Press release from Screen Australia
Seventeen Australian films will screen at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, the largest selection of Australian films to ever screen at one of the world’s premiere film festivals.
“It is deeply pleasing to see one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals recognise the diversity and creativity of the Australian industry,” said Ruth Harley, Screen Australia Chief Executive Officer. “Screening in Toronto is a wonderful launching pad into the North American market, and selection is testament to the talent of the filmmaking teams and the calibre of their projects. We congratulate all those involved on their selection.”
Four Australian films will screen as Special Presentations. Mao’s Last Dancer (d: Bruce Beresford, w: Jan Sardi, p: Jane Scott), The Boys Are Back (d: Scott Hicks, w: Allan Cubitt, p: Timothy White, Greg Brenman) and The Waiting City (w/d/p: Claire McCarthy, p: Jamie Hilton) will have their world premiere at Toronto. Bright Star (w/d: Jane Campion, p: Jan Chapman, Caroline Hewitt) will screen in Special Presentation following its world premiere at Cannes this year. Toronto’s Special Presentations offer a showcase of high-profile films featuring major stars and directors from around the world.
Balibo (w/d: Robert Connolly, w: David Williamson, p: John Maynard, Rebecca Williamson), Blessed (d: Ana Kokkinos, w: Andrew Bovell, Melissa Reeves, Patricia Cornelius, Christos Tsiolkas, p: Al Clark), Bran Nue Dae (w/d: Rachel Perkins, w: Reg Cribb, Jimmy Chi p: Robyn Kershaw, Graeme Isaac) and My Year Without Sex (w/d: Sarah Watt, p: Bridget Ikin) have been selected to screen in the Contemporary World Cinema program. Contemporary World Cinema is a lavish collection of premieres and prize-winning film selections, a ticket for a worldwide cinematic tour.
The Discovery program will feature Beautiful Kate (w/d: Rachel Ward, p: Leah Churchill-Brown, Bryan Brown), Last Ride (d: Glendyn Ivin, w: Mac Gudgeon, p: Nicholas Cole, Antonia Barnard), My Tehran for Sale (d/p: Granaz Moussavi, p:
Julie Ryan, Kate Croser) and Samson & Delilah (w/d: Warwick Thornton, p: Kath Shelper). Discovery offers a unique window on contemporary international cinema and is a showcase for new and emerging filmmakers.
Daybreakers (w/d: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig, p: Chris Brown, Sean Furst, Bryan Furst) and The Loved Ones (w/d: Sean Byrne, p: Mark Lazarus, Michael Boughen) will screen in the Midnight Madness program, which highlights the weird and the wonderful from directors who prefer to work in genres not usually seen in a festival context. Toronto will present the Daybreakers world premiere.
Wake in Fright (d: Ted Kotcheff, w: Evan Jones, p: George Willoughby) and Sweetie (d/w: Jane Campion, w: Gerard Lee, p: John Maynard) will be presented as part of Dialogues: Talking with Pictures, a popular and critically acclaimed film series curated and introduced by renowned directors who are invited to select and discuss films that have inspired them, had a significant impact on their artistic development or were pivotal in the progress of their own careers.
Toronto’s Real to Reel program will feature the documentary Stolen (w/d: Violeta Ayala, Dan Fallshaw, p: Tom Zubrycki). Real to Reel presents the very best in non-fiction cinema from around the globe that will challenge, inspire, inform, entertain and move audiences.
The Toronto International Film Festival runs 10–19 September 2009. The final Australian films selected to screen in the 2009 festival were announced this morning Australian time. Toronto selectors received over 4,300 submissions from more than 60 countries for this year’s festival.
Balibo
www.balibo.com
Production Company: Balibo Film Pty Ltd
Director: Robert Connolly
Writers: Robert Connolly, David Williamson
Producers: John Maynard, Rebecca Williamson
Australian Distributor: Footprint Films
International Sales: ContentFilm International
Cast: Anthony LaPaglia, Oscar Isaac, Gyton Grantley, Damon Gameau, Nathan Phillips, Mark Leonard Winter, Thomas Wright, Bea Viegas
Synopsis: As Indonesia prepares to invade the tiny nation of East Timor, five Australian-based journalists go missing. Four weeks later, veteran foreign correspondent Roger East is lured to East Timor by the young and charismatic José Ramos-Horta to tell the story of his country and investigate the fate of the missing men. Balibo is a political thriller that tells the true story of crimes that have been covered up for over thirty years.
Beautiful Kate
www.beautifulkatemovie.com.au
Production Company: Beautiful Kate Productions Pty Ltd
Director/Writer: Rachel Ward
Producers: Leah Churchill-Brown, Bryan Brown
Australian Distributor: Roadshow Films Australia
International Sales: The Works International
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Bryan Brown, Maeve Dermody, Sophie Lowe and Rachel Griffiths
Synopsis: Ned Kendall returns to his isolated family home to say goodbye to his dying father, but memories of his beautiful twin sister awaken long-buried secrets from the past.
Blessed
Production Company: Wildheart Zizani
Director: Ana Kokkinos
Writers: Andrew Bovell, Melissa Reeves, Patricia Cornelius, Christos Tsiolkas
Producer: Al Clark
Australian Distributor: Icon Film Distribution
International Sales: Bankside Films
Cast: Frances O’Connor, Miranda Otto, Deborra-Lee Furness, Victoria Haralabidou, Monica Maughan, Wayne Blair, William McInnes, Tasma Walton
Synopsis: An urban odyssey through a day and a night. The love between mothers and their children. Being lost and finding your way home.
The Boys Are Back
Production Companies: Southern Light Films Pty Ltd, Tiger Aspect Pictures (SPV) Ltd
Director: Scott Hicks
Scriptwriter: Allan Cubitt
Producers: Timothy White, Greg Brenman
Australian Distributor: Hopscotch Films
International Sales: HanWay Films
Cast: Clive Owen, Emma Booth, Laura Fraser, George MacKay, Erik Thomson, Julia Blake, Chris Haywood, Emma Lung, Nicholas McAnulty
Synopsis: The Boys Are Back is a moving and humorous love story between journalist Joe Warr and his two sons, from different marriages, who find themselves living in a boys-only household following the death of Joe’s second wife.
Bran Nue Dae
Production Companies: Robyn Kershaw Productions Pty Ltd, Mayfan Pty Ltd
Director: Rachel Perkins
Screenplay: Reg Cribb, Rachel Perkins, Jimmy Chi
Based on the stage musical Bran Nue Dae by Jimmy Chi and Kuckles
Producers: Robyn Kershaw, Graeme Isaac
International Sales: Bankside Films
Cast: Rocky McKenzie, Jessica Mauboy, Ernie Dingo, Missy Higgins and Geoffrey Rush
Synopsis: Bran Nue Dae is a road movie, coming-of-age, comedy musical, which celebrates the adventure of finding home.
Bright Star
www.brightstarthemovie.com
Production Companies: Jan Chapman Productions, Brightstar Films Ltd
Writer/Director: Jane Campion
Producers: Jan Chapman, Caroline Hewitt
Australian Distributor: Hopscotch Films
International Sales: Pathé International
Cast: Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, Kerry Fox
Synopsis: John Keats, the romantic poet, wrote the love poem ‘Bright Star’ for his 18-year-old next-door neighbour, Fanny Brawne. This is the story of their first love.
Daybreakers
www.daybreakersmovie.com
Production Company: Paradise Production Pty Ltd
Directors/Writers: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Producers: Chris Brown, Sean Furst, Bryan Furst
Australian Distributor: Hoyts Distribution Pty Ltd
International Sales: Mandate International
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Claudia Karvan, Michael Dorman and Sam Neill
Synopsis: The year is 2019. A mysterious plague has swept over the earth, transforming the majority of the world’s population into vampires. Humans are now an endangered, second-class species – forced into hiding as they are hunted and farmed for vampire consumption to the brink of extinction. It’s all up to Edward Dalton, a vampire researcher who refuses to feed on human blood, to perfect a blood substitute that might sustain vampires and spare the few remaining humans.
Last Ride
www.lastridemovie.com
Production Company: Last Ride Pty Ltd
Director: Glendyn Ivin
Screenplay: Mac Gudgeon (from the novel by Denise Young)
Producers: Nicholas Cole, Antonia Barnard
Australian Distributor: Madman Entertainment
International Sales: ContentFilm International
Cast: Hugo Weaving, Tom Russell, Anita Hegh, John Brumpton, Kelton Pell, Sonya Suares
Synopsis: A desperate father and his 10-year-old son are on the run from the law. Their journey into the ravishing beauty of the desert and the human heart, pits them against the elements and each other.
The Loved Ones
Production Company: Ambience Entertainment
Writer/Director: Sean Byrne
Producers: Mark Lazarus, Michael Boughen
Australian Distributor: Madman Entertainment
International Sales: Arclight Films
Cast: Xavier Samuel, Robin McLeavy, John Brumpton, Victoria Thaine, Jess McNamee, Richard Wilson
Synopsis: Brent, a student still grieving for his father, declines an invitation to the end of year dance from Lola, the quietest girl in school. She and her father kidnap him and Brent must fight to survive the macabre celebration they have in store for him.
Mao’s Last Dancer
www.maoslastdancermovie.com
Production Company: A Great Scott production for Last Dancer Pty Ltd
Director: Bruce Beresford
Screenwriter: Jan Sardi
Producer: Jane Scott
Australian Distributors: Hopscotch Films, Roadshow Films Australia
International Sales: Celluloid Dreams International
Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Chen, Chi Cao, Amanda Schull, Aden Young and Jack Thompson
Synopsis: The inspirational true story of a young boy’s extraordinary journey from poverty to international stardom. From gruelling apprenticeship to classical dancer in communist China, to the glory of creative freedom in America. But, there is a painful price to be paid for his quest for self-expression. Mao’s Last Dancer captures the intoxicating effects of first love and celebrity, the pain of exile, and ultimately the triumph of individual endeavour over ideology. “Before you can fly, you have to be free”.
My Tehran for Sale
Production Company: Cyan Films
Director Granaz Moussavi
Producers: Julie Ryan, Kate Croser, Granaz Moussavi
Cast: Marzieh Vafamehr, Amir Chegini, Asha Mehrabi
Synopsis: Marzieh is a young female actress living in Tehran whose theatre work is banned by the authorities. At an underground rave, she meets Iranian born Saman, now an Australian citizen, who offers her a way out of her country and the possibility of living without fear.
My Year Without Sex
www.myyearwithoutsex.com
Production Company: My Year Pty Ltd
Writer/Director: Sarah Watt
Producer: Bridget Ikin
Australian Distributor: Footprint Films
International Sales: The Works International
Cast: Matt Day, Sacha Horler, Katie Wall, Fred Whitlock
Synopsis: One family. One year. No Sex. What else is there? Sport, spending, saving, singing, storage solutions, spiritual stuff, Santa …
Samson & Delilah
www.samsonanddelilah.com.au
Production Companies: Scarlett Pictures Pty Ltd, CAAMA Productions Pty Ltd
Writer/Director: Warwick Thornton
Producer: Kath Shelper
Australian Distributor: Footprint Films
International Sales: Elle Driver
Cast: Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson, Mitjili Gibson, Scott Thornton
Synopsis: The world is a small place when you’re Samson and Delilah. From an isolated community in the desert, their silent love for each other takes them on a journey of survival. Lost, unwanted and alone, they discover that life isn’t always fair, but love never judges.
Stolen
Production Company: BIC Productions, United Notions Film
Writers/Directors: Violeta Ayala, Dan Fallshaw
Producer: Tom Zubrycki
International Sales: BIC Productions
Synopsis: Australian filmmakers Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw go to the Polisario-governed refugee camps in the Algerian desert to make a film about a family reunion. Everything changes when the black Saharawis start to talk about a different subject … their freedom.
Sweetie
Production Company: Arenafilm Pty Ltd
Director: Jane Campion
Writers: Jane Campion, Gerard Lee
Producer: John Maynard
Australian Distributor: Footprint Films
International Sales: Indigo Film & Television
Cast: Geneviève Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling
Synopsis: Jane Campion’s stunning debut feature, Sweetie, focuses on the hazardous relationship between the buttoned-down, superstitious Kay and her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, ‘Sweetie’ – and, by extension, their entire family’s rotten roots.
The Waiting City
Production Company: Waiting City Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Director: Claire McCarthy
Producers: Jamie Hilton, Claire McCarthy
Australian Distributor: Hopscotch Films
International Sales: H2O Motion Pictures
Cast: Radha Mitchell, Joel Edgerton, Isabel Lucas
Synopsis: The Waiting City is a mystical-infused love story set against the intoxicating, epic backdrop of Calcutta, India.
Wake in Fright
Production Company: NLT Productions and Group W
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Writer: Evan Jones (based on the book by Australian author Kenneth Cook)
Producer: George Willoughby
Australian Distributor: Madman Entertainment
Cast: Donald Pleasance, Gary Bond, Chips Rafferty, Jack Thompson
Synopsis: Wake in Fright details the story of John Grant, a young schoolteacher, stranded in a brutal and menacing town in outback Australia.