Richard Roxburgh and Radha Mitchell are playing the parents of a 14-year-old runaway who hire a retired detective to help find her in writer-director Sue Brooks’ Looking for Grace.
Formerly known as Driving Back from Dubbo, the drama starts shooting this week in Western Australia, produced by Lizzette Atkins, Sue Taylor and Alison Tilson.
Odessa Young (The Moodys, Wonderland) will play the title character who runs away with her best friend (Kenya Pearson) to see her favourite band.
The cast includes Terry Norris as the retired cop, Julia Blake as his wife and Tasma Walton. The plot follows the couple and their helper as they head off on the road to Ceduna to try to retrieve Grace.
Miranda Otto was originally in the frame to play Grace's mother and Sam Neill had been in talks to play the former detective.
The investors include Screen West, Screen Australia, Film Victoria, the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund and Fulcrum Media Finance.
Palace Films will distribute in Australia and Fortissimo will manage international sales. Atkins said, “Looking for Grace is a story about ordinary people going through some extraordinary moments. Sue Brooks has written a beautiful script that is intriguing, moving and engaging, and which will be brought to the screen by a wonderful cast of fine Australian actors.”
Palace distributed Brooks’ 2003 drama Japanese Story. Of her new film Palace CEO Benjamin Zeccola said, “The story has genuine heart and soul, and we have confidence the Grace team will deliver another iconic Australian film that appeals to the quality cinema audience that Palace has successfully mobilised in the past.”