Venice Bienniale and at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

What’s special about the version we’re seeing?
Daniel Askill: The film first came out in 2004, and it was pretty important to me, as it was the first time I felt like I made something that really represented what I wanted to be doing as a filmmaker. 10 years ago, we were very protective of it, saving it for the festival circuit and gallery shows – so we didn’t put it up online at all. Versions appeared over the years, bad bootleg ones, but this is actually the first time we’re doing a proper online, HD-release of the director’s cut.

How did the transition into music videos come about?
DA: It was probably around the time I was making this film that I first met Sia, and we actually did a video together back then too. It all feels quite connected actually.

What’s coming up next?
DA: Sia and I have a few new things in the pipeline and I never know how much I’m allowed to say but we are developing a feature film, I think I’m allowed to say that much. I’m doing some things with Vrse.works, a virtual reality production company, and I’m working on something with Beachhouse at the moment, so there’s quite a lot floating around.