Screen Australia has announced $3 million worth of production investment across three feature films, including Jonathan Teplitzky's The Railway Man.
Based on Eric Lomax’s book of the same name, the film will follow a man's experience as a prisoner of war, working the Japanese line from Thailand to Burma during World War II.
Oscar-winner Colin Firth will star as the eponymous lead character, with distribution to be managed by Paramount Pictures and Transmission Films.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for one of our country’s rising directors, Jonathan Teplitzky, to work with one of the world’s finest actors, Colin Firth," said Screen Australia chief executive, Ruth Harley in a statement.
Comedy/horror film 100 Bloody Acres also received funding. The debut feature from writers/directors Colin and Cameron Caines won the prize for Best Horror Script at Slamdance last year and tells the story of a group of twenty-somethings on their way to a music festival in the Australian bush.
The film will be produced by Kate Croser, Jonathan Page and Julie Ryan.
The Railway Man and 100 Bloody Acres are joined by multi-platform work Rekindling Venus. Written and directed by installation artist Lynette Wallworth, the project will be screened exclusively in dome cinemas and planetariums.
Screen Australia's latest round of investment is expected to generate almost $21 million in production.