Internationally acclaimed Australian composer Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator, The Insider, Whale Rider) has scored her first Australian feature film.
Playing for Charlie written and directed by first time feature director Pene Patick, is a poignant exploration of a teenage boy (played by Melbourne actor, Jared Daperis) struggling to build a future for his family in a way that sets out to defy the cliches of the coming of age genre and to discover some powerful truths about following your dream and finding your courage in an imperfect way.
As stated by Lisa Gerrard: “There are not a lot of windows that help you to understand the initiation processes of becoming a seventeen or eighteen year old man… these are the [kinds of] things that interest me about independent cinema… The fact that they are actually willing to take a risk and re-visit these primal properties that are essential to our growth and understanding.”
Playing For Charlie is the first all Australian feature film to be shot on Panavision’s much lauded Genesis High Definition camera, finishing on 35mm wide screen. Beautifully crafted by DOP Leilani Hannah (The King, Society Murders), the film was post produced by Cinevex in Melbourne.
Playing For Charlie was produced by Franziska Wagenfeld (Irresistible) for Queen Ant Films.
The film will screen at the 2008 Sydney Film festival on 12 June 2008, and at the 2008 Melbourne International Film Festival.