PRESS RELEASE
Principal photography began yesterday on Matchbox Pictures’ new Australian feature film Cut Snake – a tense, psychologically-driven crime thriller in which one man discovers his biggest enemy to putting the past behind him is himself. The film will be shot over six weeks at locations in and around Melbourne including Williamstown, Fitzroy, Warrandyte and Northcote.
The feature has attracted an internationally renowned Australian cast, including Sullivan Stapleton (300: Rise Of An Empire, Animal Kingdom), Alex Russell (Chronicle, Carrie) and Jessica De Gouw (Arrow, Dracula).
Cut Snake has also engaged some of the most talented crew working in Australia, including Line Producer Brendan Campbell (Nowhere Boys, Underbelly), Production Designer Jo Ford (Animal Kingdom, The Last Ride), Director of Photography Simon Chapman (The Loved Ones, The Little Death), Editor Andy Canny (Galore, The Slap), 1st AD Phil Jones (Top of the Lake, Animal Kingdom, Chopper) and Costume designer Cappi Ireland (Kill Bill I & II, The Home Song Stories).
This project marks a return to feature films for director Tony Ayres (The Home Song Stories, The Slap, The Turning), from a script by Blake Ayshford (The Straits, Devil’s Playground). Trevor Blainey (Noise) and Matchbox Pictures’ Michael McMahon (The Home Song Stories, Lou, The Slap) are producing.
Set in the mid-1970s, Cut Snake tells the story of Sparra Farrell (Russell), a fiercely private man in his twenties, who is trying to escape a dark and violent past and make a life for himself in a new city. He finds honest work and becomes engaged to the beautiful Paula (De Gouw). When the brutal and charismatic Pommie (Stapleton) tracks him down, Sparra finds himself falling back into a world that he thought he left behind.
Ruthless and charming, Pommie becomes the perfect houseguest and drops tantalising hints about Sparra’s mysterious history to Paula, who has no idea about her fiancé’s past. As Pommie exerts his influence over Sparra to lure him back into crime and the life they once had, Sparra realises that he’ll have to fight to keep the past from ruining his future.
Sparra is forced to battle not just Pommie, but also his own private demons, to save Paula and himself.
Cut Snake will premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2014.
The film is produced with the assistance of Screen Australia, Film Victoria, MIFF Premiere Fund, Deluxe and Ingenious. Distributed in Australia by Hopscotch and sold overseas by eOne Entertainment.