Filming has started in Adelaide on Nicholas Verso’s feature film Boys in the trees.
The film will be shot over the next five weeks (from September 28) in Port Adelaide, Unley Park, North Adelaide, Semaphore, Urrbrae, Brownhill Creek and Mitcham.
Funded by the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC), Boys in the Trees tells the story of two estranged childhood friends who reunite on Halloween 1997 and embark on a surreal journey through their memories, dreams and fears.
The film is director and writer Nicholas Verso’s first feature film and follows his short films, The Last Time I Saw Richard (winner of the 2014 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Award for Best Short Film), Flight and Hugo.
The Boys in the Trees screenplay won the NewDraft Screenplay Competition at NewFest 2011 in New York.
It is being produced by Melbourne-based Mushroom Pictures whose feature film credits include Chopper (2000), Gettin’ Square (2003) and Macbeth (2006) and co-produced by the principals of SA-based Hedone Productions.
Hedone, a partnership between Kate Croser and Sandy Cameron, has produced successful projects including SBS comedy series Danger 5 and time travel comedy feature film The Infinite Man.
The cast includes Toby Wallace (Lucky Country, Galore) Gulliver McGrath (Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, Martin Scorsese's Hugo and Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows), Justin Holborow and Mitzi Ruhlmann (The Code, Hiding), Tom Russell (Last Ride), Henry Meaney, Jayden Lugg, Patrick Gilbert and Terry Crawford.
South Australian Film Corporation chief executive, Annabelle Sheehan, said the SAFC was delighted to be providing production funding and support to Boys in the Trees.
“Boys in the Trees is a great example of how South Australia can benefit from interstate and local co-productions,” she said.
“It’s one of five feature films supported by SAFC in various stages of production in South Australia and has created work for the 75 local cast and crew.”
Mushroom Pictures’ John Molloy said he was thrilled to be shooting in Adelaide.
“The locations are brilliant and the creative talent is exciting," he said.
"The SAFC are an innovative agency who back distinctive new talent – their support for our film was critical in bringing it to production.
Hedone producer, Sandy Cameron, said she was delighted to be partnering with Mushroom Pictures.
“This will be a film that combines beautiful, dream-like visuals with an entertaining and powerful story of friendship”, she said.
Boys in the Trees is set for a planned release from October 31, 2016.