Producers Katia Nizic and Emma Dockery have optioned Charlotte Wood’s acclaimed novel, The Natural Way of Things.
The book was published in October by Allen & Unwin, and recently shortlisted for the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award.
The Natural Way of Things is the story of ten young women, all of whom have suffered sexual assault, deposited behind electric fences on an isolated estate, where they're guarded by two male guards and a female nurse.
“We knew instantly this was a story that needed to be told", Nizic and Dockery said.
"It feels personal and specific, but also speaks to women the world over. It is incredible to be given this opportunity to feature so many women in prominent, meaningful roles, in front of and behind the camera.”
The producers will work with impact producing and distribution specialists Goodship on the film.
Dockery spent eight years at Mullinars Casting Consultants, and Nizic was Producer’s Assistant on The Dressmaker.
Nizic's company Twice Shy Productions has made several shorts and is currently adapting the YA novel This is Shyness as a web and television series.
“Katia and Emma’s proposal – passionate, alive, ambitious and original – made it impossible for us to choose anyone else for this project", Charlotte Wood said.
"Their astonishingly detailed pitch showed me that in a deep, urgent way they had already taken real ownership of my story, and had an equally desperate desire to make something powerful and fresh with it on film. At the same time, they have responded in superbly innovative ways to what others see as the dire constraints of conventional film financing. Their argument for a new approach to filmmaking – using micro-budget strategies and excitingly lateral thinking about all layers of production so as to retain authentic creative control of the process – is completely compelling, and I can't wait to see the results.”