Essie Davis (Photo Credit: Rachelle Smith) and Thomasin McKenzie.
Essie Davis has been cast in the titular role in New Zealand film The Justice of Bunny King, director Gaysorn Thavat’s debut feature currently shooting in Auckland.
Starring opposite Davis is her True History of the Kelly Gang co-star and Kiwi talent Thomasin McKenzie (JoJo Rabbit, The King, Leave No Trace).
Davis plays Bunny King, mother of two with a sketchy past and a sharp tongue. Bunny works traffic intersections as a squeegee bandit, using her quick wit to charm money from motorists after offering to wash their windows.
However, Bunny finds her frustrations difficult to contain, leading her to clash frequently with the public and police. Finding herself without her children or a home, Bunny crashes at her sister’s. Her stay is interrupted by a confrontation with her sister’s partner, which leads Bunny to try and take her niece Tonyah (McKenzie) under her wing.
The script has been written by Sophie Henderson (Fantail) with Emma Slade (Come To Daddy) producing.
Davis said: “I’m so excited to be playing Bunny King; she’s a fighter with a heart of gold who will never give up on her kids or her niece in spite of the whole world’s injustice. It will be great working with Thomasin again after her beautiful work in True History of the Kelly Gang.”
The Justice of Bunny King is a Firefly Films production, supported by the New Zealand Film Commission, the New Zealand Screen Production Grant, Images & Sound and Blockhead VFX.
Protagonist Pictures is handling world sales and Madman Entertainment will distribute in Australia and New Zealand.