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The 2023 Hallmark Channel movie When Love Springs is available for streaming on Hoopla and Hallmark+, but is it worth watching? When Love Springs by prolific director Jo-Anne Brechin is a cozy seasonal romance set in the spring rather than the usual Hallmark staple of the Christmas season. In the film, Rory (Rhiannon Fish) is a beleaguered junior publicist who travels to the picturesque Lily Lake B&b in New York for her parents' renewal of their wedding vows. Though it's supposed to be a vacation, she's still on the clock.

Even worse than working overtime, Rory runs into her ex, Jason (Callan Colley), who is also staying at Lily Lake with his new girlfriend. To avoid any further embarrassment, Rory makes a deal with Lily Lake's caretaker and grandson of the owner, Noah (James O'Halloran). The plan is that they pretend to be a couple so Rory can save face,...

‘Tis the season for holiday films. This year, Susie Abromeit is stepping into the spirit playing an interior designer tasked with a career-changing assignment — a Christmas charity ball — that requires working with a difficult, but handsome, stranger.

Designing Christmas With You is the latest project from Abromeit’s four-picture deal with Great American Family, which was announced in the fall of 2021. She produces and stars alongside Liam McIntyre.

The actress, who had a breakout role in Jessica Jones, has done a string of rom-coms for the network following appearances in King Richard and The Forever Purge. What’s different about a holiday film? Mostly, the snow.

“It was really well-made soap that looked like snow,” Abromeit notes. “The Christmas aspect is always dialed up. It’s all about the hot cocoa, the trees and the decorations, good feelings, the nostalgia.”

Ahead of the movie’s Dec. 16 release, Abromeit spoke with...

"When Love Springs" is a Hallmark movie that follows the story of Rory, a PR professional who creates a fake romance with Noah to avoid her ex-boyfriend. Rhiannon Fish stars as Rory, bringing her talent and experience from iconic Australian soap operas and previous Hallmark movies. The supporting cast, including James William O'Halloran as Noah, Callan Colley as Jason, Renee Herbert as Cleo, Erin Connor as Lyla, Steve Nation as Tom, Francesca Savige as Melody, Victor Parascos as Peter, Ellie Boddington as Sarah, and Janaki Gerard as Penny, adds depth to the enjoyable and entertaining romance.

In terms of casting, the Hallmark movie When Love Springs has it all, from lead actors with chemistry to burn to compelling supporting players. Directed by Jo-Anne Brechin, When Love Springs is about a junior PR professional named Rory (Rhiannon Fish) who travels to a lakeside B&b to celebrate her parents' wedding vow renewal.

The impact of Covid-19 and the impending removal of the Gallipoli clause from the Producer Offset have been a double blow for Australian productions aiming to film overseas across the past 18 months.

Add in a cyclone season and the process becomes even harder to navigate.

Such is the scenario for Jo-Anne Brechin’s Gardens of War, an Australian production to be filmed in Vanuatu, now at the mercy of government leniency after more than a year in development limbo.

The story follows a TV producer who leads her film crew into a remote mountain valley to discover the story of her father’s disappearance 30 years before, only to disturb his ghost and unleash havoc on the valley and her crew.

Sydney-based producer Bill Leimbach (Beneath Hill 60) penned the script with Brechin and Reg Cribb (Last Cab to Darwin), and is also producing with Bill Mulham and Ashley Burgess.

Financing was...

Steven Oliver in ‘Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky’.

Local films from directors Jo-Anne Brechin and Steven McGregor are among the 12 world premieres to feature on the line-up for Miff 68½ – Melbourne International Film Festival’s upcoming digital-only iteration.

To run August 6-23, the event will encompass some 69 features and 44 shorts from 56 countries – an impressive number given the rights complications inherent in putting together an online showcase. Forty-nine per cent of films are from a female director, and all films are available to stream across Australia.

Miff artistic director Al Cossar said: “I’m delighted to say that, despite the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Miff’s ‘radical act’ is to keep going and continue on our mission to bring you the world through unforgettable screen experiences. At Miff, we are driven by a deep understanding that film has the ability to entertain, inspire, illuminate and empower audiences in a way that few other...

Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” is set as the opening movie of the Melbourne International Film Festival. The event was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, before being revived online under the label Miff 68 ½. The festival will unspool virtually Aug 6-23, 2020.

“First Cow” is an unlikely story of friendship and free enterprise on the American frontier, involving a skilled cook, a Chinese immigrant and a wealthy landowner’s prized milking cow. It previously played at the Telluride, New York and Berlin festivals.

In total, the festival will present 60 feature films, including 3 in a retrospective section, and 44 shorts. They hail from 56 countries and territories and 49% include at least one female director. All film screenings are geo-blocked to play only within Australia, but are available nationwide.

“Despite the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Miff’s ‘radical act’ is to keep going and continue on our mission to bring (to audiences) the world through unforgettable screen experiences,...

Luke Saliba in rehearsals with Gary Sweet.

An Aussie romantic comedy with a Kiwi twist, Paper Champions will start shooting in Geelong on Monday, directed by Jo-Anne Brechin.

Luke Saliba, who co-wrote the screenplay based on his 2017 short Rey directed by Ryan Chamley, plays the lead, also named Rey, who is desperate to find love but has lost his ‘Mana,’ meaning power, prestige and being able to cope with any situation.

Lucky for Rey, he is surrounded by supportive work colleagues, a Polynesian family, a Spanish dance teacher and an ex-wrestler, all of whom help Rey get his Mana back.

Tessa de Josselin is cast as Holly, a confident and determined nurse whom Rey meets.

Gary Sweet is Terry, a former wrestling champion who is dating Rey’s mum and sets out to help him discover his inner confidence.

Kiwi John Tui is Wade, Rey’s big-hearted best mate since primary school,...

Indie feature Zelos is somewhat of anomaly in Australian cinema — it.s a film helmed predominantly by women, including a female director, co-producers, writer, cinematographer and editor. .

The film is the feature debut of director Jo-Anne Brechin, who first met writer Claire Harris when studying screenwriting at Aftrs in 2013.

.I remember hearing her pitch [Zelos] in class and just being like, .let.s do that together,.. Brechin told If.

They formed a pact to make the film when Harris finished the screenplay; a vision that has now come to fruition, with Zelos.currently in post.

A coming of age story, Zelos follows 30-something Bernard (Ben Mortley, Lantana, McLeod.s Daughters) who feels he has his life set up. He.s got a successful career, beachside apartment and a girlfriend, Sarah, who he adores.

However, his life is turned upside down when Sarah (Shannon Ashlyn, Wolf Creek 2, Love Child) confesses to having an affair overseas.