Radha Mitchell.
Celeste, the latest feature from director Ben Hackworth (Corroboree), will start shooting next week in far north Queensland.
Radha Mitchell (Swinging Safari, Looking for Grace) leads the cast as the titular character, acting alongside Thomas Cocquerel (In Like Flynn, Billionaire Boys Club), Nadine Garner (The Book of Revelation) and Odessa Young (Assassination Nation, The Daughter).
A Unicorn Films production, Celeste follows a renowned opera diva who retired early for the man she loved to live on a crumbling estate in the rainforest. Ten years after the tragic death of her husband, she is set to return to the stage for her final performance. Her husband’s son Jack (Cocquerel), still haunted by the past, arrives amidst the preparations for the performance and finds Celeste is as he remembered – beautiful, intoxicating and dangerous. She needs him to stay in order to carry out one last request.
Hackworth wrote the screenplay with the late actor Bille Brown. The script was developed with financial assistance from Screen Australia, and Screen Queensland has also provided development and production assistance.
Producer Lizzette Atkins said: “Celeste is a cinematic tale of desire and redemption, set in a bohemian world of opera and showcasing a stunning and unseen part of the world.”
Curious Films will distribute the film in Australia, with international sales to be handled by Level K.