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DigiSPAA film competition unveils 2012 finalists

Press release from DigiSPAA

DigiSPAA feature film competition has announced the finalists for its eighth annual competition run by the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA). Four finalists were chosen from the array of independent filmmakers in Australia and New Zealand who entered the competition this year. The finalists will be vying for the prestigious SPAArtan Award that offers a recognised career boost, $15,000 cash, $20,000 worth of post-production, a guaranteed screening of the winning film on the Movie Extra channel and a return trip to the 2013 American Film Market® (AFM).

Antony I. Ginnane, co-curator of DigiSPAA said, “For eight years now I have looked forward to September to sample the always exciting collection of new independent works that emerge from entrants to DigiSPAA from Australia and New Zealand. 2012 did not disappoint and the four finalists are, frankly, amazing. They come from NSW, SA and NZ and are a demonstration of what talent and enterprise can achieve.”

The 2012 DigiSPAA feature film competition finalists are:

THE ASTRONAUT, Written and Produced by Adam Lemmey and Meredith Calthorpe.
KEMI, Written and Produced by Daniel Okoduwa, Directed by Michael Kang.
THE SORROWS, Written, Directed and Produced by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
FINAL MOVE, Written, Directed and Produced by JD Cohen.

“The Astronaut, is a stylish blend of Godard and Wong Kar Wei. A doomed love story unfolds over the 30 days before our hero departs on a space voyage to Mars – from where he cannot return,” continued Antony I. Ginnane.

The film portrays how, during his final days on planet Earth, the Astronaut – Christian (Curtis Fernandez), returns to his childhood hometown. There he meets Elise (Sarah Bishop), a local girl going nowhere and with lost ambition. The two form an unlikely connection that will set them on a new trajectory through their unknown universe.

Kemi, entails the conflicts and dramas of a community of African immigrants and refugees that have settled in Blacktown (Sydney) in the last 12 years, told primarily through ‘Kemi’, an unemployed Nigerian immigrant teen girl who unknowingly wrecks havoc in her community through gossip.

Antony I. Ginnane said, “Kemi is a blazing cocktail of the romantic, the criminal and the bizarre as Ghanian and Nigerian immigrants mix it up in downtown Blacktown. Primitive, almost Fuller like in tone – yet wondrously funny.”

“The Sorrows is a new and exciting twist on the haunted house genre as an edgy girl and her boyfriend leave London for a weekend stay at the boyfriend’s home in the country. Getting there is easy – getting out is hard”, said Antony I. Ginnane.

Growing in the shadow of her parent’s mental illness, Sarah (Oona Chaplin) only ever wanted to be ‘normal’. Now, in her twenties, an unexpected pregnancy pushes Sarah deeper into the arms of her boyfriend Henry (Austin Hardiman), who she believes is the key to a ‘normal life’.

“In Final Move, an obsessive cop is kicked off the force as his relentless search for the serial killer and missing victims (including his daughter) drive him crazy. This is David Fincher light – with a mordant humour” said Antony I. Ginnane.

In the film, Detective Nick Mathers (Richard Carwin) lost everything in the pursuit of a killer: his wife, his eldest daughter, his girlfriend. A year later, and the Grandmaster wants to finish the game and when he takes Nicks younger daughter, Lisa (Chelsea Giles), as a piece on the board, the game becomes much more personal.

The finalist’s films will be available for viewing online through AFI TV and the winning film chosen by a panel of industry judges including: Renee Brack – Producer and Presenter, Geoff Brown – Executive Director of SPAA, Daniel Scharf -Producer and Creative Agent, John L. Simpson – CEO, Titan View and Antony I. Ginnane – Producer and International Sales Agent.

The winner will be announced at the SPAA Conference taking place at the Central Pier, Docklands in Melbourne from 12 – 15 November 2012.

Readers can contact tessa@spaa.org.au to view the films online.

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