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Stars: Joshua Brennan, Charlotte Best, Ric Herbert, Coco Jack Gillies, Jess Bush, Barry Quin, Adam Saunders | Written and Directed by Nik Kacevski

Just as Skinford: Death Sentence was shot simply as Skinford in 2017, Skinford 2: The Curse began life in Australia under the less sensational title Skinford: Chapter Two in 2018. Enter Black Mandala, who picked them up, dusted them off and gave them a new title for release outside their home country.

For those who haven’t seen the first film, Skinford 2: The Curse opens with a recap via footage from it, as well as various newspaper clippings under the credits. That gives way to Jimmy “Skinny” Skinford trying to get a place where he and Zophia can lie low after the events of the first film.

That’s because not only is his father Guy still alive and desperate to steal Zophia’s immortality, so is Kovac who...

Introducing Skinford: Death Sentence, a tense, blood-filled and high-octane action feature that promises bloody bedlam.

With oodles of gore, plenty of violence and adrenaline-pumping action, this thrilling feature directed by Nik Kacevski is out now on Digital Platforms from Reel 2 Reel Films.

Synopsis:

James ‘Skinny’ Skinford (Joshua Brennan) had a simple plan: steal and flip a mysterious truck to make a quick buck and save his ailing father. However, as fate would have it, things take a horrifying turn and Skinny finds himself in serious trouble… While being forcibly made to dig his own grave, he accidentally stumbles upon the burial ground of a woman who had been buried alive and to his astonishment, she possesses the extraordinary ability to bestow immortality upon others.

Yet, this seemingly miraculous gift comes with a devastating consequence. Being close to her is akin to a death sentence, and Skinny’s perception...

Stars: Joshua Brennan, Charlotte Best, Goran D. Kleut, Kelly Paterniti, Ric Herbert | Written by Nik Kacevski, Tess Meyer | Directed by Nik Kacevski

Skinford was shot and released in its native Australia and apparently nowhere else, in 2017. A sequel, Skinford: Chapter Two followed in 2018. So, when I saw the title Skinford: Death Sentence pop up on my radar I naturally enough thought it was a third film in the franchise.

Then I noticed the plot and crew credits were the same as the original film with just a couple of differences in the cast. A quick check of the copyright date confirmed this is not a new film. As near as I can guess new sales agent/distributor Black Mandala saw its potential as a cult film and picked it up; they must have some faith in it as IMDb has an entry for Skinford 2: The Curse which bears a...

A short look at how a simple smile can lead to danger and terror. Birdie is a short film made by filmmaker Shelly Lauman, the next film debuted as part of Fox Searchlight's new online initiative called "Searchlight Shorts". A woman walks alone to the train station. As she descends the stairs to the underground platform she smiles at a young man, and he smiles back. With the smallest of gestures, the woman becomes caught in a subtle and sinister game. Maeve Dermody stars, with Sam Parsonson, Joshua Brennan, Lynette Curran, and Eden Falk. This simple but powerful short film utilizes the Academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1, and plays without any real dialogue. It's an example of how bad it is out there for women, how aggressive men can be, and how the tiniest of kind gestures can be misconstrued as an invitation. Watch in full below. Birdie is...

Dop Anna Howard and Shelly Lauman (Photo: Nicholas Prokop).

Writer-director Shelly Lauman hopes to secure Us representation and support for her first feature after Fox Searchlight acquired worldwide rights to her short film Birdie.

After the deal was announced at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Birdie screened in the Short Cuts competition, Lauman is spending a week in Los Angeles meeting with producers, managers and other industry contacts.

Produced by Lizzie Cater, Birdie had its first international screening in Toronto following the world premiere at Miff.

Funded by the inaugural $20,000 Australian Directors Guild/Metro Screen Production Fellowship, the psychological thriller follows a young woman who meets a man as she descends the stairs to an underground platform, leading to a subtle and sinister game.

Starring Maeve Dermody, Sam Parsonson, Joshua Brennan, Eden Falk and Lynette Curran, Birdie was one of two shorts acquired by Fox Searchlight in Toronto; the...

Home and Away star Lincoln Younes has revealed that his character will face a new enemy in an upcoming storyline. Casey Braxton is sentenced to weekend detention for his part in a botched robbery, and he soon becomes the target of fellow inmate Courtney (Joshua Brennan). "Casey is trying to keep to himself," Younes told TV Week. "It's a juvenile detention centre, so it's not at the serious end of prisons, but it's still quite dangerous because there are a lot of precarious situations in which he finds himself. "He's just trying not to draw too much attention [to himself]. Courtney is obviously the stereotypical prison bully and he instantly (more)...