Five feature film projects from Australia and New Zealand have been invited to the US No Borders Co-production Market to be held in New York next month.
The selected films are An Imaginary Life, from New South Wales, based on the book by David Malouf, with Producer Penny Chapman (The Road from Coorain), Director Fred Schepisi (Plenty, Six Degrees Of Separation) and Writer John Alsop (My Brother Jack, Brides Of Christ); My Year Without Sex, from New South Wales, with Producer Bridget Ikin (Look Both Ways, An Angel At My Table), Writer/Director Sarah Watt (Look Both Ways); Firebird, from New Zealand, with Producer Catherine Fitzgerald, Directors Christine Parker and Peter Wells, and Writers Peter Wells and Christine Parker; Hollow Point, from Victoria, with Producer Peter Ford (Storm Warning), Director/Co-writer Matthew George (Let’s Get Skase, Four Jacks) and Co-writer Christopher Kelly; and Myself: Sometimes, from New South Wales, with emerging feature team Producer Melissa Beauford and Writer/Director Kieran Galvin.
The Producers from each of the invited projects will attend round table discussions, social events, and one-on-one meetings with financiers, sales agents and international television buyers at the IFP.
The New South Wales Film and Television Office (FTO), Film Victoria and the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) formed a strategic partnership in 2004 to secure places at No Borders held during the annual Independent Film Producer Market (IFP) in New York City.
Tania Chambers, Chief Executive of the FTO, said: ‘One of the FTO’s key strategies is to assist our filmmakers directly engage with the international marketplace both in terms of financing and the sales and marketing of their films. No Borders successfully gave the NSW feature Clubland a strong presence in the US where it was recently released across 50 North American cities.’
Film Victoria CEO, Sandra Sdraulig, said: ‘We are once again thrilled to be involved in this exciting initiative with the FTO and NZFC. No Borders offers an exceptional opportunity for our filmmakers to meet with key decision makers who can assist in propelling their project forward into the next stage of development.’
Ruth Harley, NZFC Chief Executive Officer, said ‘NZFC’s continuing partnership with the FTO, Film Vic and IFP has provided an excellent opportunity for NZ projects to access the North American market. Last year’s attendance at No Borders was very productive for our project The Strength of Water which has just started production in New Zealand. We look forward once again to the opportunities this year’s market will provide.’
[release from TM Publicity for the FTO]