Press release from Filmscope
Filmscope Entertainment (Filmscope) is pleased to announce that NEEDLE won a number of awards at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (2011) including Best Actor (Michael Dorman) and Best Cinematography (Stephen Windon). The film and its Director (John V. Soto) were also awarded the Special Jury Prize at the festival.
Director, John V. Soto commented “MUFF, headed by film fanatic Richard Wolstencroft, is run by a dedicated bunch of film lovers who showcase genre movies from around the world, so it really was an honor for our film to be a part of the festival. Michael Dorman and Stephen Windon both deserve full credit for their outstanding contribution to Needle.”
Producer, Deidre Kitcher added “Needle has now won seven awards at various film festivals around the world and has been sold in over 65 countries, including the key territories North America (Lionsgate), Japan (Shochiku), UK (High Fliers) and Germany (Telepool) so we’re quite happy with what our movie has achieved to date.” Kitcher also noted that NEEDLE has now passed $190,000 USD in box office in Turkey, selling over 38,000 tickets and still being shown on 20 screens in that country.
Needle has received many positive reviews from Australian critics with Andrew Urban calling it “an engaging and well executed supernatural thriller,” Simon Foster (SBS) said that “the film delivers in spades all the prerequisites that fans demand,” and Travis Johnson from Xpress Magazine said "The film has no shame in its modest ambitions, and it fulfils its remit with admirable panache. Soto is an excellent visual stylist and he clearly knows a thing or two about pacing and suspense."
Overseas critics have also praised the film with Killerfilm giving Needle a score of 4 out of 5, with genre specialist Alex Scott Webster saying “…Needle is an above-average slasher with a refreshingly original plot device.”
Needle is the first West Australian film to win a “Golden Skull” award at Screamfest (2010) Los Angeles along with a slew of awards at the British Horror Film Festival which included Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects and Best Supporting Actress. Filmed in Perth, Needle features the cream of Australian acting talent including Jessica Marais (Packed to the Rafters), Michael Dorman (Daybreakers, Triangle), Trilby Glover (Righteous Kill), Tahyna Tozzi (Wolverine), Travis Fimmel (The Beast, The Valley), Ben Mendolsohn (Animal Kingdom), Khan Chittenden (West), John Jarratt (Wolf Creek) and Jane Badler (V TV series).
Needle, is about a college student who must unmask a killer who is harnessing the deadly powers of a sinister 18th century machine to target his friends.