Multi-award winning producer, Julie Ryan (Ten Canoes) has joined forces with new media producer Kate Croser, to form Cyan Films, a new production company in Adelaide.
Based at the South Australian Film Corporation, Cyan Films has been formed to develop and produce quality feature films and documentaries, and will be working with Australia’s established and rising writers and directors.
Working with Rolf de Heer for the last ten years, Julie produced the internationally acclaimed films Ten Canoes (Special Jury Prize, Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2006), The Tracker (Venice Film Festival, Official Competition 2002), and Alexandra’s Project (Berlin Film Festival, Official Competition 2003). Four of the five films she has produced since 2000 have been nominated for Best Film in the Australian Film Institute Awards.
‘Working with low budgets, small crews and an extraordinary diversity in every production enabled me to really hone my producing and production skills. I’m really looking forward to bringing those skills into our new company and working with a range of writers and directors on a broad slate of projects,’ said Julie.
Kate began working with Vertigo on Ten Canoes and production managed Vertigo Productions’ feature film Dr Plonk. She has established a strong reputation in the new media arena, producing mobile phone series Stanley & Dean for ABC, and is currently developing an international cross-platform animation series called The Deep Sleep.
Cyan’s first feature is a co-production with Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi (Turtles Can Fly) and first time writer/director Granaz Moussavi called Auction. ‘We’re expecting to be in production in Tehran in mid 2008 and we’re excited to be working with such a celebrated filmmaker and a talented young writer/director,’ said Kate.
Other films on their slate include two genre projects – a supernatural thriller called Touched written by Ruth Estelle, and a magic realist/food film called VITA, to be written by Cath Moore and directed by Sandy Lepore.
Cyan Films also offers a range of services to the industry including line producing, production managing, post production supervising, executive producing, mentoring, budgets and budget assessments.
Together, Julie and Kate bring production experience shooting films in remote and challenging locations – swamp land in Arnhem Land, the outback in the northern Flinders Ranges, and overseas in the jungles of French Guiana, South America – working with a range of budgets and challenges, and a problem-solving and market-aware approach.
‘We’re not only specialists in filming in South Australia but have experience working in challenging places. Working with Rolf has given both of us an interest in producing films in challenging ways and we’re now looking forward to sharing those skills with the filmmaking community,’ said Julie.
[release from CG Publicity]