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Tass and Parker find Matching Jack

By Brendan Swift

Nadia Tass’ first Australian feature film in more than a decade, Matching Jack, is nearing completion ahead of its planned premiere at next year’s Melbourne International Film Festival.

Tass, who spent much of the past decade working in the US, and producer David Parker presented exhibitors with the film’s trailer at the Australian International Movie Convention this week.

The film (previously titled Love and Mortar) is about a woman’s struggle with her son’s illness and her husband’s infidelity. It was shot over six weeks in June and July and “rated brilliantly” at its first audience test last week, the husband and wife filmmaking team said.

The message to exhibitors was clear: we have not made an insular film for ourselves.

Parker: “There is absolutely no point in making a good movie if there is no way to sell it.” Tass: “And there is no point in making a movie if no-one wants to see it.”

As part of their sales pitch, Tass and Parker reminisced about their breakout collaboration Malcolm, released in 1986. In the same year, Hoyts released Australia’s most successful film, Crocodile Dundee.

“We sold out on Saturday nights and we played for 26 weeks. That other film made about 10 times as much as we did but we were into profit by week seven,” Tass said.

Malcolm, starring Colin Friels, remains their most successful production, taking almost $3.5 million at the local box office.

Matching Jack is set to be 20th Century Fox Australia’s first local film since Baz Luhrmann’s Australia was released last year.

bswift@www.if.com.au