Melbourne physician Kim Ko is writing a novella inspired by the Malaysian Airlines MH17 disaster which she aims to turn into a feature film.
The Malaysian-born doctor has a personal connection to the tragedy: a close female friend was on the July 17 2014 flight from Amsterdam bound for Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over Ukraine.
The friend asked Dr Ko to join her on the trip but she had declined because she was busy working as doctor in Victoria.
The neophyte actress/ writer/producer has teamed up with veteran screenwriter / producer Bobby Galinsky to develop a feature entitled July Seventeenth.
The screenplay will be based on Ko’s novella, due to be published next year, and on other sources. The film will also deal with her decision to pursue a career as an actress. Last month she graduated from the Howard Fine Acting School and last year she attended one of Galinsky’s workshops for actors.
Galinsky tells IF the film will not “capitalize” on the plane crash but will draw “inspiration from the decisions she has made as a daughter, sister, friend, doctor, teacher, student and lover as a result of the loss, fictionalizing the names for courtesy and professionalism, but drawing on the unbelievable events.”
Galinsky adds, “It's a semi- autobiographical account of her past year’s fighting with herself on what is right and wrong and her friendship with her deceased friend and how it was interwoven in their relationships and decisions and lives, and the chance meetings and chance decisions and thought-out decisions that dictate life.”
Ko will have a small role in July Seventeenth, which will have an international cast. Galinsky intends to bring on board an experienced producer to shepherd the project.