The Pusan International Film Festival today announced that six Australian feature films will screen at the 2007 festival, including four films from first-time feature directors.
Boxing Day, co-written and directed by Kriv Stenders (The Illustrated Family Doctor) and produced by Kristian Moliere has been selected to screen in the Flash Forward program at the festival. After successful screenings at both Adelaide and Sydney Film Festivals, the Pusan screening will be the international premiere for the film. Boxing Day was produced in association with the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund and Rising Sun Pictures.
Cross Life, Son of a Lion, Lucky Miles, September and Unfinished Sky have all been selected to screen in the World Cinema section.
Cross Life, co-written and directed by Claire McCarthy and produced by Claire McCarthy, Andre Smith and Stephen Carnell will have its international premiere in Pusan following sold-out screenings at the Sydney Film Festival. The film was developed in association with the Australian Film Commission (AFC).
Son of a Lion, co-written and directed by Benjamin Gilmour and produced by Carolyn Johnson, was filmed on location in Pakistan and will also have its world premiere. Son of a Lion was funded at post-production stage through the AFC’s IndiVision production strand.
Lucky Miles, written and directed by Michael James Rowland and produced by Jo Dyer and Lesley Dyer continues its international success having recently collected the Special Jury prize at the Karlovy Vary film festival. Lucky Miles is a Short of Easy production in association with Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC), Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund and the South Australian Film Corporation.
September, co-written and directed by Peter Carstairs and produced by John Polson and produced through the Tropfest Feature Program (TFP) will screen in Pusan following its international premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. The development and production of September was supported by Movie Network Channels and it was financed with the assistance of the FFC and produced in association with the New South Wales Film and Television Office Regional Filming Fund.
Unfinished Sky, written and directed by Peter Duncan (Children of the Revolution) and produced by Cathy Overett and Anton Smit is also screening following its international premiere in Toronto. Unfinished Sky was produced by New Holland Productions and FFC in association with Pacific Film and Television Commission and Fortissimo Films in co-operation with IdtV Film and Vara Broadcasting Company with the support of Netherlands Film Fund and CoBO Fund.
‘Pusan’s selection of six films that have been financed through a variety of funding mechanisms shows both the diversity of the films that Australia is producing at present and the international appeal of our films,’ said AFC Chief Executive Chris Fitchett. ‘It is particularly pleasing to achieve this level of success at one of Asia’s leading film festivals after nine Australian films were selected for Toronto.’
The Pusan International Film Festival runs from October 4 – 12, 2007.
* Boxing Day
(82 minutes)
Director: Kriv Stenders
Writers: Kriv Stenders, Richard Green
Producer: Kristian Moliere
Co-producer: Shane McNeil
Executive Producer: Wayne Lewis
Production Company: Smoking Gun Productions
Cast: Richard Green, Tammy Anderson, Syd Brisbane, Misty Sparrow, Stuart Clark, Catriona Hadden
Synopsis: The story of a father’s impassioned struggle to reunite his estranged family over the course of a single afternoon.
(82 minutes)
Director: Kriv Stenders
Writers: Kriv Stenders, Richard Green
Producer: Kristian Moliere
Co-producer: Shane McNeil
Executive Producer: Wayne Lewis
Production Company: Smoking Gun Productions
Cast: Richard Green, Tammy Anderson, Syd Brisbane, Misty Sparrow, Stuart Clark, Catriona Hadden
Synopsis: The story of a father’s impassioned struggle to reunite his estranged family over the course of a single afternoon.
Produced in association with the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund and Rising Sun Pictures.
* Cross Life
(100 minutes)
Director: Claire McCarthy
Writers: Christopher Strickland, Claire McCarthy and Andre Smith
Producers: Claire McCarthy with Anne Robinson, Andre Smith and Stephen Carnell
(100 minutes)
Director: Claire McCarthy
Writers: Christopher Strickland, Claire McCarthy and Andre Smith
Producers: Claire McCarthy with Anne Robinson, Andre Smith and Stephen Carnell
Post Production Producer: Louise Smith
Associate Producer: Jamie Hilton
Production Company: Free Agent.com <http://agent.com/>
International Sales: Free Agent.com <http://agent.com/>
Cast: Tony Barry, Imogen Annesley, Paul Caesar, Danielle Rohweder
Synopsis: Ten fragments of life. Three days until Christmas. Cross Life is a tale of ordinary people pained by the desire for love amidst the sensual delights of Sydney’s red light district.
Production Company: Free Agent.com <http://agent.com/>
International Sales: Free Agent.com <http://agent.com/>
Cast: Tony Barry, Imogen Annesley, Paul Caesar, Danielle Rohweder
Synopsis: Ten fragments of life. Three days until Christmas. Cross Life is a tale of ordinary people pained by the desire for love amidst the sensual delights of Sydney’s red light district.
Developed in association with the Australian Film Commission.
* Lucky Miles
(105 minutes)
Director: Michael James Rowland
Writers: Michael James Rowland, Helen Barnes
Director: Michael James Rowland
Writers: Michael James Rowland, Helen Barnes
Producers: Jo Dyer, Lesley Dyer
Co-producer: Michael James Rowland
Executive Producer: Michael Bourchier
Production Company: Short of Easy
International Sales: Cineclick Asia
International Sales: Cineclick Asia
Australasian Distribution: Dendy Films
Cast: Kenneth Moraleda, Srisacd Sacdpraseuth, Rodney Afif
Synopsis: It’s 1990 and an Indonesian fishing boat abandons Iraqi and Cambodian refugees in a remote part of Western Australia. While most are quickly caught by officials, three men with nothing in common but their misfortune and determination escape arrest and begin an epic journey into the heart of Australia. Pursued by an army reservist unit, our three heroes wander deeper into the desert, desperately searching for a Western-style democracy amongst the stones of the Pilbara. A film about distance, difference and dud maps.
Cast: Kenneth Moraleda, Srisacd Sacdpraseuth, Rodney Afif
Synopsis: It’s 1990 and an Indonesian fishing boat abandons Iraqi and Cambodian refugees in a remote part of Western Australia. While most are quickly caught by officials, three men with nothing in common but their misfortune and determination escape arrest and begin an epic journey into the heart of Australia. Pursued by an army reservist unit, our three heroes wander deeper into the desert, desperately searching for a Western-style democracy amongst the stones of the Pilbara. A film about distance, difference and dud maps.
A Short of Easy production in association with Film Finance Corporation Australia, Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund and the South Australian Film Corporation.
* September
(85 minutes)
Director: Peter Carstairs
Writers: Ant Horn, Peter Carstairs
Producer: John Polson
Co-Producers: Serena Paull, Lynda House
Executive Producers: Tony Forrest, Mark Bamford, Gary Hamilton
Production Company: Tropfest Feature Program
International Sales: Arclight Films
Australasian Distribution: Hopscotch Films
Cast: Clarence John Ryan, Xavier Samuel, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Kelton Pell, Alice McConnell, Lisa Flanagan, Mia Wasikowska
Synopsis: Set in the Australian wheat-belt in 1968, September tells the story of two 16-year-old boys, one black and one white, whose pure and unaffected friendship begins to fall apart under the pressures of a changing social and political climate.
Director: Peter Carstairs
Writers: Ant Horn, Peter Carstairs
Producer: John Polson
Co-Producers: Serena Paull, Lynda House
Executive Producers: Tony Forrest, Mark Bamford, Gary Hamilton
Production Company: Tropfest Feature Program
International Sales: Arclight Films
Australasian Distribution: Hopscotch Films
Cast: Clarence John Ryan, Xavier Samuel, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Kelton Pell, Alice McConnell, Lisa Flanagan, Mia Wasikowska
Synopsis: Set in the Australian wheat-belt in 1968, September tells the story of two 16-year-old boys, one black and one white, whose pure and unaffected friendship begins to fall apart under the pressures of a changing social and political climate.
The Tropfest Feature Program (TFP) is the production arm of Sony Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival. The TFP is fully funded by Movie Network Channels as part of their ongoing commitment to the Australian film industry. Development and production of September is supported by Movie Network Channels. September was financed with the assistance of Film Finance Corporation Australia and produced in association with The New South Wales Film and Television Office Regional Filming Fund. The TFP was developed with the assistance of the Australian Film Commission and is supported by TressCox Lawyers. September is proudly supported by Kodak Entertainment Imaging.
* Son of a Lion
(92 minutes)
Written by Benjamin Gilmour in collaboration with the people of Kohat & Darra Adam Khel, Pakistan
Director: Benjamin Gilmour
Producer: Carolyn Johnson
Co-producer: Jeff McDonald
Executive Producer: Hayat Khan Shinwari
Production Company: Carolyn Johnson Films
Cast: Niaz Khan Shinwari, Sher Alam Miskeen Ustad
(92 minutes)
Written by Benjamin Gilmour in collaboration with the people of Kohat & Darra Adam Khel, Pakistan
Director: Benjamin Gilmour
Producer: Carolyn Johnson
Co-producer: Jeff McDonald
Executive Producer: Hayat Khan Shinwari
Production Company: Carolyn Johnson Films
Cast: Niaz Khan Shinwari, Sher Alam Miskeen Ustad
Synopsis: In the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, a young Pashtun boy fights for the opportunity to learn.
Produced in association with the Australian Film Commission
* Unfinished Sky
(90 minutes)
Writer/Director: Peter Duncan
Producers: Cathy Overett, Anton Smit
Executive Producers: Mark Overett, Hanneke Niens, San Fu Maltha
International Sales: Fortissimo Film Sales
Cast: William McInnes, Monic Hendrickx
Synopsis: John Woldring wakes one morning to find a young woman stumbling semi-consciously towards his farmhouse. She is dark (Middle Eastern perhaps) and has no English. There is great beauty hidden beneath the blood and bruises. She has obviously run from something truly terrible. But John Woldring doesn’t call the police. He will handle this his own way. Has she landed in a sanctuary or another nightmare?
New Holland Productions and Film Finance Corporation Australia in association with Pacific Film and Television Commission and Fortissimo Films in co-operation with IdtV Film and Vara Broadcasting Company with the support of Netherlands Film Fund and CoBO Fund.
[release from Avviso PR]