A Darwin-raised filmmaker has sold out a cinema with a premiere screening of a film that was made almost entirely in secret.

We're Family Now tells the story of a dysfunctional family navigating new and tumultuous circumstances — a mature storyline for a student filmmaker who's not even 20 years old.

Nathaniel Kelly, who studies screen production at AFTRS in Sydney, returned to his stomping ground to launch the feature film last week.

The domestic drama was almost two years in the making, with a 20-day shoot taking place in Darwin and relying upon a handful of Kelly's mates.

"It's great having mates that like to act but are also interested in the technical side of things; if you're not acting, just jump behind the camera and give us a hand," Kelly said.

There was no distributor and no marketing for the film, the budget for which was a cool $0.

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Instead, the project was propelled along with community support, including a leading turn from local character Phil O'Brien.

"But I hadn't even asked him until about two months before we started filming," Kelly said.

"It was like I just assumed we'd get him."

O'Brien said the shoot probably cost him more to appear in than it cost Kelly to make.

"He's a sensitive sort of humble young bloke, but don't get sucked in," said O'Brien, who flew from interstate to appear in the movie.

"When you're filming he can crack the whip.

"He showed me the script and it was like the Old Testament.

"I had to know it word for word; I couldn't put any of my own stuff in there. That just wasn't on."

Local character Phil O'Brien was happy to take the lead role. ( Supplied: Nathaniel Kelly )

There were more signs the film was more than just a student project when Kelly made plans to premiere it at a local cinema.

"We thought we might get 50 tickets, just to cover the hire costs of the venue," he said.

The film started to sell out before Kelly had even booked his own seat.

Finding unlikely inspiration in suburban Darwin

Films shot in the Top End tend to make use of the area's sprawling surrounds, where brilliant green foliage, blue lagoons and sprawling landscapes make any shot look painterly.

But Kelly bucked the trend of films like Ten Canoes and the Crocodile Dundee franchise, instead finding inspiration in something closer to home.

"I was really inspired by films like The Castle.

"What I really wanted to capture was, like, suburbia.

"Darwin is painted as this amazing rural town with sweeping landscapes and stuff, and it does have all that, but I wanted to show a different side — this really domestic side.

"That's where the idea came from, and the stories are just reworked stories and emotions from all of our lives, just me and the small crew that I work with."

We're Family Now stars Phil O'Brien as well as young actors Joseph Baronio and Journey Kelly. ( Supplied: Nathaniel Kelly )

The film came together after a 20-day shoot over the course of a month-and-a-half. ( Supplied: Nathaniel Kelly )

Another advantage to shooting in Darwin, Kelly found, was that the relaxed, happy-go-lucky attitude of locals extended to the use of public space.

"Even though there are still rules and regulations in place, a lot of people are a lot more friendly about shooting in public spaces and are willing to help you out," he said.

"And not ask for money when they know you don't have any."

'Life didn't exist without filmmaking'

Growing up in Darwin, Kelly recalled getting his hands on a video camera his father used to own.

He hit record almost as soon as he could put sentences together, making shorts with his little sister, and never looked back.

"I picked up a camera at four and I think I made my first short film, just with my sister," he said.

"I can't really remember back that far, but it just felt like life didn't exist without filmmaking."

(His younger sister reprised a role in We're Family Now as an adopted girl from a disadvantaged family.)

Kelly says his next project will be a web series. ( ABC Radio Darwin: Jesse Thompson )

Kelly intends to shop the film around to local festivals before publishing it online. ( Supplied: Nathaniel Kelly )

In high school, Kelly's friends pointed him to films by Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan and other popular directors who tend to take innovative approaches to storytelling while employing a distinct visual style.

"I think my filmmaking style was really organic up until about high school when a lot of friends started showing me their favourite films and we started taking a lot of stylistic references from them," he said.

"Personally I don't think too many directors specifically have influenced my style, but definitely whatever I watch I take notes, whether it be a documentary or a short film or something I see in the cinemas."

Darwin is not particularly well-known for its filmmaking scene, and most of the Northern Territory's cinematic luminaries, such as Rachel Perkins and Warwick Thornton, have come from Alice Springs.

But Kelly continued to make the most of what the city had to offer, submitting shorts to local film festivals, some of which have now ceased to exist.

Despite a promising career that might eventually buck this trend, the teenager hasn't told many of his Sydney classmates of his debut feature's success.

"At my university I just keep a really low key," he said.

"Everyone there's in the industry; you don't want to stand out. I'm under the radar."

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