‘A Sunburnt Christmas.’
Daniel Henshall, Sullivan Stapleton, Ling Cooper Tang and newcomers Lena Nankivell, Eadan McGuinness and Tatiana Goode are starring in A Sunburnt Christmas, a Stan Original film directed by Christiaan Van Vuuren.
Now shooting in Adelaide, produced by Every Cloud Productions in association with Highview Productions, the comedy-of-errors is created and written by Gretel Vella, Elliot Vella and Tim Walker.
The plot follows a single mum and her kids who are doing it tough on their outback farm until a runaway criminal dressed as Santa Claus crashes into their property and their lives.
Henshall plays Daryl, the kindly crim who is mistaken for Santa by the young and fearless Daisy (Nankivell). McGuinness and Goode play Daisy’s older siblings, her anxious brother Tom and wily teenage sister Hazel who sees Daryl as an opportunity to get her family back on track.
Stapleton is Dingo, a mobster on the hunt for Daryl, with Cooper Tang as the children’s mum. Dylan River is the DOP and the casting directors are Marianne Jade and Angela Heesom.
Highview Productions’ Lisa Scott is producing with Every Cloud Productions’ Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox as executive producers and Mike Jones co-producing, with funding from Screen Australia, Stan and the South Australian Film Corporation. It will premiere on Stan in December.
Eagger said: “Christmas is one of those occasions where my family love the ritual of sitting down together to watch something Christmassy. Last Christmas, I asked myself ‘where are our good Aussie Christmas films?’
“A Sunburnt Christmas fills that void and celebrates what makes us uniquely Australian. It is a little bit irreverent, not very politically correct, has a big heart and is a lot funny.”
SAFC CEO Kate Croser said: “We are thrilled to welcome the acclaimed and prolific Every Cloud Productions to South Australia for the first time with this Stan Original film.
“The turnaround on this production, post-COVID and pre-Christmas is incredibly quick and is testament to the agility and skill of the nimble crew and vendors in South Australia, under the leadership of South Australian producer Lisa Scott.”