White Christmas begone! Australia’s yuletide canon is expanding – and it’s full of small-time crims, dysfunctional families and sweltering summer shenanigans
Do you have a favourite Australian festive flick? Share it in the comments
Early in the new Australian film Christmess – a bittersweet drama about an alcoholic actor trying to turn his life around – one character asks a question familiar to many cinephiles: what’s the best Christmas movie? The protagonist, Steve Le Marquand’s Chris, delivers an answer familiar to anyone who has been on the internet in the past two decades: Die Hard, the damn fine, explosive Bruce Willis classic that has been igniting debate about what exactly constitutes a Christmas movie since yuletides of yore.
If Christmess – a very absorbing film, tenderly written and directed by Heath Davis – were a more banter-prone production, the characters might have waded into the debate themselves. For instance: what’s...
Do you have a favourite Australian festive flick? Share it in the comments
Early in the new Australian film Christmess – a bittersweet drama about an alcoholic actor trying to turn his life around – one character asks a question familiar to many cinephiles: what’s the best Christmas movie? The protagonist, Steve Le Marquand’s Chris, delivers an answer familiar to anyone who has been on the internet in the past two decades: Die Hard, the damn fine, explosive Bruce Willis classic that has been igniting debate about what exactly constitutes a Christmas movie since yuletides of yore.
If Christmess – a very absorbing film, tenderly written and directed by Heath Davis – were a more banter-prone production, the characters might have waded into the debate themselves. For instance: what’s...
- 12/12/2023
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
Production has begun in Greater Sydney on “Christmess,” a light-hearted drama written and directed by Heath Davis. It stars musician and vocalist Hannah Joy of alternative indie rock band Middle Kids in her feature film debut.
The film also stars Steve Le Marquand (“Last Train to Freo”), Darren Gilshenan (“No Activity”) and Aaron Glenane. Le Marquand plays the role of a once famous actor who has been reduced by alcohol addiction to performing as Santa Claus in a mall. After accidentally meeting his estranged daughter (Nicole Pastor), he seeks help from his sponsor (Gilshenan) and a sharp-tongued musician in recovery (Joy) in order to win his daughter’s forgiveness in time for the festive season.
“Christmess” is produced by Daniel Fenech, Cindy Pritchard and Matthew McCracken. It is financed through crowd funding and the support of unnamed partners. Distribution will be handled by Bonsai Films.
The shoot is taking place over three weeks in Campbelltown,...
The film also stars Steve Le Marquand (“Last Train to Freo”), Darren Gilshenan (“No Activity”) and Aaron Glenane. Le Marquand plays the role of a once famous actor who has been reduced by alcohol addiction to performing as Santa Claus in a mall. After accidentally meeting his estranged daughter (Nicole Pastor), he seeks help from his sponsor (Gilshenan) and a sharp-tongued musician in recovery (Joy) in order to win his daughter’s forgiveness in time for the festive season.
“Christmess” is produced by Daniel Fenech, Cindy Pritchard and Matthew McCracken. It is financed through crowd funding and the support of unnamed partners. Distribution will be handled by Bonsai Films.
The shoot is taking place over three weeks in Campbelltown,...
- 6/2/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
What it means to undertake a big wave odyssey as a blind surfer is set to be explored in a new feature documentary that has begun filming on the Nsw North Coast.
Written and directed by Brick Studio’s Daniel Fenech, The Blind Sea follows vision-impaired champion sportsman Matt Formston as he attempts to win a fourth Para Surf World Title in California next month, tests himself in the fearsome waves of Indonesia’s infamous Tellos and Fiji’s Cloudbreak, and prepares to take on the treacherous winter swells of the New South Wales coastline.
Guiding him will be soul surfer and elite surf coach Michael “Crispy” Crisp and big wave legend Dylan Longbottom.
The long-form documentary is being produced by Heath Davis and Erin Fenech, and lensed by Chris Bland.
Formston, who was diagnosed with macular dystrophy at the age of five, is also a world champion Para-cyclist,...
Written and directed by Brick Studio’s Daniel Fenech, The Blind Sea follows vision-impaired champion sportsman Matt Formston as he attempts to win a fourth Para Surf World Title in California next month, tests himself in the fearsome waves of Indonesia’s infamous Tellos and Fiji’s Cloudbreak, and prepares to take on the treacherous winter swells of the New South Wales coastline.
Guiding him will be soul surfer and elite surf coach Michael “Crispy” Crisp and big wave legend Dylan Longbottom.
The long-form documentary is being produced by Heath Davis and Erin Fenech, and lensed by Chris Bland.
Formston, who was diagnosed with macular dystrophy at the age of five, is also a world champion Para-cyclist,...
- 11/11/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
The City of Sydney hopes a new purpose-built space will lure creatives, including independent filmmakers, to work in the city post-lockdown, announcing the establishment of a 2,000 square metre facility in the CBD.
Spread over five stories, the City of Sydney Creative Studios will be able to accommodate dancers, musicians, digital creatives, visual artists, and film and theatre makers when it opens next year.
Features include two double-height rehearsal spaces; five soundproof recording and rehearsal studies; production and editing suites; wet-dry creative studios; and artist-in-residence apartment with an attached creative studio; administration and meeting spaces; dressing rooms and storerooms; and a cafe in the lobby.
As part of a voluntary planning agreement between the City of Sydney and developer Greenland Australia, the facility will be operated by cultural refitters Brand X on a three-year term, with local government authority signing a 99-year lease for the site at a rate of $1 p.
Spread over five stories, the City of Sydney Creative Studios will be able to accommodate dancers, musicians, digital creatives, visual artists, and film and theatre makers when it opens next year.
Features include two double-height rehearsal spaces; five soundproof recording and rehearsal studies; production and editing suites; wet-dry creative studios; and artist-in-residence apartment with an attached creative studio; administration and meeting spaces; dressing rooms and storerooms; and a cafe in the lobby.
As part of a voluntary planning agreement between the City of Sydney and developer Greenland Australia, the facility will be operated by cultural refitters Brand X on a three-year term, with local government authority signing a 99-year lease for the site at a rate of $1 p.
- 9/24/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Hugh Sheridan and Blake Northfield.
Back to the Rafters and Five Bedrooms star Hugh Sheridan plans to make his feature writing and directing debut on The Dance, a coming-of-age drama which follows a teenager who fulfills his dream of joining the Australian Ballet School.
Produced by Bronte Pictures’ Blake Northfield, the film will explore love, death, sexuality, drugs and loneliness set in the highly competitive world of theatre.
As a graduate of Nida, Vca and the Australian Ballet School, Sheridan says he could have set the story within any of these schools. He chose the Ballet School because he believes dancers are the most underrated athletes and artists in Australia.
“Writing The Dance has been an extremely cathartic experience for me and it was ultimately Covid lockdown that allowed me the time to pen a story that I’d had in me for many years,” says the actor/musician whose credits include House Husbands,...
Back to the Rafters and Five Bedrooms star Hugh Sheridan plans to make his feature writing and directing debut on The Dance, a coming-of-age drama which follows a teenager who fulfills his dream of joining the Australian Ballet School.
Produced by Bronte Pictures’ Blake Northfield, the film will explore love, death, sexuality, drugs and loneliness set in the highly competitive world of theatre.
As a graduate of Nida, Vca and the Australian Ballet School, Sheridan says he could have set the story within any of these schools. He chose the Ballet School because he believes dancers are the most underrated athletes and artists in Australia.
“Writing The Dance has been an extremely cathartic experience for me and it was ultimately Covid lockdown that allowed me the time to pen a story that I’d had in me for many years,” says the actor/musician whose credits include House Husbands,...
- 9/15/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Australian actors, producers, writers, directors and crew members have slammed the Federal Government’s decision to deny access to the JobKeeper wage subsidy to freelancers and other casual workers.
Meanwhile already stressed exhibitors are worried about having to cash flow payments to workers until they are reimbursed by the government, so some of their staff will miss out and have to claim the JobSeeker payment.
The legislation was passed by the Senate late last night after amendments by Labour and the Greens to provide a support package for the arts and entertainment sector, most of whose workers are ineligible, were defeated.
The Meaa said tens of thousands of freelance and casual performers and crew – and many of their employers – will not get the $1,500 per fortnight wage subsidy.
“Freelance employees and many loyal casuals will – without urgent changes to the JobKeeper rules, be at least $200 a week worse off. For those...
Meanwhile already stressed exhibitors are worried about having to cash flow payments to workers until they are reimbursed by the government, so some of their staff will miss out and have to claim the JobSeeker payment.
The legislation was passed by the Senate late last night after amendments by Labour and the Greens to provide a support package for the arts and entertainment sector, most of whose workers are ineligible, were defeated.
The Meaa said tens of thousands of freelance and casual performers and crew – and many of their employers – will not get the $1,500 per fortnight wage subsidy.
“Freelance employees and many loyal casuals will – without urgent changes to the JobKeeper rules, be at least $200 a week worse off. For those...
- 4/9/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Blake Northfield and Heath Davis.
Writer-director Heath Davis and Bronte Pictures’ Blake Northfield are teaming up for Blood Red Sky, a feature inspired by the Australian bushfire crisis.
The pair intends to donate 25 per cent of the film’s profits to the rural fire services in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
Due to shoot in Nsw and Queensland late this year, the narrative will follow a motley crew of volunteer firefighters and courageous locals who must overcome their personal and political differences when a bushfire threatens their picturesque country town.
Northfield aims to raise the budget from government agencies and international partners. Greg Apps will come on board as casting director. “We have very high expectations on cast,” says the producer, whose credits include Storm Ashwood’s thrillers The School and Escape and Evasion.
Rejecting any suggestion that the public has witnessed more than enough devastation either in person or on television,...
Writer-director Heath Davis and Bronte Pictures’ Blake Northfield are teaming up for Blood Red Sky, a feature inspired by the Australian bushfire crisis.
The pair intends to donate 25 per cent of the film’s profits to the rural fire services in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
Due to shoot in Nsw and Queensland late this year, the narrative will follow a motley crew of volunteer firefighters and courageous locals who must overcome their personal and political differences when a bushfire threatens their picturesque country town.
Northfield aims to raise the budget from government agencies and international partners. Greg Apps will come on board as casting director. “We have very high expectations on cast,” says the producer, whose credits include Storm Ashwood’s thrillers The School and Escape and Evasion.
Rejecting any suggestion that the public has witnessed more than enough devastation either in person or on television,...
- 1/16/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Locusts will screen at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar) Thursday, Nov 14 at 9:30pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival.. Ticket information can be found Here
In “Locusts,” a dark thriller set in Australia’s Outback, estranged tech entrepreneur Ryan Black returns to his desert hometown — the ironically named Serenity Crossing — for his father’s funeral. Ryan is reluctantly reunited with his ex-con brother, and the pair soon becomes the target of an extortion scam at the hands of desperate criminal associates of their reprobate dad. The Aussie movie site FilmInk writes: “Boasting a tight and twisting script and stunning imagery, ‘Locusts’ is the kind of film that we don’t see nearly enough of in Australia: a classy crime B-movie in the style of John Dahl or (early) James Foley. It’s elevated even further, however, by the stellar performances. Ben Geurens is totally empathetic as the harried hero,...
In “Locusts,” a dark thriller set in Australia’s Outback, estranged tech entrepreneur Ryan Black returns to his desert hometown — the ironically named Serenity Crossing — for his father’s funeral. Ryan is reluctantly reunited with his ex-con brother, and the pair soon becomes the target of an extortion scam at the hands of desperate criminal associates of their reprobate dad. The Aussie movie site FilmInk writes: “Boasting a tight and twisting script and stunning imagery, ‘Locusts’ is the kind of film that we don’t see nearly enough of in Australia: a classy crime B-movie in the style of John Dahl or (early) James Foley. It’s elevated even further, however, by the stellar performances. Ben Geurens is totally empathetic as the harried hero,...
- 11/14/2019
- by Michael Haffner
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale tops the nominations pool for film at this year’s Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (Aacta).
The thriller, which debuted at Venice last year where it won a special jury prize, picked up 15 nods including best film and best direction.
Australian actor Damon Herriman is up for supporting actor for his role in The Nightingale, and also lead actor for his performance in Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch, which picked up a total of nine nominations including best film.
Herriman is also nominated twice on the TV side for roles in Lambs Of God and Mr Inbetween and has now become the Aacta record holder for the most nominations across performance categories. The actor is having a banner 2019, having also played Charles Manson in both Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and the Netflix series Mindhunter this year.
Tied...
The thriller, which debuted at Venice last year where it won a special jury prize, picked up 15 nods including best film and best direction.
Australian actor Damon Herriman is up for supporting actor for his role in The Nightingale, and also lead actor for his performance in Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch, which picked up a total of nine nominations including best film.
Herriman is also nominated twice on the TV side for roles in Lambs Of God and Mr Inbetween and has now become the Aacta record holder for the most nominations across performance categories. The actor is having a banner 2019, having also played Charles Manson in both Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and the Netflix series Mindhunter this year.
Tied...
- 10/23/2019
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Lambs of God’.
Lingo Pictures’ four-part TV drama Lambs of God has collected an unprecedented 18 Aacta Award nominations, while Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale leads in film with 15 nods.
The Australian Academy revealed the full list of nominees for the annual awards today, with almost 60 to be presented across two events in Sydney in six weeks time.
Some 15 films are up for awards, though four dominate almost every category: Kent’s revenge tale, Anthony Maras’ debut feature Hotel Mumbai and David Michôd’s Netflix-backed The King, which each received 13 nominations, and Mirrah Foulkes’ dark comedy Judy & Punch, which earned nine. Each is nominated for Best Film alongside Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like A Girl and Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding.
Up in the Best Indie Film category (budgeted under $2 million) are Thomas M. Wright’s Acute Misfortune, Heath Davis’ Book Week, Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy, Imogen Thomas’ Emu...
Lingo Pictures’ four-part TV drama Lambs of God has collected an unprecedented 18 Aacta Award nominations, while Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale leads in film with 15 nods.
The Australian Academy revealed the full list of nominees for the annual awards today, with almost 60 to be presented across two events in Sydney in six weeks time.
Some 15 films are up for awards, though four dominate almost every category: Kent’s revenge tale, Anthony Maras’ debut feature Hotel Mumbai and David Michôd’s Netflix-backed The King, which each received 13 nominations, and Mirrah Foulkes’ dark comedy Judy & Punch, which earned nine. Each is nominated for Best Film alongside Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like A Girl and Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding.
Up in the Best Indie Film category (budgeted under $2 million) are Thomas M. Wright’s Acute Misfortune, Heath Davis’ Book Week, Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy, Imogen Thomas’ Emu...
- 10/22/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Ben Geurens in ‘Locusts.’
Typifying the challenges facing the vast majority of Australian films, Heath Davis’ suspense-drama Locusts and Partho Sen-Gupta’s thriller Slam were released on a handful of screens last weekend.
Working with limited marketing budgets the distributors and producers relied primarily on reviews and publicity, and the weekend figures were commensurately modest.
Ben Geurens and Nathaniel Dean play estranged brothers who are the targets of an extortion racket in Locusts, which grossed $11,000 on 11 screens and $14,000 with previews.
Film Ink Presents is handling the theatrical release of the privately-financed film, which co-stars Jessica McNamee, Steve Le Marquand, Justin Rosniak, Andy McPhee, the late Damian Hill and Alan Dukes, while Jonathan Page’s Bonsai Films will sell the ancillary rights.
“It’s difficult for independent films to secure screens and marketing exposure,” Angus Watts, who produced and wrote Locusts, tells If. “We’re happy with the support from exhibitors...
Typifying the challenges facing the vast majority of Australian films, Heath Davis’ suspense-drama Locusts and Partho Sen-Gupta’s thriller Slam were released on a handful of screens last weekend.
Working with limited marketing budgets the distributors and producers relied primarily on reviews and publicity, and the weekend figures were commensurately modest.
Ben Geurens and Nathaniel Dean play estranged brothers who are the targets of an extortion racket in Locusts, which grossed $11,000 on 11 screens and $14,000 with previews.
Film Ink Presents is handling the theatrical release of the privately-financed film, which co-stars Jessica McNamee, Steve Le Marquand, Justin Rosniak, Andy McPhee, the late Damian Hill and Alan Dukes, while Jonathan Page’s Bonsai Films will sell the ancillary rights.
“It’s difficult for independent films to secure screens and marketing exposure,” Angus Watts, who produced and wrote Locusts, tells If. “We’re happy with the support from exhibitors...
- 10/21/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Top End Wedding’, ‘Hearts and Bones’ and ‘The King’ are among the 34 longlisted films.
Some 34 feature films will compete for nominations for this year’s Aacta Awards, and the longlist covers a diverse range of titles, from box office earners like Top End Wedding and Storm Boy, through to critically lauded films like The Nightingale and micro budget indies such as Suburban Wildlife.
However, perhaps the most notable inclusion in the longlist is David Michôd’s Netflix Original The King, which premiered at Venice Film Festival last week to an eight-minute standing ovation.
Typically, to be eligible for Aacta Awards, a film – even when made for a streaming platform – must have paid cinema screenings in Australia or local festival play.
Aacta has made an exception for The King, which is not due to play in Australian cinemas or in festivals before its release on Netflix later this year, because of...
Some 34 feature films will compete for nominations for this year’s Aacta Awards, and the longlist covers a diverse range of titles, from box office earners like Top End Wedding and Storm Boy, through to critically lauded films like The Nightingale and micro budget indies such as Suburban Wildlife.
However, perhaps the most notable inclusion in the longlist is David Michôd’s Netflix Original The King, which premiered at Venice Film Festival last week to an eight-minute standing ovation.
Typically, to be eligible for Aacta Awards, a film – even when made for a streaming platform – must have paid cinema screenings in Australia or local festival play.
Aacta has made an exception for The King, which is not due to play in Australian cinemas or in festivals before its release on Netflix later this year, because of...
- 9/10/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Justin Rosniak in ‘Les Norton’ (Photo: Tony Mott).
Justin Rosniak has been cast as crooks and other wayward types so often in his career he is relishing the opportunity to play more upstanding characters.
“There is not a lot of diversity in characters in Australia so once you get locked into something, some people only see you as one thing,” he tells If. “I often long to get to show my range a bit more, or a softer side.
“So it’s been good that in the last couple of years I have started to get roles that push me in other directions and allow me to add a few different layers.”
In the second season of Mr Inbetween, the comedy/drama created by and starring Scott Ryan as criminal-for-hire Ray Shoesmith, he gets the chance to show a different side to his character Gary, Ray’s best friend.
“Gary...
Justin Rosniak has been cast as crooks and other wayward types so often in his career he is relishing the opportunity to play more upstanding characters.
“There is not a lot of diversity in characters in Australia so once you get locked into something, some people only see you as one thing,” he tells If. “I often long to get to show my range a bit more, or a softer side.
“So it’s been good that in the last couple of years I have started to get roles that push me in other directions and allow me to add a few different layers.”
In the second season of Mr Inbetween, the comedy/drama created by and starring Scott Ryan as criminal-for-hire Ray Shoesmith, he gets the chance to show a different side to his character Gary, Ray’s best friend.
“Gary...
- 8/26/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Rose Riley (L) and Emma Harvie in ‘Diary of an Uber Driver.’
Rose Riley is getting ready to have her first crack at Hollywood amid the most successful year of her career since graduating from Waapa in 2013.
This week the actor is heading to the Us for the first time for meetings with producers, casting directors and other players set up by her Us agent, Authentic Talent & Literary Management’s Jessica Morgulis.
Rose met Morgulis when the agent visited Sydney, arranged by her Oz rep United Management, before she started work in Stateless, the six-part ABC drama about four strangers in an immigration detention centre in the Australian desert, co-created by Cate Blanchett, Tony Ayres and Elise McCredie.
“I will always be very passionate about Australian stories and Australian cinema, TV and theatre but working overseas would be a total dream; ideally I will find a balance,” she tells If.
Rose Riley is getting ready to have her first crack at Hollywood amid the most successful year of her career since graduating from Waapa in 2013.
This week the actor is heading to the Us for the first time for meetings with producers, casting directors and other players set up by her Us agent, Authentic Talent & Literary Management’s Jessica Morgulis.
Rose met Morgulis when the agent visited Sydney, arranged by her Oz rep United Management, before she started work in Stateless, the six-part ABC drama about four strangers in an immigration detention centre in the Australian desert, co-created by Cate Blanchett, Tony Ayres and Elise McCredie.
“I will always be very passionate about Australian stories and Australian cinema, TV and theatre but working overseas would be a total dream; ideally I will find a balance,” she tells If.
- 8/19/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Cannes-based Fizz-e-Motion, headed by Yannick Rudynski and Luke Corradine, has picked up sales rights to Australian crime thriller “Locusts.”
Directed by Heath Davis, the film stars Ben Geurens (“Reign”) and Jessica McNamee, and is produced and written by Angus Watts.
The pic centers on tech entrepreneur Ryan Black, who returns to his remote hometown for his father’s funeral. Old family tensions are reignited as he’s reunited with his wise-cracking ex-con brother. When Ryan becomes the target of an extortion scam at the hands of desperate criminals, he is forced to resort to extreme measures.
The film, which is being distributed in Australia by Bonsai Films, won best film, cinematography, supporting actor (Justin Rosniak) and producer at the Cult Critic Magazine Awards. It screened at the Gold Coast Film Festival and Newport Beach Film Festival.
Fizz-e-Motion’s titles include Swiss drama/comedy “The Edelweiss Revolution,” directed by Frederic Baillif...
Directed by Heath Davis, the film stars Ben Geurens (“Reign”) and Jessica McNamee, and is produced and written by Angus Watts.
The pic centers on tech entrepreneur Ryan Black, who returns to his remote hometown for his father’s funeral. Old family tensions are reignited as he’s reunited with his wise-cracking ex-con brother. When Ryan becomes the target of an extortion scam at the hands of desperate criminals, he is forced to resort to extreme measures.
The film, which is being distributed in Australia by Bonsai Films, won best film, cinematography, supporting actor (Justin Rosniak) and producer at the Cult Critic Magazine Awards. It screened at the Gold Coast Film Festival and Newport Beach Film Festival.
Fizz-e-Motion’s titles include Swiss drama/comedy “The Edelweiss Revolution,” directed by Frederic Baillif...
- 8/5/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
‘Maybe Tomorrow’.
A comedy drama that depicts the juggle of filmmaking and parenthood, Maybe Tomorrow, took home the prize for best independent film at the Gold Coast Film Festival yesterday evening.
Judged by members of the Australian Film Critics Association, the Blackmagic Design Best Australian Independent Film Award gifts Melbourne directors Caitlin Farrugia and Michael Jones $10,000 worth of Blackmagic equipment and software.
Other films nominated in the category, which recognises features made without significant screen agency funding, were Heath Davis’ Locusts, Tony D’Aquino’s The Furies and Imogen Thomas’ Emu Runner.
Maybe Tomorrow, which stars Tegan Crowley and Vateresio Tuikaba as new parents making a self-funded feature film, makes its world premiere at Gold Coast Film Festival this evening.
Farrugia and Jones were presented the award at the Gcff’s inaugural Screen Industry Gala Awards, held at Movie World.
The night also saw actress Sigrid Thornton presented the Chauvel Award,...
A comedy drama that depicts the juggle of filmmaking and parenthood, Maybe Tomorrow, took home the prize for best independent film at the Gold Coast Film Festival yesterday evening.
Judged by members of the Australian Film Critics Association, the Blackmagic Design Best Australian Independent Film Award gifts Melbourne directors Caitlin Farrugia and Michael Jones $10,000 worth of Blackmagic equipment and software.
Other films nominated in the category, which recognises features made without significant screen agency funding, were Heath Davis’ Locusts, Tony D’Aquino’s The Furies and Imogen Thomas’ Emu Runner.
Maybe Tomorrow, which stars Tegan Crowley and Vateresio Tuikaba as new parents making a self-funded feature film, makes its world premiere at Gold Coast Film Festival this evening.
Farrugia and Jones were presented the award at the Gcff’s inaugural Screen Industry Gala Awards, held at Movie World.
The night also saw actress Sigrid Thornton presented the Chauvel Award,...
- 4/5/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Escape and Evasion’.
The Gold Coast Film Festival will open in early April with the Australian premiere of Damon Gameau’s 2040, and close with the world premiere of Storm Ashwood’s war film Escape and Evasion.
Good Thing Productions’ 2040 comes to the festival from its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it screened as part of the Kplus section of the Generation program. Gameau will walk the red carpet, and the screening will be followed by a Q&A.
Escape and Evasion, produced by Blake Northfield for Bronte Pictures, was filmed on the Gold Coast in the Currumbin Valley. It explores the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on a lone surviving soldier.
The Gold Coast Film Festival will this year screen some 107 films over 12 days, with three world premieres and 10 Australian premieres.
Among the other world premieres are Caitlin Farrugia and Michael Jones’ comedy drama Maybe Tomorrow,...
The Gold Coast Film Festival will open in early April with the Australian premiere of Damon Gameau’s 2040, and close with the world premiere of Storm Ashwood’s war film Escape and Evasion.
Good Thing Productions’ 2040 comes to the festival from its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it screened as part of the Kplus section of the Generation program. Gameau will walk the red carpet, and the screening will be followed by a Q&A.
Escape and Evasion, produced by Blake Northfield for Bronte Pictures, was filmed on the Gold Coast in the Currumbin Valley. It explores the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on a lone surviving soldier.
The Gold Coast Film Festival will this year screen some 107 films over 12 days, with three world premieres and 10 Australian premieres.
Among the other world premieres are Caitlin Farrugia and Michael Jones’ comedy drama Maybe Tomorrow,...
- 3/1/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Innuendo’
Producer-exhibitor Blake Northfield and filmmaker-actor Saara Lamberg had never met until they joined Cinegar Bar, the new independent filmmakers co-operative founded by Heath Davis.
It was a fortuitous meeting for both as Northfield agreed to screen Innuendo, the Finnish-Australian’s debut feature as a director, at his Byron Bay cinema Pighouse Flicks.
In the psychological thriller she plays Tuuli, a nude art class model who moves to Melbourne from Finland and endures a string of broken relationships. Andy Jans-Brown plays Lucky, whose friendship with Tuuli goes sour, with Andy Hazel as Thomas, a sensitive uni student and Brendan Bacon as charismatic chainsaw sculptor Ben.
It will premiere at Pighouse Flicks on March 15 with a Q&A session attended by Lamberg and Jans-Brown, and will play for at least a week.
Distributed by Umbrella Entertainment, the film screened last year at Melbourne’s Cinema Nova, has been released on VOD and played on 9Gem.
Producer-exhibitor Blake Northfield and filmmaker-actor Saara Lamberg had never met until they joined Cinegar Bar, the new independent filmmakers co-operative founded by Heath Davis.
It was a fortuitous meeting for both as Northfield agreed to screen Innuendo, the Finnish-Australian’s debut feature as a director, at his Byron Bay cinema Pighouse Flicks.
In the psychological thriller she plays Tuuli, a nude art class model who moves to Melbourne from Finland and endures a string of broken relationships. Andy Jans-Brown plays Lucky, whose friendship with Tuuli goes sour, with Andy Hazel as Thomas, a sensitive uni student and Brendan Bacon as charismatic chainsaw sculptor Ben.
It will premiere at Pighouse Flicks on March 15 with a Q&A session attended by Lamberg and Jans-Brown, and will play for at least a week.
Distributed by Umbrella Entertainment, the film screened last year at Melbourne’s Cinema Nova, has been released on VOD and played on 9Gem.
- 2/24/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Jessica McNamee stars in Heath Davis’ ‘Locusts’.
Far fewer directors in Australia get the chance to make their second feature, or more, than the global average.
According to a new, ground-breaking study of worldwide trends by UK analyst Stephen Follows, while 63.5 per cent of directors have one feature film credit, 36.5 per cent made a second feature.
Just 8.6 per cent directed more than five and only 0.1 per cent have more than 20 feature credits.
By comparison, Screen Australia’s most recent research found 62 per cent of directors had one credit in the five years to June 2017 and 44 of the 144 surveyed – 19 per cent – had made a second feature.
Broken down by gender, that equated to 42 male directors (22 per cent) and just two women (6 per cent). Some 8 per cent had three credits, 4 per cent had four and 7 per cent had 5-plus.
(Source: stephenfollows.com)
To be fair, Screen Australia’s research is a relatively...
Far fewer directors in Australia get the chance to make their second feature, or more, than the global average.
According to a new, ground-breaking study of worldwide trends by UK analyst Stephen Follows, while 63.5 per cent of directors have one feature film credit, 36.5 per cent made a second feature.
Just 8.6 per cent directed more than five and only 0.1 per cent have more than 20 feature credits.
By comparison, Screen Australia’s most recent research found 62 per cent of directors had one credit in the five years to June 2017 and 44 of the 144 surveyed – 19 per cent – had made a second feature.
Broken down by gender, that equated to 42 male directors (22 per cent) and just two women (6 per cent). Some 8 per cent had three credits, 4 per cent had four and 7 per cent had 5-plus.
(Source: stephenfollows.com)
To be fair, Screen Australia’s research is a relatively...
- 2/20/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Heath Davis.
A newly formed indie filmmakers co-operative will meet monthly in Sydney and plans to expand to a Melbourne chapter.
Around 15 directors attended the inaugural meeting of the group which was convened by Heath Davis and is named Cinegar Bar in Sydney last Thursday.
Among the ideas canvassed were making films as a collective and staging festivals or other screenings of Australian films.
“Our main aim is to create and control our own content and to support each other’s films,” Davis tells If. “We all acknowledge there is a crisis point in Oz cinema and we all have the same war stories.
“We have to find ways to ensure directors are treated better financially. I know some who spent a year on a film and had to reinvest their fees so they were paid zero.”
Among the attendees at the The ArtHouse Hotel in Sydney’s Cbd were Dean Francis,...
A newly formed indie filmmakers co-operative will meet monthly in Sydney and plans to expand to a Melbourne chapter.
Around 15 directors attended the inaugural meeting of the group which was convened by Heath Davis and is named Cinegar Bar in Sydney last Thursday.
Among the ideas canvassed were making films as a collective and staging festivals or other screenings of Australian films.
“Our main aim is to create and control our own content and to support each other’s films,” Davis tells If. “We all acknowledge there is a crisis point in Oz cinema and we all have the same war stories.
“We have to find ways to ensure directors are treated better financially. I know some who spent a year on a film and had to reinvest their fees so they were paid zero.”
Among the attendees at the The ArtHouse Hotel in Sydney’s Cbd were Dean Francis,...
- 2/4/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Heath Davis (L) on the set of ‘Locusts.’
Seventy Australian filmmakers have joined a co-operative aimed at supporting each other’s work and fostering awareness of Aussie films.
The initiative is the brainchild of writer-director Heath Davis, who made his debut with Broke, followed by Book Week and, due to open later this year, suspense drama Locusts.
The group started coalescing before Christmas and rapidly gained members among established directors as well as those with one or two features under their belt. The working title is Cinegar Bar (a play on a cigar bar that Davis used to frequent in Vancouver).
He had the idea after talking to veteran cinematographer John Seale, who told him that when he started out, all the DPs knew and supported each other and formed lasting friendships.
Davis contrasted that camaraderie with the current environment for writers-directors, where it is largely a case of ‘every...
Seventy Australian filmmakers have joined a co-operative aimed at supporting each other’s work and fostering awareness of Aussie films.
The initiative is the brainchild of writer-director Heath Davis, who made his debut with Broke, followed by Book Week and, due to open later this year, suspense drama Locusts.
The group started coalescing before Christmas and rapidly gained members among established directors as well as those with one or two features under their belt. The working title is Cinegar Bar (a play on a cigar bar that Davis used to frequent in Vancouver).
He had the idea after talking to veteran cinematographer John Seale, who told him that when he started out, all the DPs knew and supported each other and formed lasting friendships.
Davis contrasted that camaraderie with the current environment for writers-directors, where it is largely a case of ‘every...
- 1/6/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Jolene Anderson.
Former All Saints and Home and Away star Jolene Anderson is playing a key role in the second series of Hoodlum Entertainment’s Harrow, which is now shooting in Brisbane.
Ioan Gruffudd returns as the brilliant but flawed forensic pathologist Dr Daniel Harrow in the show created by Stephen Irwin and Leigh McGrath, alongside Robyn Malcolm, Darren Gilshenan, Hunter Page-Lochard, Ella Newton, Damien Garvey and Anna Lise Phillips. Missing is Mirrah Foulkes, who played Soraya Dass, Harrow’s love interest, in the first series.
Anderson is Harrow’s new colleague, a forensic pathologist named Grace, in the crime drama commissioned by the ABC and ABC Studios International.
Catherine Millar, Peter Andrikidis, Grant Brown, Geoff Bennett and Declan Eames are directing the 10-episode series scripted by Irwin, McGrath and Michaeley O’Brien and produced by Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield.
After his near-fatal shooting in the last episode, Harrow...
Former All Saints and Home and Away star Jolene Anderson is playing a key role in the second series of Hoodlum Entertainment’s Harrow, which is now shooting in Brisbane.
Ioan Gruffudd returns as the brilliant but flawed forensic pathologist Dr Daniel Harrow in the show created by Stephen Irwin and Leigh McGrath, alongside Robyn Malcolm, Darren Gilshenan, Hunter Page-Lochard, Ella Newton, Damien Garvey and Anna Lise Phillips. Missing is Mirrah Foulkes, who played Soraya Dass, Harrow’s love interest, in the first series.
Anderson is Harrow’s new colleague, a forensic pathologist named Grace, in the crime drama commissioned by the ABC and ABC Studios International.
Catherine Millar, Peter Andrikidis, Grant Brown, Geoff Bennett and Declan Eames are directing the 10-episode series scripted by Irwin, McGrath and Michaeley O’Brien and produced by Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield.
After his near-fatal shooting in the last episode, Harrow...
- 11/28/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Photo: Warner Bros).
Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts sequel worked its magic on moviegoers last weekend, ringing up $253.6 million worldwide as the Australian opening outshone the Us debut.
It was a buoyant frame in Oz, boosted by Trafalgar Releasing’s Burn the Stage: The Movie, while another alternate content release, Rialto’s Spitfire was less successful.
The Old Man & the Gun, which could be Robert Redford’s final screen role, is playing on limited screens in the Us but went out far wider here via eOne with modest results.
Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black reached $11.7 million after earning $74,000 in its ninth frame for Sony Pictures. Meanwhile Catherine Scott’s Backtrack Boys has generated $104,000 and Heath Davis’ comedy-drama Book Week has collected $34,000.
Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes, stole a respectable $52,000 on 15 screens and $161,000 including festival screenings and previews for Rialto.
Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts sequel worked its magic on moviegoers last weekend, ringing up $253.6 million worldwide as the Australian opening outshone the Us debut.
It was a buoyant frame in Oz, boosted by Trafalgar Releasing’s Burn the Stage: The Movie, while another alternate content release, Rialto’s Spitfire was less successful.
The Old Man & the Gun, which could be Robert Redford’s final screen role, is playing on limited screens in the Us but went out far wider here via eOne with modest results.
Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black reached $11.7 million after earning $74,000 in its ninth frame for Sony Pictures. Meanwhile Catherine Scott’s Backtrack Boys has generated $104,000 and Heath Davis’ comedy-drama Book Week has collected $34,000.
Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes, stole a respectable $52,000 on 15 screens and $161,000 including festival screenings and previews for Rialto.
- 11/19/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
After support for his projects repeatedly fell through, Book Week director Heath Davis had to come back from a ‘dark place’
Heath Davis pulled over on Sunset Boulevard to sob about his failed film career. Then he flew back to Sydney to teach high school English.
“It’s hard to live life accepting your dream’s never gonna come true,” he says.
Heath Davis pulled over on Sunset Boulevard to sob about his failed film career. Then he flew back to Sydney to teach high school English.
“It’s hard to live life accepting your dream’s never gonna come true,” he says.
- 10/29/2018
- by Simon Miraudo
- The Guardian - Film News
‘Backtrack Boys.’
Russell Crowe last week urged his 2.73 million Twitter followers to see Backtrack Boys in cinemas, lauding Catherine Scott’s feature documentary as really special and a great story.
A reasonable number of Crowe’s followers did so as Umbrella Entertainment launched the film as an alternate content release, which means exhibitors have the flexibility to run limited sessions.
Meanwhile writer-director Heath Davis’ drama Book Week began its staggered roll-out on eight screens via Bonsai Films.
Backtrack Boys examines a youth program run by rule-breaking jackaroo Bernie Shakeshaft (hailed by Crowe as a “good fella and a bit of a genius”) on the outskirts of Armidale Nsw. Voted as the top feature documentary at the Melbourne International Film Festival, the film collected $24,000 from one session on Saturday and Sunday on 44 screens, and $56,000 including festival screenings.
This opens theatrically in Australia on Thursday.
It’s really special.
Go and see it.
Russell Crowe last week urged his 2.73 million Twitter followers to see Backtrack Boys in cinemas, lauding Catherine Scott’s feature documentary as really special and a great story.
A reasonable number of Crowe’s followers did so as Umbrella Entertainment launched the film as an alternate content release, which means exhibitors have the flexibility to run limited sessions.
Meanwhile writer-director Heath Davis’ drama Book Week began its staggered roll-out on eight screens via Bonsai Films.
Backtrack Boys examines a youth program run by rule-breaking jackaroo Bernie Shakeshaft (hailed by Crowe as a “good fella and a bit of a genius”) on the outskirts of Armidale Nsw. Voted as the top feature documentary at the Melbourne International Film Festival, the film collected $24,000 from one session on Saturday and Sunday on 44 screens, and $56,000 including festival screenings.
This opens theatrically in Australia on Thursday.
It’s really special.
Go and see it.
- 10/28/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Book Week’ did not qualify for the Offset.
Eleven years since the introduction of the Producer Offset (Po), Screen Australia has expressed concern about an increase in applications for feature films that have unreasonably high fees.
A big proportion of those fees is being reinvested in the belief that will meet the criteria for qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape).
The legislation limits the amount that can be claimed as Qape on above-the-line fees to 20 per cent of total film expenditure .
“Alarm bells are ringing at the growth in films that set out on this trajectory having unreasonably high fees,” the agency, which administers the concession via the Producer Offset and Co-production Unit (Pocu), warned this week.
“If the budget has been inflated because of the high level of fees due to re-investments the 20 per cent cap becomes less of a guide when assessing arm’s length.
“Reinvestments seem to be...
Eleven years since the introduction of the Producer Offset (Po), Screen Australia has expressed concern about an increase in applications for feature films that have unreasonably high fees.
A big proportion of those fees is being reinvested in the belief that will meet the criteria for qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape).
The legislation limits the amount that can be claimed as Qape on above-the-line fees to 20 per cent of total film expenditure .
“Alarm bells are ringing at the growth in films that set out on this trajectory having unreasonably high fees,” the agency, which administers the concession via the Producer Offset and Co-production Unit (Pocu), warned this week.
“If the budget has been inflated because of the high level of fees due to re-investments the 20 per cent cap becomes less of a guide when assessing arm’s length.
“Reinvestments seem to be...
- 10/25/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Steve Le Marquand on the set of Heath Davis' Broke.
Four features have been added to the Aacta awards longlist: Michael Petroni's Backtrack, Heath Davis' Broke, Grant Scicluna's Downriver and Craig Boreham's Teenage Kicks.
They join previously announced films A Few Less Men, A Month of Sundays, Beast, Boys in the Trees, Down Under, Early Winter, Embedded, Girl Asleep, Gods of Egypt, Goldstone, Hacksaw Ridge, Joe Cinque's Consolation, Looking for Grace, Pawno, Red Billabong, Scare Campaign, Spear, Spin Out, Spirit of the Game, Sucker, Tanna, The Daughter, The Menkoff Method and Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead.
The additions bring the number of features competing for this year.s Aacta Awards to 28: a record.
.It.s wonderful to see such engagement from the Australian screen industry this year,. said AFI-Aacta CEO Damian Trewhella. .We.ve recently broken a number of records, with more films...
Four features have been added to the Aacta awards longlist: Michael Petroni's Backtrack, Heath Davis' Broke, Grant Scicluna's Downriver and Craig Boreham's Teenage Kicks.
They join previously announced films A Few Less Men, A Month of Sundays, Beast, Boys in the Trees, Down Under, Early Winter, Embedded, Girl Asleep, Gods of Egypt, Goldstone, Hacksaw Ridge, Joe Cinque's Consolation, Looking for Grace, Pawno, Red Billabong, Scare Campaign, Spear, Spin Out, Spirit of the Game, Sucker, Tanna, The Daughter, The Menkoff Method and Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead.
The additions bring the number of features competing for this year.s Aacta Awards to 28: a record.
.It.s wonderful to see such engagement from the Australian screen industry this year,. said AFI-Aacta CEO Damian Trewhella. .We.ve recently broken a number of records, with more films...
- 8/21/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Steve Le Marquand in Broke.
The 14th annual Gold Coast Film Festival will screen Australian features Spear, Broke, A Month of Sundays, Girl Asleep, Crushed, Observance and The Hunters Club, and play host to guests including Reg Cribb, David Stratton, Claudia Karvan and Gracie Otto.
Director Stephen Page will also make his debut at the fest..
Page and his leading man (and son) Hunter Page-Lochard, star of the upcoming ABC-tv series Cleverman, will attend a screening of Spear, followed by a Q&A session.
The team behind Broke - director Heath Davis, producer Luke Graham and actors Steve Le Marquand and Max Cullen - will attend the film's Queensland premiere.
The film follows the story of disgraced rugby league star and gambling addict, Ben .Bk. Kelly, who attempts to turn his life around with the support of his two biggest fans..
Writer Reg Cribb (Last Cab to Darwin) will attend...
The 14th annual Gold Coast Film Festival will screen Australian features Spear, Broke, A Month of Sundays, Girl Asleep, Crushed, Observance and The Hunters Club, and play host to guests including Reg Cribb, David Stratton, Claudia Karvan and Gracie Otto.
Director Stephen Page will also make his debut at the fest..
Page and his leading man (and son) Hunter Page-Lochard, star of the upcoming ABC-tv series Cleverman, will attend a screening of Spear, followed by a Q&A session.
The team behind Broke - director Heath Davis, producer Luke Graham and actors Steve Le Marquand and Max Cullen - will attend the film's Queensland premiere.
The film follows the story of disgraced rugby league star and gambling addict, Ben .Bk. Kelly, who attempts to turn his life around with the support of his two biggest fans..
Writer Reg Cribb (Last Cab to Darwin) will attend...
- 3/7/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
First-time writer/director Hugh Sullivan.s time travel comedy The Infinite Man opened at four cinemas- Dendy Newton, Melbourne.s Cinema Nova, Perth.s Cinema Paradiso and Adelaide.s Palace Nova Eastend- last Thursday.
The four-day gross is $10,640, which is in addition to the $21,000 generated by screenings at the Melbourne International Film Festival, CineféstOZ and the Dungog fest.
Executive producer Jonathan Page said, .It.s a good start and points to a new model of releasing smaller films, focussing on a few targeted sites and keeping costs low. I think The Infinite Man is building a cult following and will be watched on other platforms, so if we can make a bit of noise and a bit of money at the cinema then we are on track..
Produced by Hedone Productions. Kate Croser and Sandy Cameron, the film stars Josh McConville, Hannah Marshall and Alex Dimitriades in the tale of...
The four-day gross is $10,640, which is in addition to the $21,000 generated by screenings at the Melbourne International Film Festival, CineféstOZ and the Dungog fest.
Executive producer Jonathan Page said, .It.s a good start and points to a new model of releasing smaller films, focussing on a few targeted sites and keeping costs low. I think The Infinite Man is building a cult following and will be watched on other platforms, so if we can make a bit of noise and a bit of money at the cinema then we are on track..
Produced by Hedone Productions. Kate Croser and Sandy Cameron, the film stars Josh McConville, Hannah Marshall and Alex Dimitriades in the tale of...
- 9/22/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Australian producers increasingly are looking to international co-productions as one solution to the difficulty of raising finance at home.
Producers say the .soft. money available for co-pros with Canada and Europe will help to compensate for the very low minimum guarantees offered by Australian distributors.
Another advantage, they say, is the improved chances of securing marquee cast for films shot in part or completely in Canada and Europe.
. With the collapse of distribution windows, online communication, and the competitiveness of getting soft money out of Australia, producers are becoming more savvy in financing their films with global partners especially as we are telling more global, universally themed stories,. says producer Raquelle David, who is developing the futuristic thriller Lucid as a co-pro.
Producer Matthew Dabner aims to shoot Seasons Pass, a comedy scripted by Heath Davis about an Australian ski instructor who goes to the Canadian snowfields where he is...
Producers say the .soft. money available for co-pros with Canada and Europe will help to compensate for the very low minimum guarantees offered by Australian distributors.
Another advantage, they say, is the improved chances of securing marquee cast for films shot in part or completely in Canada and Europe.
. With the collapse of distribution windows, online communication, and the competitiveness of getting soft money out of Australia, producers are becoming more savvy in financing their films with global partners especially as we are telling more global, universally themed stories,. says producer Raquelle David, who is developing the futuristic thriller Lucid as a co-pro.
Producer Matthew Dabner aims to shoot Seasons Pass, a comedy scripted by Heath Davis about an Australian ski instructor who goes to the Canadian snowfields where he is...
- 7/24/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
UK producer Kevin Loader joins comedy drama B Model, to be directed by actor Rachel Griffiths.
Now that it is likely to be set up as a UK/Australian co-production, prolific UK producer Kevin Loader (In the Loop, Hyde Park on Hudson, Le Week-End) has become part of the team behind the comedy drama B Model, to be directed by actor Rachel Griffiths.
Griffiths has directed two shorts, Roundabout and Tulip and this will be her first feature – providing the money can be raised.
Australian producer Louise Smith was reluctant to provide details of the project precisely because it is yet to be financed. The current draft of the script is being written by Samantha Stauss, co-creator of the series Dance Academy.
B Model is included in a list of 18 features that Screen Australia has injected a total of Us$500,000 worth of development money into in the last four months.
One of the...
Now that it is likely to be set up as a UK/Australian co-production, prolific UK producer Kevin Loader (In the Loop, Hyde Park on Hudson, Le Week-End) has become part of the team behind the comedy drama B Model, to be directed by actor Rachel Griffiths.
Griffiths has directed two shorts, Roundabout and Tulip and this will be her first feature – providing the money can be raised.
Australian producer Louise Smith was reluctant to provide details of the project precisely because it is yet to be financed. The current draft of the script is being written by Samantha Stauss, co-creator of the series Dance Academy.
B Model is included in a list of 18 features that Screen Australia has injected a total of Us$500,000 worth of development money into in the last four months.
One of the...
- 7/23/2014
- by Sandy.George@me.com (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
Screen Australia today announced nearly $535,000 in development funding for 18 features including projects set in Canada, inner-city Berlin, Mexico City, Vietnam, the Middle East and medieval England.
The genres range from family and musical to comedy, drama, thriller, sci-fi and action. The funding will support eight new projects as well as further assistance for 10 titles.
Through its Talent Escalator programs, the agency is placing three producers in professional posts to improve their direct industry experience and supporting short film director Nicholas Verso in the next stage of his professional development.
Screen Australia.s Head of Production Sally Caplan said, .In this round it is encouraging to see such a great range of Australian stories receive support from filmmakers at different levels, some with international creative partners and several with international focus.
"We are also pleased to be able to support emerging local talent with international placements that will increase our industry...
The genres range from family and musical to comedy, drama, thriller, sci-fi and action. The funding will support eight new projects as well as further assistance for 10 titles.
Through its Talent Escalator programs, the agency is placing three producers in professional posts to improve their direct industry experience and supporting short film director Nicholas Verso in the next stage of his professional development.
Screen Australia.s Head of Production Sally Caplan said, .In this round it is encouraging to see such a great range of Australian stories receive support from filmmakers at different levels, some with international creative partners and several with international focus.
"We are also pleased to be able to support emerging local talent with international placements that will increase our industry...
- 7/22/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Claire van der Boom and Eamon Farren are playing the leads in Love is Now, a romantic drama now shooting in Sydney and regional Nsw.
It.s the first narrative feature from writer/director Jim Lounsbury and producer Behren Schulz, who formed Eponine Films in 2009.
The plot follows experienced photographer Audrey (van der Boom) and aspiring snapper Dean (Farren) as they embark on a trip through orchard country and a passionate relationship develops.
The supporting cast includes Anna Torv, Dustin Clare, Heather Mitchell and Chris Haywood.
Schulz told If that he and Lounsbury came up with the idea on a plane trip and the first draft of the script was written in one weekend.
He raised the budget from private investors and sponsorship from Nikon and Reid Cycles. The filmmakers announced the partnership with Nikon at Tropfest last year; the film is being shot on Nikon cameras and Nikkor lenses.
It.s the first narrative feature from writer/director Jim Lounsbury and producer Behren Schulz, who formed Eponine Films in 2009.
The plot follows experienced photographer Audrey (van der Boom) and aspiring snapper Dean (Farren) as they embark on a trip through orchard country and a passionate relationship develops.
The supporting cast includes Anna Torv, Dustin Clare, Heather Mitchell and Chris Haywood.
Schulz told If that he and Lounsbury came up with the idea on a plane trip and the first draft of the script was written in one weekend.
He raised the budget from private investors and sponsorship from Nikon and Reid Cycles. The filmmakers announced the partnership with Nikon at Tropfest last year; the film is being shot on Nikon cameras and Nikkor lenses.
- 7/16/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Claire van der Boom is a big fan of Tim Roth and Mexican director Michel Franco, so much so that she flew to Los Angeles and back this week for a supporting role in Chronic, Franco.s first English-language film.
Roth plays a depressed nurse named David who assists terminally-ill patients while trying to reconnect with the family he abandoned.
Bitsie Tulloch, who stars in the NBC series Grimm, plays a woman named Lidia, whose father John is portrayed by Pulitzer-winning playwright Michael Cristofer.
Van der Boom is Alice, a pretty, bubbly, sensitive woman. She is uncomfortable with David.s story about his dead wife, epecially as her boyfriend has just proposed to her.
The indie film is produced by David Zonana, Gabriel Ripstein and Franco. David Dastmalchian (Prisoners), who was recently cast in Marvel.s Ant-Man, is in talks to join the film, according to Deadline.com.
Roth was...
Roth plays a depressed nurse named David who assists terminally-ill patients while trying to reconnect with the family he abandoned.
Bitsie Tulloch, who stars in the NBC series Grimm, plays a woman named Lidia, whose father John is portrayed by Pulitzer-winning playwright Michael Cristofer.
Van der Boom is Alice, a pretty, bubbly, sensitive woman. She is uncomfortable with David.s story about his dead wife, epecially as her boyfriend has just proposed to her.
The indie film is produced by David Zonana, Gabriel Ripstein and Franco. David Dastmalchian (Prisoners), who was recently cast in Marvel.s Ant-Man, is in talks to join the film, according to Deadline.com.
Roth was...
- 7/10/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
When Stephanie Louise May heard that a movie inspired by the Us TV comedy Blue Mountain State was to be shot in Canada, the enterprising Aussie actress made an audition tape and sent it to the producers.
They liked what they saw and May, who doesn't have a Us manager, heads to Montreal in August to appear in Blue Mountain State: The Movie, which will star Denise Richards (reprising her role from the Spike TV show), directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, whose credits include The Dukes Of Hazzard (2005), Super Troopers (2001) and TV.s Community, Ben and Kate and Happy Endings. .I am cast as a funny sorority girl who more or less thinks she.s cool, but she.s really not,. she tells If.
The TV show, which Jay directed, followed three freshmen at Mid-Western college football powerhouse Blue Mountain State who must quickly adapt to college life and juggle football,...
They liked what they saw and May, who doesn't have a Us manager, heads to Montreal in August to appear in Blue Mountain State: The Movie, which will star Denise Richards (reprising her role from the Spike TV show), directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, whose credits include The Dukes Of Hazzard (2005), Super Troopers (2001) and TV.s Community, Ben and Kate and Happy Endings. .I am cast as a funny sorority girl who more or less thinks she.s cool, but she.s really not,. she tells If.
The TV show, which Jay directed, followed three freshmen at Mid-Western college football powerhouse Blue Mountain State who must quickly adapt to college life and juggle football,...
- 5/27/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Steve Le Marquand, Max Cullen, Claire van der Boom and Brendan Cowell head the cast of Broke, an Australian drama about a washed up, former rugby league star who battles a gambling addiction.
The feature debut of writer-director Heath Davis, the film is due to roll in Gladstone, central Queensland, on June 16.
Le Marquand will play the protagonist Ben .Bk. Kelly, who tackles his demons and strives to win back the respect of his community with the help of an ageing railway worker (Cullen) and his single parent daughter (van der Boom).
Cowell will portray a fellow gambling addict. Also cast are William Zappa as a bookmaker, Steve Bastoni as a cop and Justin Rozniak as a villain.
Producer Luke Graham raised more than $40,000 on crowd-funding site Indiegogo and the balance of the budget from private investors and a contribution from the Nrl as part of an Nrl gambling awareness...
The feature debut of writer-director Heath Davis, the film is due to roll in Gladstone, central Queensland, on June 16.
Le Marquand will play the protagonist Ben .Bk. Kelly, who tackles his demons and strives to win back the respect of his community with the help of an ageing railway worker (Cullen) and his single parent daughter (van der Boom).
Cowell will portray a fellow gambling addict. Also cast are William Zappa as a bookmaker, Steve Bastoni as a cop and Justin Rozniak as a villain.
Producer Luke Graham raised more than $40,000 on crowd-funding site Indiegogo and the balance of the budget from private investors and a contribution from the Nrl as part of an Nrl gambling awareness...
- 5/26/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The crowd funding campaign for Broke, an Australian drama about a washed up, former rugby league star who battles a gambling addiction, is kicking goals
Producer Luke Graham and first-time director Heath Davis aim to raise $55,000 via Indiegogo (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/broke-feature-film).
Since the campaign went live on January 16, 71 people have chipped in more than $22,000. With 49 days to run, Davis is hopeful he.ll reach the target so he can start shooting in Gladstone, Queensland, in May.
Steve Le Marquand will play the protagonist Ben .Bk. Kelly, who tackles his demons and strives to win back the respect of his community with the help of an ageing railway worker (Steve Bisley) and his single parent daughter (Claire van der Boom).
.We.re pretty stoked,. says Davis, who made the short films Bee Sting, Bella, Spoon Man and Rabbit, and The Jezabels Live at the Hordern DVD. .There is a real buzz about it.
Producer Luke Graham and first-time director Heath Davis aim to raise $55,000 via Indiegogo (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/broke-feature-film).
Since the campaign went live on January 16, 71 people have chipped in more than $22,000. With 49 days to run, Davis is hopeful he.ll reach the target so he can start shooting in Gladstone, Queensland, in May.
Steve Le Marquand will play the protagonist Ben .Bk. Kelly, who tackles his demons and strives to win back the respect of his community with the help of an ageing railway worker (Steve Bisley) and his single parent daughter (Claire van der Boom).
.We.re pretty stoked,. says Davis, who made the short films Bee Sting, Bella, Spoon Man and Rabbit, and The Jezabels Live at the Hordern DVD. .There is a real buzz about it.
- 1/21/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Steve Le Marquand, Steve Bisley and Claire van der Boom are attached to star in Broke, an indie drama which deals with the topical issue of gambling in the Nrl world.
It.s the debut feature of writer-director Heath Davis, who cut his teeth on the short films Bee Sting, Bella, Spoon Man and Rabbit, and The Jezabels Live at the Hordern DVD.
The producer is Luke Graham, who collaborated with Davis on those shorts, with Jonathan Page (the executive producer of The Babadook, 100 Bloody Acres and Max and Mary) as Ep.
They aim to raise $55,000 via crowd funding site Indiegogo; the campaign launches next week. Davis says that money will match contributions from him, Graham and several private investors.
There is an altruistic angle: After the cast and skeleton crew have recouped their deferred fees, the profits will go to the Men of League Foundation, which was founded by...
It.s the debut feature of writer-director Heath Davis, who cut his teeth on the short films Bee Sting, Bella, Spoon Man and Rabbit, and The Jezabels Live at the Hordern DVD.
The producer is Luke Graham, who collaborated with Davis on those shorts, with Jonathan Page (the executive producer of The Babadook, 100 Bloody Acres and Max and Mary) as Ep.
They aim to raise $55,000 via crowd funding site Indiegogo; the campaign launches next week. Davis says that money will match contributions from him, Graham and several private investors.
There is an altruistic angle: After the cast and skeleton crew have recouped their deferred fees, the profits will go to the Men of League Foundation, which was founded by...
- 1/8/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Screen Australia has committed almost $700,000 in development support across 23 feature projects.
Fifteen new projects have been added to Screen Australia.s development slate, while eight teams will receive continued support to develop their projects.
Two Australian filmmakers will also be supported to undertake overseas internships: producer Ma.ara Bobby Romia will work for six months with Screentime Group in New Zealand and director Ariel Martin-Merrells will work under the mentorship of director James Foley in Los Angeles for five months.
Screen Australia.s head of development Martha Coleman said in a statement: .Following a now well-established tradition, the development slate announced today includes a diverse range of compelling stories from both established and emerging filmmakers. The high calibre of screenplays coming through our door backs up positive feedback we are getting from the domestic and international marketplace and I.m looking forward to seeing the best of these projects make...
Fifteen new projects have been added to Screen Australia.s development slate, while eight teams will receive continued support to develop their projects.
Two Australian filmmakers will also be supported to undertake overseas internships: producer Ma.ara Bobby Romia will work for six months with Screentime Group in New Zealand and director Ariel Martin-Merrells will work under the mentorship of director James Foley in Los Angeles for five months.
Screen Australia.s head of development Martha Coleman said in a statement: .Following a now well-established tradition, the development slate announced today includes a diverse range of compelling stories from both established and emerging filmmakers. The high calibre of screenplays coming through our door backs up positive feedback we are getting from the domestic and international marketplace and I.m looking forward to seeing the best of these projects make...
- 8/29/2012
- by Staff reporter
- IF.com.au
The story of Rupert Murdoch’s rise to become the world’s biggest media mogul looks set to become an Australian TV telemovie,
Screen Australia has provided funding development for the work which is being written by Bob Ellis and Stephen Ramsay.
The announcement comes days after Southern Star’s production of Howzat, the story of how Australian media mogul Kerry Packer took on the cricket establishment delivered the Nine Network with 2m+ ratings.
The series has the working title of The News of the World.
The British Sunday tabloid the telemovie is named after was closed by Murdoch last year in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
Bob Ellis wrote the Australian journalism drama Newsfront and most recently ABC’s Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley’s Battle for Coal while Stephen Ramsey wrote and directed The Baby Boomers Picture Show and Flashbacks.
Ellis told Mumbrella: “What we have...
Screen Australia has provided funding development for the work which is being written by Bob Ellis and Stephen Ramsay.
The announcement comes days after Southern Star’s production of Howzat, the story of how Australian media mogul Kerry Packer took on the cricket establishment delivered the Nine Network with 2m+ ratings.
The series has the working title of The News of the World.
The British Sunday tabloid the telemovie is named after was closed by Murdoch last year in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
Bob Ellis wrote the Australian journalism drama Newsfront and most recently ABC’s Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley’s Battle for Coal while Stephen Ramsey wrote and directed The Baby Boomers Picture Show and Flashbacks.
Ellis told Mumbrella: “What we have...
- 8/28/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
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