Writer/director Antaine Furlong has begun development on a new feature that will tell the story of burn survivor Sophie Delezio and her family.
Bright Eyes (working title) will be a “celebration of their life, resilience, and love for one another” in the face of adversity.
Delezio was just two years old when a car crashed into her Sydney daycare centre in 2003, leaving her with burns to 85 per cent of her body and forcing the amputation of both her feet. Less than three years later, she was struck by a car while her nanny was pushing her wheelchair across the road in Sydney’s North Shore, suffering rib fractures, a broken jaw, and bruising to her heart and brain.
Her recovery captured the nation’s attention and also led to the creation of the Day of Difference Foundation, a charity that aims to reduce the impact of children’s critical injury through providing direct support to hospitals and families.
Now 22, Delezio is preparing to get married, announcing her engagement to Joseph Salerno to her 21,000 Instagram followers earlier this year.
Furlong, who made his feature directorial debut with the 2021 sci-fi thriller Ascendant, approached Sophie’s father Ron this year about the prospect of a film adaptation, having been captivated by her story along with the rest of the general public in 2003, before returning to it “many years later” when he came back from living overseas with his wife and children.
“I saw an article about Sophie and did some research to see if anyone had made a movie about it,” he said.
“Surprisingly no one had. I could quite understand why. I reached out to Ron this year, and met the family to discuss the possibility of doing so, giving them my perspective and the challenges we faced. Ron had mentioned before that a long time ago someone had approached him about it, but they never materialised with anything.”
With the Delezios giving their blessing, Furlong is now in the process of meeting with writers he believes are suited to the project while also garnering interest from production houses and studios.
It comes after some initial pushback from the industry, with the writer/director noting a “massive disconnect” between what the Australian public wanted to see versus some of those in the film industry.
“In Europe or US, we embrace these kinds of stories — they must be told,”
“What would we do without My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, The Elephant Man, Trainspotting, Coda, Sound of Metal, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, and Wonder. Imagine pitching those ideas here?
“As a patron for the Sydney Film Festival, I met a number of ‘film people’ and the sense was, ‘Who wants to see a story about a child in trauma?’. This was rather depressing, but when I spoke to people outside the industry, the excitement and enthusiasm was exponential. The people asking me to please make this film ranged from plumbers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and retirees — not a person I met didn’t know their story and they all wanted to see it.”
He said there was “so much detail” the public didn’t know about in regards to the story.
“What was told in the many news articles interviews even the books was limited,” he said.
“[There is] the first responders, the surgeons, medical staff, and how the Australian public supported them, as well as the lives they have helped with their charity. Selfless is the best word I can use to describe the Delezios. Sophie is so bright, beautiful, and full of imagination that it’s infectious.”