Press release from TM Publicity
LOU, the new Australian feature film by writer/director Belinda Chayko, and starring one of Britain’s most acclaimed actors, John Hurt, begins filming at Murwillumbah, in northern NSW today.
Hurt has won Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards and has been nominated for two Academy Awards for his performances in Elephant Man and Midnight Express. He is noted for other memorable roles in films and television programs such as Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Naked Civil Servant, Watership Down and, more recently, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
LOU also features AFI Best Actress Award winner Emily Barclay (Suburban Mayhem, Prime Mover, The Silence) and introduces 12-year-old Lily Bell Tindley in the eponymous lead role.
LOU is a tender story about the relationship between 11-year-old Lou and her grandfather. Just as suddenly as Lou’s father walked out of her life, her grandfather crashes in. But when Doyle comes to stay, Lou discovers, against all her expectations, the healing power of love.
LOU is Belinda Chayko’s second feature film. She also directed City Loop, wrote the recent telemovie Saved and wrote and directed the award-winning short film Swimming.
LOU is produced by Matchbox Pictures principals Helen Bowden (Soft Fruit, Girl in a Mirror), Michael McMahon (The Home Song Stories, Saved) and Tony Ayres (The Home Song Stories, Walking on Water). Kojo is domestic distributor with Bankside handling international sales.
Producer Helen Bowden said: “LOU is an irresistible project for a producer. Belinda has delivered a script that is incredibly moving, with moments of humour and gentleness, and we feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with actors of the calibre of John Hurt and Emily Barclay who will bring this beautiful screenplay to life.”
LOU is produced with the financial assistance of the New South Wales Film and Television Office through its production investment program and the Regional Filming Fund, Film Victoria, the South Australian Film Corporation and Screen Australia.