Principal photography on Craig Boreham's Australian feature film Teenage Kicks began today in and around Sydney.
Filming over the next five weeks, Sydney’s iner West and south-eastern suburbs will provide an impressive backdrop to this nuanced, compelling and evocative coming-of-age drama exploring the minefield of adolescence, burgeoning sexuality and the desire to belong.
Helmed by award winning writer/director Craig Boreham and producer Annmaree J Bell, the film’s talented cast includes Miles Szanto (The Elephant Princess, Love My Way, Bruno & Earlene Go to Vegas) in the lead role, Daniel Webber (The Combination, K9, Sleeping Beauty), Charlotte Best (Home and Away, Puberty Blues), Shari Sebbans (The Sapphires, Redfern Now), Ian Roberts (Little Fish, Superman Returns, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities) and Anni Finsterer (The Boys are Back, Sleeping Beauty, Prime Mover, Accidents Happen).
With an original screenplay by Craig Boreham, Teenage Kicks tells the story Miklós Varga as he navigates his way through identity, explosive sexuality and guilt, struggling to mature from boy to man.
In the final moments of his seventeenth year, Miklós Varga’s world has come crumbling down. His plans to run away and escape the hold of his migrant family have been brutally undone by family disaster. Only Mik knows the events that led to this tragedy and as far as he can see there is only one person to blame: himself.
Mik is suddenly torn between his desire to head north and start a new life with his best friend Dan, and the obligation to his broken family. Can he fill the shoes of his adored sibling or is he toxic, destined to bring ruin upon everyone he loves?
“We are really exploring that ‘in-between’ phase that we all go through. That cusp moment between teen and adult when the world can turn on its head every single day and you are still trying to find where you fit in the scheme of things,” said writer/director Craig Boreham. “Teenage Kicks is an in-your-face, raw look at that time and the issues and struggles these young characters go through when they come crashing toward adulthood. It's an evocative, sexually charged story that I think most people can relate to,” he added.
The film isa dapted from Craig and Annmaree’s multi-award winning short film Drowning. Together Craig and Annmaree’s films have screened in over 500 festivals around the world and have attracted the attention of renowned figures in the Australian film industry. Angie Fielder, producer of Wish You Were Here, said, “Craig Boreham is a fresh, contemporary cinematic voice. He immerses his audience in complete and cinematic worlds, and authentically captures the complexities of teenage lust and sexuality. His characters are melancholic and beautiful, trapped in their insecurities and dying to break free from their angst.”
Collaborating with Craig once again, producer Annmaree J Bell leads an accomplished and talented crew that includes production designer Virginia Mesiti, editor Adrian Chiarella and cinematographer Bonnie Elliott, also Director of Photography for These Final Hours which recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Annmaree said, “There was such an amazing response to Drowning that it was the logical next step to adapt it into a feature. We are so passionate about Teenage Kickd, I'm thrilled to be working with Craig and our amazing team to bring this incredible film to Australian and international audiences.”
A production from Azure Productions Pty Ltd, it's a collaborative passion project for all involved. The filmmakers are dedicated to integrity with a drive to create, inspire, achieve. Teenage Kick was financed completely independently with the support of private investment and a successful Pozible crowdfunding campaign. LevelK is handling International Sales.
________________________________________
About the writer/director:
Craig Boreham is multi-award winning Sydney based writer and director. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), Craig has directed short films, ads and music clips and has worked extensively in the area of post-production. Craig’s films have been seen in over 200 festival screenings, such as the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, received numerous awards and have been the subjects of international retrospectives. Much of Craig's video and film work focuses on themes of sexuality and the politics of desire.
About the producer:
Annmaree J Bell is the producer and founder of Azure Productions, with over fifteen years of project management experience. Her films have played at festivals worldwide, including In Competition at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival. Annmaree has produced many of Craig Boreham’s short films, including Drowning, Blue Monday and B&W. Drowning premiered In Competition at Flickerfest and won the 2012 National Film Sound Archive Orlando Award, Queer Screen in 2011.