Social enterprise Bus Stop Films will make its first foray into features in June when production on Genevieve Clay-Smith’s Boss Cat gets underway in the Blue Mountains.
The film will star Olivia Hargroder as 23-year-old Sonja, a woman with Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome). After her mother dies, Sonja campaigns against her estranged grandmother’s plans to sell the family home and send her away. To galvanize the support she needs, Sonja must first channel her explosive temper into something more positive: a Krump dance.
Hargroder, a proud member of the Down Syndrome community, will appear alongside Penny Downie and Blaze star Julia Savage.
Boss Cat will be produced by Deanne Weir, Eleanor Winkler, and Bus Stop’s COO/head of screen Dianna La Grassa, with executive producers Tracey Corbin-Matchett, Nathan Basha, and Mandela Mathia, and co-producer Michele Turnure-Salleo of Feracious Entertainment.
The production, backed by Screen Australia, will offer an end-to-end pathway for multiple young adults with disabilities on both sides of the camera.
A tailored workplace program will be developed to enhance disability employment on the film, considering a candidate’s areas of interest, current skills, previous on-set experience and access requirements. Participants will then be placed in corresponding departments to work and learn, being mentored by the professional crew members.
Further, Bus Stop Films will support the professional cast and crew to feel confident in managing, working alongside and creatively collaborating with participants through the delivery of their Inclusion in Action workshop. The program is part of Bus Stop’s Inclusive Crewing Project, which is funded through a Building Employer Confidence grant from the Australian Government.
Clay-Smith, a co-founder of Bus Stop Films who also set up the industry accreditation process Inclusively Made with husband Henry Smith, said she was “deeply grateful to everyone who has championed Boss Cat and helped bring this story to life”.
It’s a joy to collaborate with an extraordinary team of powerful, diverse women to elevate Bus Stop Films’ inclusive filmmaking to a feature film scale. I hope this film stirs hearts, shifts perspectives, and reshapes what people believe is possible for individuals with disability.”
The project marks a return to the Australian industry for Downie, known for her recent roles in The Diplomat, The Crown and Downton Abbey.
She said it was a thrill to be a part of the “beautiful” film.
“Genevieve’s script captured me instantly, and I can’t wait to be part of bringing this story to life,” she said.
The production is part of a milestone year for Bus Stop Films, which will celebrate its 16th anniversary with a roadshow that will incorporate 16 stops across the country, while also expanding its Accessible Film Studies to Cairns, Darwin, and Hobart.
Bus Stop Films’ CEO Tracey Corbin-Matchett said Boss Cat celebrated the organisation’s “unwavering commitment to authenticity on both sides of the camera”.
“I’m proud to see Bus Stop’s global leadership in inclusive filmmaking recognised with the strong support for the project and for the intersectional team bringing this beautiful film to life,” she said.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our many philanthropic partners who have made it possible for us to do the work we do.”
Weir expected the film to “delight and entertain audiences across the globe and bring people to the cinema to share a moving ‘feel-good’ experience that we all need right now”.
“Having followed Genevieve’s career and the amazing work of Bus Stop Films, first under Gen’s leadership and now under the guiding hand of the unstoppable Tracey Corbin-Matchett, I am thrilled to be working with this incredible team to bring Boss Cat to life, and to be a major investor through WeirAnderson Films,” she said.