Phoebe Tonkin will join UK actors Billy Howle and Tom Bateman in Paul Goldman’s WA boxing drama Kid Snow, with principal photography now underway in the Goldfields-Esperance region.
Howle (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) and Bateman (Behind Her Eyes) are set play the brothers at the centre of the story, with the former taking on the role of Kid Snow, a washed-up Irish boxer who receives a chance for redemption in the form of a rematch against the man he fought a decade prior, on a night that changed his life forever. When he meets single mother Sunny (Tonkin), he is forced to contemplate a future beyond boxing.
Set in 1970s, the film is set to not only explore the relationships of the titular character but also the legacy of boxing tents, in which professional tent fighters faced off against local challengers. The troupes crisscrossed the outback attached often, but not always, to the Agricultural Shows of larger rural centres.
The cast for Kid Snow includes Western Australian actors Tasma Walton, Mark Coles Smith, and Shaka Cook, as well as Hunter Page-Lochard, Robert Taylor, Nathan Phillips, and Jack LaTorre.
Written by John Brumpton and Stephen Cleary, the film is being produced by Lizzette Atkins, Megan Wynn, and Bruno Charlesworth, with Matthew Gledhill executive producing.
The Unicorn Films, Immaculate Conception, and Wynn Media production has received a major production investment from Screen Australia, in association with Screenwest, Lotterywest and the Western Australian Screen Fund.
It is being financed in association with VicScreen with support from Soundfirm and the Goldfields Esperance Development Commission, with Madman Entertainment handling distribution in Australia and New Zealand and French-based sales agent Elle Driver managing international sales.
Goldman described Kid Snow as a quest for redemption measured by the size of a boxer’s heart and the love and courage of a woman.
“When I was given an early draft of the script, I remember reading and re-reading the first dozen pages, getting my bearings, and simply enjoying the world of this story,” he said.
“It felt exotic and authentic, a world I hadn’t seen in any film before. Powerfully visceral, a world of stale sweat and beer, campfires and mateship, dust and blinding sunlight. Fake blood and real pain.”
“We have assembled a wonderful ensemble cast, a mighty crew, and extraordinary locations in our quest to make a big screen, cinematic film, that packs a visual and emotional punch.”
Screenwest CEO Rikki Lea Bestall said the project would be yet another opportunity to showcase the Goldfields-Esperance region to an international audience.
“Kid Snow is the first feature film to kick off production in WA since our border opened – bringing together an incredible Western Australian, Australian and international cast alongside a talented Australian crew,” she said.