"Why hasn’t it reached our expectations this weekend is the million dollar question."
This year's Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) opener - director Daniel Gordon's The Australian Dream - has proved an audience favourite, winning the Audience Award for Best Documentary 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').
Producer Julie Ryan was in post-production for 'Hotel Mumbai' when writer Lisa Hoppe’s script for 'H is for Happiness' came across her desk. She loved it straight away - by page 40, she'd recognised it would make a heartwarming, funny family film.
"Don't adapt and change cultural differences: some projects lose their originality because they are designed for world platforms or global deals."
Shannon Murphy’s feature debut 'Babyteeth' leads the early AACTA Awards race, scoring nods in 12 out of 13 film categories, while 'Mystery Road' and 'Stateless' are ahead in television.
For Robert Connolly, 2019 is the year when filmmakers will need to rise to the challenge of the massive success of TV drama by offering unique experiences.
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) has unveiled the first 29 films on its line-up this year, including the world premiere of Good Thing Productions and Passion Pictures’ 'The Australian Dream' which will open the festival August 1.