By Adam Coleman
Following a much publicised conviction for social security fraud and a near breakdown, Gold Logie-winning actor Rowena Wallace (Sons and Daughters, Prisoner) will return to the screen in the psychological thriller Mind Fire, the debut feature film from Sunshine Coast production company, Myrtletown Films.
Wallace is best known for her role as Patricia ‘Pat the Rat’ Hamilton in the Australian soap opera, Sons and Daughters, a character that became a national cult figure and won her a Gold Logie in 1985.
In 2005, Wallace was given a suspended sentence of six months imprisonment for collecting a disability support pension, despite being actively employed by television series such as Water Rats and Beauty and the Beast.
In Mind Fire, Wallace will play the role of Dr Rebecca Ryder, “an enterprising industrialist in the field of medical research”, according to Myrtletown Films associate producer, Andrew Dudek.
“We are actually bowled over by the performance she delivers, hopefully it will herald the start of a new and exciting, born-again phase for Rowena.
"She has been a very steadying influence on some of the junior cast,” he says.
Currently in post-production and only a few weeks from completion, Mind Fire is the first feature film to be conceived, written, produced, shot and directed on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, according to Dudek.
With a budget of $500,000, the feature film was funded exclusively by a consortium of private investors and is billed as a taut, intelligently conceived psychological thriller set in the Australian bush.
Written and directed by Tamela Sainsbury, Mind Fire centers around a group of scientists who travel with a renowned professor to study a cross breed of ants, which could unlock the key to human longevity. The true purpose of the expedition is finally revealed amidst a terrifying battle of survival.
Mind Fire also stars Conrad Coleby in his feature debut (Home and Away, Sea Patrol), Lara Cox (Heartbreak High, All Saints), Greg Hatton (The Square) and veteran Australian screenwriter/actor, Peter Sumner (Star Wars, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith).
To view the trailer for Mind Fire click here.