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Liz Kearney

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Oscars 2025 Winners: ‘Anora’ Emerges as the Big Winner
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‘Anora’ wins the Oscar® for Best Picture during the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® (Credit:

Phil McCarten / The Academy ©A.M.P.A.S.)

The 2025 Oscars turned out to be a golden night for Anora. The critically acclaimed indie took home five Oscars including Best Director, Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay (all Sean Baker), Best Actress (Mikey Madison), and Best Picture. Anora won in every category it was nominated in except Best Supporting Actor (Yura Borisov) which went to Kieran Culkin as expected.

Emilia Pérez went into Hollywood’s Big Night with 13 nominations, winning in just two: Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldana) and Best Original Song. The Brutalist was recognized with three Oscars after earning 10 nominations. Wicked also earned 10 nominations and finished the night with two wins. And Dune: Part Two won the Achievement in Sound and Visual Effects Oscars out of its five nominations.

The show opened...
See full article at Showbiz Junkies
  • 3/3/2025
  • by Rebecca Murray
  • Showbiz Junkies
Indie Film With 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score Wins Best Animated Feature Film at Oscars
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Flow has just won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. The movie's win is all the more remarkable considering its origins and how it was competing against big-budget animated features. This also marks a historic first, as it's the first time that a Latvian production has been nominated for, and won, an Academy Award.

Accepting the win for Flow were Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman. The other nominees for the Best Animated Feature Film category included Inside Out 2 (Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen), Memoir of a Snail (Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney), Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, and The Wild Robot (Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann).

Flow was designed with Blender, a free and open-source animation software. Flow was directed by Zilbalodis, who co-wrote the script with Kaža. The movie has been praised for its unique way of storytelling using only its visuals with no dialogue.
See full article at CBR
  • 3/3/2025
  • by Jeremy Dick
  • CBR
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Oscars 2025: A Complete Guide to the Red Carpet Events and Parties (Updating)
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Attention industryites, the final stretch of awards season is here and it’s all leading up to Hollywood’s biggest night with the 97th annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre. It’s best to pace yourself as the momentum will be building in a big way with a packed schedule of soirees, celebrations and exclusive parties in the coming days. While the below roundup includes many of the typical events — Vanity Fair, Elton John, Madonna, Chanel and Charles Finch, Giorgio Armani and Women in Film are all back with bashes — agencies like UTA have opted to bow out of the party circuit in favor of making donations to L.A. wildfire relief. Here’s all the intel gathered thus far with updates to come throughout the week.

Friday, Feb. 21

Oscar Nominee Spotlight: Breaking the Ceiling — Casting Directors

Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 7 p.m.

Casting directors “discuss historic milestones,...
See full article at The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
  • 2/21/2025
  • by Chris Gardner and Kirsten Chuba
  • The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Oscar-Nominated ‘Memoir Of A Snail’ Back In Theaters For One-Night Event
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IFC Films’ Memoir of a Snail, nominated in what’s shaped up to be among the most competitive categories of this Academy Awards, is back in more than 500 theaters nationwide Tuesday night.

The one night of screenings of the Best Animated Feature Oscar nominee will include a prerecorded Q&a with the filmmaker Adam Elliot and fellow Australian director George Miller (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga). Presenting theaters include AMC, Regal, Alamo Drafthouse, Harkins, Laemmle, City Cinemas, Look Cinemas and National Amusements.

“We’re so glad adult audiences continue to discover Adam Elliot’s impeccably crafted, heartfelt story,” said Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks’ film group. “The film’s sophisticated themes of religion, seeking acceptance, and remaining hopeful amid life’s tougher times are tremendously relevant in this current climate.”

The film first opened October 25 and has grossed $627,000 domestically ($1.8 million worldwide). It’s a tough Oscar path up against Flow,...
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 2/11/2025
  • by Jill Goldsmith
  • Deadline Film + TV
‘Emilia Pérez,’ ‘I’m Still Here’ and ‘Los Frikis’ Lead Latino Entertainment Journalists’ Film Awards Nominations
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Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” leads the 7th annual Latino Entertainment Film Awards with an impressive 17 nominations, including best picture, director, and four acting nods for Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz and Zoe Saldaña. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi sequel “Dune: Part 2” follows with 10.

The Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (Leja), which celebrates the year’s best in film and Latino talent, was also fans of Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” and Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” which earned nine nominations each. These films join other best picture nominees, including “Anora,” “The Brutalist,” “Conclave,” “I’m Still Here,” “Nickel Boys,” and “Sing Sing.”

“I’m Still Here” from Sony Pictures Classics surprised many with its robust Oscar showing, including a best picture nomination. In addition to recognition for Fernanda Torres in best actress, the Brazilian drama also earned nods for director (Walter Salles), adapted screenplay, cinematography and editing.

Leja also announced...
See full article at Variety Film + TV
  • 1/27/2025
  • by Clayton Davis
  • Variety Film + TV
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2025 Oscars: Top Nominees Include ‘Emilia Perez,’ ‘Wicked,’ and ‘The Brutalist’
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Karla Sofía Gascón as Emilia Pérez and Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro in ‘Emilia Pérez’ (Photo © 2024 Page 114 – Why Not Productions – PATHÉ Films – France 2 CINÉMA)

Emilia Pérez established a new Oscars record, earning 13 nominations and entering the record books as the most nominated non-English language film. The Brutalist and Wicked followed with 10 Oscar nominations, and A Complete Unknown and Conclave each picked up eight. Anora was nominated in six categories, and The Substance and Dune: Part Two earned five nominations.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members recognized The Substance‘s Coralie Fargeat with a directing nomination, making her only the 10th woman in Oscar history to earn a nomination in that category. And this year’s Best Picture nominees include two musicals – Emilia Pérez and Wicked – which hasn’t happened since 1968. With her best actress nomination, Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón became the first openly trans person...
See full article at Showbiz Junkies
  • 1/23/2025
  • by Rebecca Murray
  • Showbiz Junkies
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The 2025 Oscar nominations have been announced!
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The 97th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), is scheduled to take place on March 2nd at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with Conan O’Brien hosting… but before we get to the ceremony, we need to know the nominees. This morning, actor/writer/comedians Rachel Sennott and Bowen Yang were tasked with announcing the 2025 Oscar nominations – and the list of nominees can now be seen below!

Best Picture

Anora – Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, and Sean Baker

The Brutalist – Nominees to be determined

A Complete Unknown – Fred Berger, James Mangold, and Alex Heineman

Conclave – Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, and Michael A. Jackman

Dune: Part Two – Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Denis Villeneuve

Emilia Pérez – Nominees to be determined

I’m Still Here – Nominees to be determined

Nickel Boys – Nominees to be determined

The Substance – Nominees to be determined

Wicked – Marc Platt...
See full article at JoBlo.com
  • 1/23/2025
  • by Cody Hamman
  • JoBlo.com
Nina Oyama
Global Film Industry Converges on Gold Coast for 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards & 6th Asia Pacific Screen Forum
Nina Oyama
Gold Coast, Australia: The Asia Pacific Screen Academy in strategic partnership with Aw Jewel welcomes its International Jury members, nominees and guests from across the globe to the Gold Coast for the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The prestigious international film event honours the cinematic excellence of 78 countries and areas of the Asia Pacific and films that best reflect their cultural origins and the diversity of the vast region.

Film industry guests from Australia, Cambodia, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, People’s Republic of China, Singapore, Thailand, Türkiye, and the USA are confirmed to participate in the 6th Asia Pacific Screen Forum, to be held from 27 to 30 November.

Australian actress, writer and comedian Nina Oyama (Deadloch, Utopia) is set to host the Gala Awards Ceremony, on the evening of Saturday 30 November in the elegant Diamond Ballroom of The Langham, Gold Coast, on the traditional...
See full article at AsianMoviePulse
  • 11/25/2024
  • by Panos Kotzathanasis
  • AsianMoviePulse
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Lff Best Film winner ‘Memoir Of A Snail’ acquired for UK-Ireland (exclusive)
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Modern Films has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights on Memoir Of A Snail, which won the Best Film award in Official Competition at the BFI London Film Festival today.

Modern is scheduling a theatrical release for February 2025, with an awards campaign. Anton and Charades handle international sales on the film.

Australian director Elliot’s second feature-length animation is a story of a melancholic woman – voiced by Sarah Snook – who is a hoarder of snails, romance novels and guinea pigs.

Australian stars Eric Bana, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jacki Weaver and Nick Cave are also among the voice cast, as is Elliot.

The film...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 10/20/2024
  • ScreenDaily
Memoir of a Snail (2024)
‘You have to be a certain type of person’: Adam Elliot on the eight-year endeavour to bring ‘Memoir of a Snail’ out of its shell
Memoir of a Snail (2024)
'Memoir of a Snail' writer/director Adam Elliot and producer Liz Kearney talk about the near decade-long process of crafting the stop-motion feature ahead of its Australian release next Thursday.

The post ‘You have to be a certain type of person’: Adam Elliot on the eight-year endeavour to bring ‘Memoir of a Snail’ out of its shell appeared first on If Magazine.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 10/10/2024
  • by Sean Slatter
  • IF.com.au
Annecy Winner ‘Memoir of a Snail’ Gets U.S. Release Date From IFC Films (Exclusive)
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IFC Films has announced the U.S. release date for the animated feature “Memoir of a Snail,” directed by Academy Award winner Adam Elliot. This charming stop-motion adult drama took nearly a decade to create and will open in limited release on Oct. 25, with a wider expansion throughout November.

The film follows the life of Grace Puddle, a lonely misfit with a passion for collecting ornamental snails and a deep love for romance novels. Her life takes a downward turn when she’s separated from her twin brother at a young age. Despite ongoing hardships, Grace perseveres and finds inspiration through a friendship with Pinky, an elderly eccentric woman, as she slowly learns to find confidence and love.

“Memoir of a Snail” is Elliot’s second stop-motion feature, following his critically acclaimed “Mary and Max” (2009), which opened at Sundance. An Oscar winner for best animated short for “Harvie Krumpet” (2003), Elliot...
See full article at Variety Film + TV
  • 7/18/2024
  • by Clayton Davis
  • Variety Film + TV
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Annecy Competition title ‘Memoir Of A Snail’ lights up key international deals (exclusive)
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Adam Elliot’s animated feature Memoir Of A Snail featuring Sarah Snook in its voice cast has sealed deals for key international territories, ahead of its world premiere at Annecy International Animation Film Festival next week, for Anton and Charades.

The film has sold to Benelux (Bantam), Spain (Madfer), Switzerland (Pathe), Austria (Polyfilm), Denmark (Angel Film), Norway (Arthaus), Iceland (Bio Paradis), Sweden and remaining Scandinavian territories (Folkets Bio), Taiwan (Hooray Films), Cis (Magic Films), Israel (Lev Cinema), Turkey (Bir Film), Adriatics (McF Megacom), Thailand (Sahamongkol), India (Pictureworks) and airlines (Aardwolf).

Anton and Charades are co-representing sales on the stop-motion feature,...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 6/7/2024
  • ScreenDaily
IFC Films Acquires Academy Award Winner Adam Elliot’s ‘Memoir Of A Snail’ Starring Sarah Snook
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Exclusive: IFC Films has acquired North American rights to Memoir of a Snail, a stop-motion drama from Adam Elliot — the writer-director behind the Academy Award-winning 2004 short Harvie Krumpet.

Marking the first lead voice role for star Sarah Snook (Succession), and Elliot’s second stop-motion feature on the heels of 2009’s Mary and Max — also distributed by IFC — the film centers on the life of Grace Pudel, a lonely misfit with an affinity for collecting ornamental snails and an intense love of romance novels. At a young age, when she’s separated from her twin brother, she falls into a spiral of anxiety and angst. Despite a continued series of hardships, inspiration and hope emerge when she strikes up an enduring friendship with an elderly eccentric woman named Pinky. As she slowly learns to let go of the clutter in her home and her mind, Grace starts to find her confidence...
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 5/16/2024
  • by Matt Grobar
  • Deadline Film + TV
Sarah Snook To Lead Voice Cast In Stop-Motion Movie ‘Memoir Of A Snail’; Anton & Charades Release New Image Ahead Of EFM
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Exclusive: The in-demand Sarah Snook has boarded Oscar-winning Australian director Adam Elliot’s upcoming stop-motion drama Memoir of a Snail as the lead voice and narrator.

Snook will voice the feature animation’s protagonist Grace Puddle, a lonely misfit who hoards ornamental snails and is addicted to romance novels.

Paris-based sales and production company Charades and London-based production and financing studio Anton, which announced last Cannes that they were co-selling the movie, have released a fresh image for the production in the lead-up to the EFM where they will show a new promo.

Memoir of a Snail (c) Arenamedia

News of Snook’s casting comes as the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Succession star sets forth on a 14-week run of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture Of Dorian Gray at London’s Theatre Royal in which she plays all 26 characters.

Memoir of a Snail marks Snook’s first lead voice role in a feature animation.
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 2/9/2024
  • by Melanie Goodfellow and Andreas Wiseman
  • Deadline Film + TV
Asia Pacific Screen Awards: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ Leads Nominations & First Round Winners Announced
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Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, Evil Does Not Exist, leads this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) with four nods, including the gong for Best Film.

Hamaguchi’s nominations haul includes Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography for Yoshio Kitagawa. The film is Hamaguchi’s first film since his Oscar-winning Drive My Car and debuted at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The pic follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. A plan to construct a glamping site near Takumi’s house, offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to nature, threatens to endanger the ecological balance of the area and the local people’s way of life.

Also nominated in the Best Film category are Wim Wenders’s Perfect Days, Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden,...
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 10/3/2023
  • by Zac Ntim
  • Deadline Film + TV
Anton & Charades Partner On Adam Elliot’s ‘Memoir Of A Snail’; Unveil First Image & Int’l First Voice Cast Featuring Jacki Weaver, Kodi Smit-McPhee & Eric Bana – Cannes Market
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Exclusive: Paris-based sales and production company Charades and London-based production and financing studio Anton are partnering on the worldwide sales of Oscar-winning Australian director Adam Elliot’s upcoming stop-motion drama Memoir Of A Snail.

The poignant tale of a young lonely misfit is the second feature after the award-winning 2019 animation Mary And Max for Elliot, who won an Oscar for the 2004 short Harvey Krumpet.

The partners have unveiled a first image as well as some first members of international voice cast featuring Jacki Weaver (Yellowstone), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Elvis), Dominique Pinon, Magda Szubanski, and Eric Bana (The Dry).

The lead cast has yet to be announced.

The animated feature is produced by Arenamedia, with Liz Kearney (Paper Planes) as producer, and Robert Connolly (The Dry) and Robert Patterson as Executive Producers.

The film is currently shooting in Melbourne, Australia, with an expected release date...
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 5/4/2023
  • by Melanie Goodfellow
  • Deadline Film + TV
Alief Snaps Up International Sales Rights To Australian Locarno Title ‘Petrol’
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Exclusive: UK-French film company Alief has secured international sales rights to Australian filmmaker Alena Lodkina’s second feature Petrol, following its buzzy world premiere in Locarno’s Filmmakers Of The Present competition.

The Melbourne-set drama, co-stars Nathalie Morris as an impressionable film student of Russian origin who falls under the thrall of an enigmatic performance artist, played by big screen newcomer Hannah Lynch.

The pair move in together and their lives become more and more entwined, with Morris’s character embarking on a voyage of self-discovery played out between reality and her imagination.

Morris is best known internationally for her starring role in Stan’s Australian teen pregnancy series Bump, which premieres in North America on CW Network this month and was acquired for the U.K. by the BBC.

Petrol was the first Australian feature film to play in competition at Locarno since Clara Law’s Floating Life in...
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 8/11/2022
  • by Melanie Goodfellow
  • Deadline Film + TV
Shantae Barnes-Cowan, Tasma Walton, Mark Coles Smith and Ngaire Pigram are ‘Sweet As’
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Shantae Barnes-Cowan leads the cast of Jub Clerc’s debut feature Sweet As, about to wrap a five week shoot in Port Hedland, Western Australia.

The young actor, who has had roles in Total Control, Operation Buffalo and the upcoming Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, plays 16-year-old Indigenous girl, Murra.

After a volatile fight with her mother, Murra is abandoned, but with intervention from her uncle, she ventures on a journey of self-discovery.

Starring alongside the 2019 Casting Guild of Australia Rising Star are Tasma Walton, Mark Coles Smith and Ngaire Pigram.

A Nyul Nyul and Yawuru writer/director, Clerc penned the script with long-time collaborator Steve Rodgers, the dramaturge on her first play, ‘The Fever and the Fret’.

The film is partly based on her own experience growing up in the Pilbara and The Kimberley. It stems from a long-standing ambition between her and close friend, Arenamedia producer Liz Kearney, to create a feature together.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 7/23/2021
  • by Jackie Keast
  • IF.com.au
Australia’s ‘Kid Snow,’ ‘Petrol’ and ‘Memoirs of a Snail’ to Shoot After Receiving Funding
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Federal funding body Screen Australia confirmed its backing for a trio of Australian film projects that will now move forward into production. Director Robert Connolly (“The Dry”) is behind two of them as producer.

The funding decisions ensure that a steady stream of local films move into production, alongside the large volume of international films and TV series that are currently in Australia, taking advantage of generous incentives and good coronavirus control conditions.

Set in 1970’s Western Australia, “Kid Snow” is a drama about a washed-up Irish boxer who is offered a rematch against a man he fought 10 years ago, on a night that changed his life forever. He is faced with a chance to redeem himself when he meets a single mother and is forced to contemplate a future beyond boxing.

The film is directed by Paul Goldman (“Suburban Mayhem”) and written by John Brumpton (“Life”), Phillip Gwynne (“Australian Rules...
See full article at Variety Film + TV
  • 5/17/2021
  • by Patrick Frater
  • Variety Film + TV
Screen Australia backs projects from Adam Elliot, Alena Lodkina
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Screen Australia has announced $5.6 million of production funding for three feature films and returning seasons of Stan’s Bump and 10’s The Secret She Keeps.

The films include two Arenamedia projects: an new animation from the Oscar-winning Adam Elliot and a second feature from writer/director Alena Lodkina (Strange Colours), titled Petrol. The other film is Paul Goldman’s Western Australian feature film Kid Snow, produced by Unicorn Films.

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said: “We have been blown away by the volume of applications for production funding and are heartened at the breadth of distinct Australian stories that continue to come through.

“Adam Elliot is set to delight audiences around the world with a remarkable new drama in his signature claymation style; and we’re thrilled to support writer/director Alena Lodkina whose 2017 feature Strange Colours premiered at the Venice Film Festival, as she expands on her unique voice with striking follow up Petrol.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 5/16/2021
  • by Staff Writer
  • IF.com.au
Film Vic, Sbs and Arenamedia launch low budget feature initiative
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Stories that are “big, bold and surprising” or “provocative with a purpose” are the kinds Sbs scripted acting commissioning editor Donna Chang hopes to see ushered through the new feature initiative the broadcaster has launched with Film Victoria and Arenamedia.

Titled Originate, the joint initiative, announced today, seeks to back low budget fiction features from writers and directors of diverse background.

The structured program will see the partners work with creatives on their projects from initial concept, through development, with the aim of getting into production. UK-based story developer Angeli McFarlane has helped to devise the program.

Originate starts in May with a series of online writers’ seminars, which will then see up to six teams selected to take part in a week-long writers’ lab in August. The third stage is a three-month writers’ intensive with up to three teams. One project will then be selected for production investment.

That...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 3/9/2021
  • by Jackie Keast
  • IF.com.au
Mia Wasikowska, Radha Mitchell and Eric Bana to star in Robert Connolly’s ‘Blueback’
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Eric Bana and Robert Connolly are set to reunite on a new feature adaptation, this time taking on Tim Winton’s Blueback.

Fresh from the success of The Dry, which is approaching $20 million at the box office, Connolly has begun filming for his latest project in Western Australia, assembling a similarly strong cast.

Mia Wasikowska will play main character Abby alongside newcomers Ariel Donoghue and Ilsa Fogg, who will portray the younger Abby.

They are joined by Radha Mitchell, Liz Alexander, Clarence Ryan, Pedrea Jackson, Erik Thomson and Bana.

Set on the coast of Wa, the story centres on Abby, a child who befriends a magnificent wild groper while diving.

When Abby realises that the fish is under threat, she must take on poachers to save her friend.

Writer-director Connolly produces under his Arenamedia banner, together with Liz Kearney and James Grandison.

Blueback has received investment from Screen Australia, in association with Screenwest,...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 2/16/2021
  • by Sean Slatter
  • IF.com.au
Jub Clerc to celebrate teenagehood in debut feature ‘Sweet As’
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Jub Clerc. (Photo: Martine Perrett)

Writer-director Jub Clerc’s debut feature Sweet As is due to shoot on location in the Pilbara early next year, after receiving major production funding from Screen Australia’s Indigenous department.

Set in the Pilbara, the coming-of-age film follows 15-year-old Indigenous girl Murra, who finds herself abandoned after an argument with her mother.

When an unusual lifeline is thrown her way by her Uncle Ian, a local cop, in the form of a travelling Photo Safari, Murra finds herself careening down a dusty highway with a bus full of ‘at risk’ teens and two peculiar team leaders.

A Nyal Nyal/Yawaru woman, the dramedy is inspired by Clerc’s own experience growing up in the Pilbara and The Kimberley; she did a photo safari with National Geographic when she was growing up.

While the story is embellished for screen, the writer-director says the characters are...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 9/15/2020
  • by jkeast
  • IF.com.au
Zak Hilditch dumps pandemic project but is keen to make body-count thriller
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Zak Hilditch.

After trying to find ways to reconfigure Airborne, a thriller set during a mid-flight pandemic, Zak Hilditch has given up, conceding Covid-19 is far more lethal and scarier than the scenario he envisaged.

The filmmaker had been developing the project formerly known as Celestial Blue since 2017, initally with his These Final Hours producer Liz Kearney, later joined by US producer Ross Dinerstein.

Backed by XYZ Films, he planned to shoot in Bulgaria. At an Australians in Film webinar with Ben Young and Natalie Erika James in May, he said: “I’ve had to rewrite the entire film because the fantastical virus that happens on that flight is nothing compared to what has actually happened.”

Today, however, at a Director’s Spotlight session at CinefestOZ in Busselton, he said: “It’s too much of a minefield. The time is not right and I’m not interested in it any more.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 8/27/2020
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
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Arenamedia leads screen industry push for Innovation Fund
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Robert Connolly.

Arenamedia and a broad coalition of industry players today called on the Federal Government to create an Innovation Fund to support new and emerging talent and diverse creative voices.

Managed by Screen Australia, the fund would also explore innovative approaches to creating and distributing new work for Australian and global audiences.

“Diversity would be a key guiding principle of this fund, addressing areas of our national storytelling that have been neglected on our screens and remain under-represented,” Arenamedia says in its submission to the government’s options paper review, co-signed by 13 production companies and distributors plus filmmakers Jub Clerc and Daniel Nettheim.

While there is no dollar figure attached to the initiative, it would be funded by a combination of increased government support and other funds proposed by the options paper.

Crucially, the submission envisions the fund would be freed from market-based decision making that attempts to anticipate what is commercial,...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 6/21/2020
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
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Collaborations are driving growth for Robert Connolly’s Arenamedia
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Robert Connolly.

In the 25 years since he graduated from the Australian Film Television and Radio School Robert Connolly has never been more excited about the future of the film industry.

Reflecting his boundless optimism, his company Arenamedia’s production and development slate is the biggest and most ambitious in its 15-year history.

“The future path for us is having many and varied collaborations and partnerships and not trying to be proprietorial,” Connolly tells If.

“Our creative team are backing our love and passion for cinema, without disparaging in any way this amazing era we’re in with television.

“We’re excited by the future of cinema. We think there will be innovation and new ways of watching cinema.”

The company is collaborating with an unprecedented number of established and emerging writers and directors. The latter cohort includes the Strange Colours creative team of Alena Lodkina and Kate Laurie, Zambian-Australian writer...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 5/31/2020
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
Escaping the real world: Ben Young, Zak Hilditch and Natalie Erika James
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Natalie Erika James, Ben Young and Zak Hilditch.

Australian directors working on productions in the Us get far more time, money and resources than they were accustomed to at home.

But there’s a downside: Loss of creative freedom.

“I liken working in the American studio system to working on a two-hour television commercial where you have a lot of different voices telling you that you are not allowed to do things the way you want to,” says Ben Young, who directed Extinction for Netflix and was co-directing Clickbait for the streamer when production was shut down.

“In making an American film you have way less freedom but way more support. The level of support and resources you get in the Us is amazing but I miss the control I had in Australia.

“What I’m desperately searching for is that middle ground where I can have the toys and...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 5/24/2020
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
Zak Hilditch
Expat Aussie filmmakers band together
Zak Hilditch
Zak Hilditch, Alison James and infant.

Expat Australian filmmakers in Los Angeles and London are coping as best they can through the Covid-19 pandemic, including supporting each other.

Zak Hilditch was gearing up to shoot Airborne (formerly Celestial Blue), a prescient thriller about a mid-flight pandemic, in Bulgaria mid-year, produced by Liz Kearney and Ross Dinerstein, backed by Xyz Films.

“Like everything else, it’s all a huge grey area as to whether that’s even remotely feasible,” he tells If. Alexandra Daddario is attached to play a flight attendant who struggles to contain the infected passengers and against the odds land the aircraft safely.

Zak’s wife Alison James, who signed with Wme and Grandview after directing the short Judas Collar, is focused on writing and developing her own projects and collaborating with others in the Us and Australia.

I Am Mother’s Grant Sputore and his wife moved...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 4/1/2020
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
Robert Connolly
Screenwest launches $2.5 million sustainability package
Robert Connolly
Behind-the-scenes of ABC’s ‘The Heights’. (Photo: Megan Lewis)

Screenwest has launched a $2.5 million sustainability package, designed to temper the crisis facing the industry as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Western Australian industry has already lost more than $1 million in revenue and seen nearly 2,700 job losses, according to an initial impact survey. If the crisis extends to September, the loss of income may extend to $7 million.

Among the impacted Wa-based productions are Robert Connolly’s Blueback, a feature film adaptation of the Tim Winton novel due to start pre-production mid-year, and Jub Clerc’s coming-of-age movie Sweet As, to be produced by Arenamedia’s Liz Kearney.

Screenwest’s package is funded through a repurposing of existing Lotterywest funding, and will be delivered in addition to funding already committed to current projects.

It is particularly focused on screen practitioners’ activities over the next six months, and has been designed in response to industry feedback.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 3/31/2020
  • by jkeast
  • IF.com.au
Mystery Road (2018)
Wa screen sector takes initial $1 million hit
Mystery Road (2018)
Wa-shot (clockwise) ‘Mystery Road,’ ‘Thalu,’ ‘100% Wolf,’ ‘The Heights’ and ‘Itch’.

The Western Australian screen industry has already lost more than $1 million in revenue with nearly 2,700 job losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That’s according to the initial findings of Screenwest’s Wa screen industry Covid-19 impact survey.

If the crisis is prolonged, the study estimates the total loss of income to September 2020 at $7 million. The estimated current loss of income is $1.096 million with 2,676 job losses.

In 2018/2019 Screenwest’s funding triggered a 12 per cent spike in production in the state. CEO Peter ‘Willie’ Rowe tells If: “The second half of this year was looking really strong for the sector, both in documentary and drama, before Covid-19.”

Head of production and development Matt Horrocks says: “Once we come out the other side of the pandemic and people are starting to push go on productions and it ramps up really quickly, it...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 3/26/2020
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
The Heights (2019)
Resilience under adversity: How the screen industry copes with the pandemic
The Heights (2019)
Jub Clerc.

Two weeks ago Jub Clerc was scheduled to go into a writers’ room on the webseries Shady Ladeez in the remote community of Ngukurr in East Arnhem Land.

But knowing that the elderly and people with pre-disposed illnesses – “all my mob” – are most vulnerable to the coronavirus, the filmmaker cancelled the trip and instead took part via Skype for a much lower fee.

Two days later she got an email from Bunya Productions advising the inaugural Bunya Talent Indigenous Hub in Los Angeles, to which she and 12 other Indigenous practitioners had been invited, had been postponed.

“The opportunity to pitch a feature film idea to Netflix was super exciting but my decision to cancel on Ngukurr made it an easier pill to swallow,” Clerc, who made her TV directing debut on season 2 of the ABC’s The Heights, she tells If.

“I feel like one of the lucky ones though.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 3/18/2020
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
Screen Australia backs five projects with $3.5 million
Writer Jackie van Beek and director Armagan Ballantyne, who will collaborate on ‘Nude Tuesday’.

Two feature films, one from Robert Connolly and the other a Kiwi-Aussie co-pro penned by The Breaker Upperers’ Jackie van Beek; a ABC TV comedy from Closer Productions; and two online projects are the latest recipients of $3.5 million worth of production funding from Screen Australia.

Connolly, writer/director of box office hit Paper Planes, will return to Western Australia to shoot a feature film adaptation of Tim Winton’s acclaimed novel Blueback, while Nz’s Firefly Productions will join forces with Good Thing Productions to create absurdist dramedy feature Nude Tuesday, directed by Armagan Ballantyne. Erik Thomson teams up with Adelaide’s Closer Productions to produce Yes, Chef! for the ABC, following a notorious celebrity chef who is forced to flee to his hometown in the Adelaide Hills.

Screen Australia head of content Sally Caplan said:...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 1/21/2020
  • by jkeast
  • IF.com.au
2020 Indigenous outlook from Kodie Bedford and Jub Clerc
Jub Clerc and Kodie Bedford.

Capitalising on the significant gains made by Indigenous screen storytellers over the past few years, Kodie Bedford wants to see more Indigenous writers emerging this year – and more respect accorded to Indigenous writers.

Fellow Indigenous filmmaker Jub Clerc suggests film schools should implement further Indigenous content protocols as part of their classes so graduates can make informed, inclusive and creative choices when they enter the industry.

“Indigenous voices have enjoyed a bumper few years as our stories have reached far and wide and the amount of exciting emerging Indigenous talent coming through is remarkable,” says Bedford, whose screenwriting credits include Mystery Road, Grace Beside Me, Robbie Hood and the horror short Scout commissioned by Screen Australia and the ABC, which was her directing debut.

“Of course I would love to see more of it, especially diversity across Indigenous voices, sexual orientation, gender identity, people with disability and new voices.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 1/9/2020
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
Alexandra Daddario Plane Thriller ‘Airborne’ Boarded By Xyz – Afm
Exclusive: Xyz Films has taken on international rights to Zak Hilditch’s thriller Airborne, which will star Alexandra Daddario (Baywatch) as a flight attendant who faces a mid-flight pandemic.

When the deadly disease spreads throughout the plane, she must contain the infected passengers and against unlikely odds land the aircraft safely.

Ross Dinerstein of Campfire will produce with Liz Kearney. The project will be taking off at Afm for Xyz, with Endeavor Content looking to land the domestic sale.

Director Hilditch credits include These Final Hours, which played at Cannes in 2014, and two Netflix movies: an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1922, which debuted on the platform in 2017, and mystery horror Rattlesnake, which was released online last month.

Airborne was previously set up at Covert Media under the title Celestial Blue.

Xyz’s Afm slate also features Tiff premieres Synchronic and Color Out of Space, as well as Gilded Rage with Christoph Waltz,...
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 11/4/2019
  • by Tom Grater
  • Deadline Film + TV
‘The Nightingale’, ‘Lambs Of God’ Lead 2019 Australian Academy Awards Nominations
Jennifer Kent
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...
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 10/23/2019
  • by Tom Grater
  • Deadline Film + TV
Screen Australia backs 17 projects with $675,000 in story development funding
Sam Humphrey and Nick Boshier in ‘Jeremy The Dud’.

Screen Australia has announced the final round of story development funding for the 2018-19 financial year, backing five television series, six online projects and six feature films with $675,000.

The project include Musquito, an adventure film about an Aboriginal warrior from director Dylan River; Jane Campion’s revenge western Power of the Dog; Princess Pictures’ Jeremy The Dud, a TV comedy exploring the moments of challenge and levity when living with a disability; and Afro Sistahs, an online series about a group of twenty-somethings who connect at an Afro hair salon.

It has now been over 12 months since Screen Australia introduced new development funding guidelines, that are platform neutral and have broadened eligibility criteria. The new funds include Generate, for lower budget projects with an emphasis on new and emerging talent, or experienced talent wanting to take creative risks, and the Premium...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 8/6/2019
  • by jkeast
  • IF.com.au
Event screenings pay off for ‘Acute Misfortune’ as ‘Me & My Left Brain’ opens
Toby Wallace in ‘Acute Misfortune.’

Robert Connolly’s strategy of staging event screenings around the country is paying off for Acute Misfortune, first-time director Thomas M. Wright’s biopic of troubled Sydney painter Adam Cullen.

Meanwhile producer-director-writer Alex Lykos launched his comedy Me & My Left Brain on five screens last weekend, self-distributed by his company Panoramic Pictures.

Wright hosted sell-out Q&A screenings in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Hobart.

Daniel Henshall, who plays the gun-toting, abusive and alcohol and drug-addled Cullen, returned from the Us to participate in four of those Q&As.

Erik Jensen, who penned the source novel Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen and co-wrote the screenplay with Wright, also attended four.

Toby Wallace plays Jensen, who was an ambitious 19-year-old journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald when he was commissioned to write a profile of Cullen. He spent four years...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 5/20/2019
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario, Zac Efron, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jon Bass, and Kelly Rohrbach in Baywatch (2017)
Cannes: Alexandra Daddario Boards 'Celestial Blue' (Exclusive)
Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario, Zac Efron, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jon Bass, and Kelly Rohrbach in Baywatch (2017)
Baywatch, San Andreas and True Detective star Alexandra Daddario is to play the lead in the horror thriller Celestial Blue from Australian writer-director Zak Hilditch.

Covert Media, led by CEO Paul Hanson (Ophelia, District 9), will finance, produce and handle worldwide rights on the project and is introducing it to buyers in Cannes. Liz Kearney (Acute Misfortune, Paper Planes) has also come on board as producer.

Celestial Blue centers on a flight attendant (Daddario) struggling with the recent death of her mother. When a deadly pandemic breaks out onboard a Sydney-bound flight from Los Angeles, she is forced to summon inner strength she never knew existed....
See full article at The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
  • 5/18/2019
  • The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario, Zac Efron, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jon Bass, and Kelly Rohrbach in Baywatch (2017)
Cannes: Alexandra Daddario Boards 'Celestial Blue' (Exclusive)
Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario, Zac Efron, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jon Bass, and Kelly Rohrbach in Baywatch (2017)
Baywatch, San Andreas and True Detective star Alexandra Daddario is to play the lead in the horror thriller Celestial Blue from Australian writer-director Zak Hilditch.

Covert Media, led by CEO Paul Hanson (Ophelia, District 9), will finance, produce and handle worldwide rights on the project and is introducing it to buyers in Cannes. Liz Kearney (Acute Misfortune, Paper Planes) has also come on board as producer.

Celestial Blue centers on a flight attendant (Daddario) struggling with the recent death of her mother. When a deadly pandemic breaks out onboard a Sydney-bound flight from Los Angeles, she is forced to summon inner strength she never knew existed....
See full article at The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
  • 5/18/2019
  • The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Daniel Henshall finds truth amid lies in ‘Acute Misfortune’
Daniel Henshall and Toby Wallace in ‘Acute Misfortune’

Daniel Henshall plays one of the most challenging roles of his career as gun-toting, manipulative and alcohol and drug-fueled painter Adam Cullen in Acute Misfortune.

Yet when the director Thomas M. Wright sent the actor the source material – Erik Jensen’s book Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen – four years ago, initially he had his doubts.

“I feared the film would sensationalise Adam and his poor behaviour,” Henshall tells If from New York, where he now lives with his wife. “He could be very charming but I did not particularly like the character.”

Wright, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jensen, quickly convinced him otherwise, explaining the film would look at issues such as acclaim and identity, toxic masculinity and how deeply troubled people can create great art.

Romper Stomper’s Toby Wallace plays Jensen, who was an ambitious 19-year-old...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 4/26/2019
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
Arenamedia sets up shop in Wa
James Grandison.

Producer/director Robert Connolly’s Arenamedia is making a formal expansion into Western Australia, setting up a new company office in Perth.

James Grandison has been appointed to oversee the production company’s Wa-based operations, as well as the management of production planning and budgeting across Arenamedia’s full slate.

Robert Connolly said: “It’s an exciting time for Arenamedia and I’m delighted that someone of James’ calibre has joined us. A formal presence in Wa is a logical next step in the company’s evolution. Films such as Paper Planes and before that The Turning were both shot in the West and benefitted from the great talent and dynamic industry that exists there”.

Grandison began his career in Western Australia, however has spent the past 10 years in Melbourne working as a line producer and production manager. His recent credits include Picnic at Hanging Rock, Glitch, Nowhere Boys and Hunters.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 4/2/2019
  • by jkeast
  • IF.com.au
Screen Australia provides $300,000 in development funding
Short film ‘Oddlands’, which is being developed into a six-part series. (Photo: Georgina Savage)

Screen Australia has announced $300,000 of story development funding for six features, four TV dramas and two online series.

The slate includes feature film Memoir of a Snail from Oscar-winner Adam Elliot; Aleph, a science-fiction series from Porchlight Films about a mother who faces the unthinkable decision of saving her daughter or humanity; and online dark comedy Plushed, which explores mental illness through the eyes of a toy.

This is the the second round of funding announced since Screen Australia’s changes to development funding guidelines last July. Recently the agency has made further clarifications to the guidelines to improve the application process, which include increasing the pitch video length to up to four minutes, adding budget level limits to more clearly differentiate the Generate and Premium funds adding an opportunity to provide a paragraph synopsis to a proof of concept.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 2/4/2019
  • by jkeast
  • IF.com.au
2019 outlook part 3: Wift Australia calls for action on gender inequity and harassment
Jub Clerc.

All the talk about the need for structural and cultural change in the screen industry must be converted into in widespread action, according to Women in Film & Television (Wift) Australia.

“This year Wift Australia’s focus will be on changing systems,” says board member Megan Riakos on behalf of the board.

“For too long our industry has perpetuated structures that reflect wider gender inequity and disparity. Intersectionality means this hits some harder than others. Although there has been public sentiment that supports change, we believe that talk must be converted into widespread and decisive action.

“We must recognise that we as an Industry have the knowledge, intelligence and creativity to forge transformation. We need to stop asking the most vulnerable to bear the burden of this fight. We must understand that we created this system. It’s not natural. It’s not preordained. It can be changed.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 1/9/2019
  • by The IF Team
  • IF.com.au
David Wenham realises a career-long dream in ‘Ellipsis’
Emily Barclay and Benedict Samuel in 'Ellipsis'..

In the first of a two-part interview, David Wenham talks to If about making his directorial feature debut,.'Ellipsis'..

Across a stellar career spanning 30 years, David Wenham had long wanted to make an experimental, improvisational film in which the story unfolds in the space of one night.

Wenham got his chance with Ellipsis, a low budget film he directed and co-wrote, which will have its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival.

Produced by Arenamedia.s Liz Kearney, the slice-of-life film follows Emily Barclay as Viv and Benedict Samuel as Jasper, who meet by chance and roam the city of Sydney, from bars, a park and a sex shop in Kings Cross, to Bondi.

In a remarkably tight schedule, the cast workshopped the script for three days, a collaborative effort between the two leads, Wenham and director.s assistant Gabrielle Wendelin. The shoot took just seven days,...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 5/31/2017
  • by Don Groves
  • IF.com.au
David Wenham at an event for 300 (2006)
LevelK boards 'Lotr' star David Wenham's directorial debut 'Ellipsis'
David Wenham at an event for 300 (2006)
Exclusive: LevelK handling international sales on Sydney-set drama.

LevelK has come on board for international sales, concentrating on worldwide digital distribution rights, for Ellipsis, the feature directorial debut from actor David Wenham (The Lord Of The Rings, Lion).

Emily Barclay (In My Father’s Den) and Benedict Samuel (The Walking Dead) star as two people who bump into each other one night in Sydney, “leading to conversation, a coffee and a nightlong adventure.”

Wenham and Liz Kearney produce for Arenamedia. Robert Connolly is the executive producer. Cinemaplus will release in Australia in the autumn.

Wenham explained, “Ellipsis was devised as an experiment. Conceived and workshopped in 3 days, shot in 7 days. The idea was propelled out of my experiences working as an actor over 30 years in film, the objective was twofold - to observe the effect on actors performance when all artifice is stripped bare and to trial a fast paced, efficient shooting...
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 5/17/2017
  • by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
  • ScreenDaily
Screen Australia unveils $3 million in development and production funding
Vr project Buried.

Screen Australia has announced its latest funding round, with $3 million in production and development funding split between two Indigenous TV projects, eight multiplatform projects, eight feature films, and two individuals and two companies.

The two Indigenous television projects to have received production investment are:

–... ABC TV.s previously announced Indigenous comedy drama series The Warriors. From Robert Connolly's Arenamedia, the show is set in the competitive world of Australian Rules Football, and has major production investment from Screen Australia and funding support from Film Victoria;

–... Nitv documentary Carry The Flag,.which delves into the story behind the Torres Strait Island flag designed by Bernard Namok, from Tamarind Tree Pictures with Screen Queensland and Screen Territory support.

The eight multiplatform projects to have received production investment are:

–... Vr project The Buried, a 3D experience that plunges the viewer into a magical Dreamtime world, from Indigenous writer/director Tyson Mowarin,...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 10/19/2016
  • by Staff Writer
  • IF.com.au
Shooting underway on The Warriors, the ABC’s new Indigenous comedy drama
The Warriors.

Filming has started in Melbourne on The Warriors, an eight-part Indigenous comedy drama for the ABC.

Lisa McCune, John Howard and Vince Colosimo will star alongside a cast of emerging Indigenous actors.

The Warriors, which explores the world of Aussie Rules, is the brainchild of Tony Briggs (The Sapphires) and Robert Connolly (Paper Planes, Barracuda).

The series has been exclusively written and directed by Indigenous Australians, including Jon Bell (Cleverman), Briggs and newcomer Tracey Rigney..

Directors include Adrian Russell Wills (Wentworth), Beck Cole (Black Comedy), Steven McGregor (Croker Island Exodus, Redfern Now), Catriona McKenzie (The Circuit, Redfern Now and The Gods of Wheat Street)..

Producers are Connolly, John Harvey and Liz Kearney, and Justin Monjo is story producer.

The Warriors follows two new Afl recruits - plucked from obscurity into fame and fortune - and two established players, who have been thrown together into a share house in Melbourne.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 10/11/2016
  • by Staff Writer
  • IF.com.au
Three local producers off to the UK’s Production Finance Market
Following the film co-financing event Miff 37ºSouth Market, three local producers have been awarded places at the Production Finance Market (Pfm), held in London in October.

Miff 37ºSouth Market is the exclusive Australia/Nz partner of the Pfm, and the only three guaranteed local places are reserved for attending producers. The Pfm runs in association with the BFI London Film Festival.

New Zealand producer Tom Hern won one of the coveted places, as well as a $2000 flight voucher towards his trip. Victorians Pip Campey and Jamie Houge also received places.

Selection was guided by the votes the international financiers and buyers at Miff 37ºSouth Market.

The event, now its 10 year and the only Australian market of its kind held at a film festival, hosted 50 film financiers and buyers including film financiers/buyers including Amazon, Bankside, Catalyst, Double Dutch, eOne Australia, Embankment, Film Mode, Fulcrum, Im Global, Indie, Kaleidoscope, Lotus, Madman,...
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 8/5/2016
  • by By Staff Writer
  • IF.com.au
These Final Hours (2013)
‘These Final Hours’ TV Series Adaptation From EuropaCorp Set At Fox With Penalty
These Final Hours (2013)
Fox has given a script commitment plus penalty to These Final Hours, an apocalyptic drama project from EuropaCorp TV Studios USA. The series is inspired by the Australian feature that premiered at the Cannes Director Fortnight last year.

These Final Hours was one of the first projects put in development at EuropaCorp TV Studios USA, the U.S. outpost of French studio EuropaCorp (Taxi Brooklyn) launched last year with Matthew Gross as President.

The film’s writer/director Zak Hilditch is on board to write and direct the project, originally eyed for cable. He will executive produce with Gross, Edouard de Vesinne and Thomas Anargyros. Liz Kearney, who produced the original film, will be a producer.

These Final Hours, set after a world-ending meteor strike, follows three siblings in the San Francisco Bay Area as they race to get to their estranged father’s bomb shelter that can withstand the end of days.
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 10/5/2015
  • by Nellie Andreeva
  • Deadline Film + TV
Putuparri and the Rainmakers clinches $100,000 CinefestOZ film prize
Putuparri and the Rainmakers has won Australia's richest film prize.

The Nicole Ma directed documentary was named the winner of the $100,000 CinefestOZ film at the festival's Gala Night celebrations in Busselton, Western Australia.

Produced by John Moore, starring Tom Lawford and Sylvestor Rangie, and set against the backdrop of Australia.s tangled colonial and Indigenous history, it explores one man.s struggle to fulfill his destiny.

.The film beat fellow finalists Now Add Honey, Backtrack, Pawno and The Daughter to the title.

.Moore said it was an honour for a small film like Putuparri and the Rainmakers to win against such heavy weight competition..

"It's a great boost for the people of Fitzroy Crossing, who appear in the film and I hope it will encourage all Australians to value and better understand the culture of our first peoples..

.The prize is awarded each year to an Australian feature film or feature-length documentary.
See full article at IF.com.au
  • 8/30/2015
  • by Inside Film Correspondent
  • IF.com.au
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