Five Australian films have been invited to the 73rd edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which runs from June 19 – 30 .
Five films supported by the MIFF Premiere Fund including Thomas M. Wright’s directorial debut 'Acute Misfortune' and Sue Thomson’s 'The Coming Back Out Ball Movie' will have their world premieres at the 67th Melbourne International Film Festival.
Actress Joanne Samuel is enjoying a career resurgence and planning to direct her first feature.
First-time feature directors Thomas Wright ('Acute Misfortune'), John Sheedy ('H is for Happiness'), Ben Lawrence ('Hearts and Bones') and Natalie Erika James ('Relic') will vie for the Australian Directors' Guild Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde ('Animals') and Wayne Blair ('Top End Wedding').
Some 34 feature films will compete for nominations for this year's AACTA Awards, and the longlist covers diverse range of titles, from box office earners like 'Top End Wedding' and 'Storm Boy', through to the critically lauded 'The Nightingale' and micro budget indies like 'Suburban Wildlife'.