New feature film Hounds of Love is set to start shooting in Western Australia early next year.
The project, from writer/director Ben Young and producer Melissa Kelly, has been supported by Screen Australia and ScreenWest.
Hounds of Love is the debut feature film for Young and is a thriller drawn from a number of infamous local and international crimes.
Producer Melissa Kelly said Hounds of Love explored some of the same territory as the gripping Australian crime thrillers Animal Kingdom, Suburban Mayhem and Mystery Road.
The project participated in the ScreenWest script and talent development initiatives Feature Navigator and eQuinoxe in 2014 and attracted international recognition when it was pitched at European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin earlier this year.
In 2014 the project was awarded production funding through ScreenWest’s West Coast Visions initiative, which aims to uncover, inspire and develop local filmmakers.
Screen Australia chief executive, Graeme Mason said he was thrilled to be working ScreenWest, to help develop new talent which is part of the agency’s key role.
"Ben Young is a filmmaker on the rise and we are proud to play a role in his development,” he said.
Kelly’s credits include producing feature film Blame (2010) which premiered internationally at the Toronto International Film Festival, domestically at the Melbourne International Film Festival and won the Youth Jury Award at the Fancine Film Festival in Spain.
The film also went on to screen at the Chicago, Buenos Aires, Dublin, CPH Pix, Victoria, St Tropez, CinefestOZ and Cannes Cinephiles film festivals. Melissa recently co-produced the AACTA nominated short film Karroyul (2015) by Miles Franklin Award winning writer Kim Scott and director Kelrick Martin.
Young is an award winning filmmaker who has directed series television, short films, commercials and music videos. He has directed seven short films, of which he wrote six, including Bush Basher, starring Gary Sweet and Harrison Gilbertson, and Something Fishy which screened at more than 35 Australian and international film festivals.
He has directed 30 music videos for various artists including Drapht, Emperors, Voltaire Twins, and most recently The John Butler Trio for which his video for Only One has had more than 1.3 million hits on YouTube.