A Nine telemovie about one of Australia’s most horrific criminal cases almost two decades ago goes into production next week.
The 90-minute crime thriller Blood Brothers, about the grisly Gilham family murders in Sydney, will be directed by acclaimed filmmaker Peter Andrikidis (Underbelly, East West 101, The Kings of Mykonos) and produced by Playmaker Media.
Lisa McCune (Blue Heelers), Tony Martin (False Witness) and Michael Dorman (Daybreakers) head the cast, while Jodie Gordon (Home and Away), Frankie J. Holden (Police Rescue) and Jonny Pasvolsky (Underbelly) will also appear.
As the story goes in Sydney’s south in 1993, Jeffrey Gilham (Dorman) butchered his parents although he was never charged with their murder but instead of his younger brother Christopher. Gilham claimed his younger brother in fact killed his parents and this enraged him to the point of murder.
The story shows the perspective of the boys’ uncle Tony Gilham (Martin) who campaigned for 14 years to clear Christopher’s name, and the crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen (McCune), who found herself arguing a seemingly unwinnable case to eventually convict Jeffrey of the murders.
Speaking with IF at their Moore Park headquarters, producers David Maher and David Taylor are upbeat and excited about their latest telemovie after the success of their previous Nine project Wicked Love – The Maria Korp Story.
“It’s a great psychological thriller,” Maher says of the telemovie based on Robin Bowles’ book of the same name.
“Producing true crime is a big responsibility and that balance between staying faithful to the truth around quite tragic events and telling a cohesive, dramatic story is another part of the challenge with that particular genre.”
Maher confirmed family members were consulted about the project.
Taylor says it’s great to be working with Nine again and the script helped attract both the cast and director.
"I think certainly all the networks are talking about telemovies at the moment," Taylor says.
"We’re primed and ready for the telemovie to come back."
Written by Victoria Madden (with initial development from John Misto) and shot by Joseph Pickering (Underbelly), Blood Brothers is set to air later this year.
The four-week shoot, beginning Monday, will take place in and around Sydney, including Sutherland Shire and the North Shore.