Claire van der Boom and Eamon Farren are playing the leads in Love is Now, a romantic drama now shooting in Sydney and regional NSW.
It’s the first narrative feature from writer/director Jim Lounsbury and producer Behren Schulz, who formed Eponine Films in 2009.
The plot follows experienced photographer Audrey (van der Boom) and aspiring snapper Dean (Farren) as they embark on a trip through orchard country and a passionate relationship develops.
The supporting cast includes Anna Torv, Dustin Clare, Heather Mitchell and Chris Haywood.
Schulz told IF that he and Lounsbury came up with the idea on a plane trip and the first draft of the script was written in one weekend.
He raised the budget from private investors and sponsorship from Nikon and Reid Cycles. The filmmakers announced the partnership with Nikon at Tropfest last year; the film is being shot on Nikon cameras and Nikkor lenses.
Schulz enlisted the experienced David Lightfoot (Wolf Creek, Rogue, Japanese Story and Jon Hewitt’s Turkey Shoot reboot, which premieres at MIFF) as the line producer. The DoP is Anthony Jennings.
As IF reported, last week van der Boom flew to Los Angeles for a supporting role in Chronic, Mexican director Michel Franco’s first English-language film, which stars Tim Roth. She appears in Heath Davis’ Broke, the online series Low Life and the indie US movies A Year and Change, Life Itself and Dear Eleanor.
Farren’s recent credits include the ABC telemovie Carlotta, the Seven Network’s The Killing Field, and the movies Careless Love, Chained and X.
Among the locations are Hyde Park and the Botanic Gardens, Maitland and Broke in the Hunter, and regional towns Hillsdale, Bigga and Crookwell.
The producers are aiming for a November 2014 release. Eponine co-produced the short film Early Checkout, directed by Lounsbury, which starred Jacki Weaver and Dustin Clare and screened in more than 30 festivals.
Last year the director and producer made their first feature documentary The Aussie Who Baffled The World, the saga of Australian wildlife cinematographer and inventor Jim Frazier, for National Geographic.