25 10 2017 - Media release Mia Wasikowska to star in Mirrah Foulkes' debut feature Judy and Punch
Actress turned writer/director Mirrah Foulkes is set to make her feature directorial debut with Judy and Punch an origin story that will re-imagine the classic puppet show with Mia Wasikowska (Tracks, Stoker, Maps to the Stars) in the starring role of Judy.
The VICE Media Australia with Blue-Tongue Films feature has attracted major production investment from VICE Media (USA) and Screen Australia, in association with Film Victoria.
Produced by Michele Bennett (Mr Inbetween, Chopper) alongside Blue-Tongue Films' Nash Edgerton (Mr Inbetween, The Square) and VICE Media's Danny Gabai (Bad Batch), Judy and Punch will be executive produced by Oscar-nominated Vincent Landay (Her, Being John Malkovich) and VICE Media's Chief Creative Officer Eddy Moretti. Cornerstone Films is attached for international sales.
Judy and Punch is a live-action reinterpretation of the story of Punch and Judy', a puppet play traditionally told with marionettes. Set in the fictional town of Seaside, it follows two puppeteers the vain but charismatic Punch and his resilient and talented wife Judy as they attempt to resurrect their show as a means of escaping their decrepit town. Described by Ms Foulkes as a crazy mix of fantasy, feminism and fanaticism , the world she has created for Judy and Punch is coarse and brutal, bubbling with violence, misogyny and magic.
Mirrah has written a brilliantly entertaining and highly original script, and has such a unique vision as a director, said producers Michele Bennett and Nash Edgerton. We're very excited to be working with her and collaborating with the ground-breaking team at VICE Media, who have championed both Mirrah and Judy and Punch from the outset.
Mirrah Foulkes is one of the most original new voices in cinema we've seen someone who is able to find the perfect balance of character and chaos, emotion and humour, said Danny Gabai from VICE Media. We've had the pleasure of watching her develop her talents as a filmmaker over the years, and we couldn't be more excited to team up with our friends at Blue-Tongue and Screen Australia to help make her wildly inventive script into a reality.
Judy and Punch will be writer/director Mirrah Foulkes' first feature after a string of successful short films Dumpy Goes to the Big Smoke (2012), Florence Has Left the Building (2014) and Trespass (2016) which have screened at Toronto International Film Festival, London Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival, and won several awards including Best Short Fiction Film at the 2015 AACTA Awards.
Screen Australia's Head of Production Sally Caplan says Foulkes is one to watch, an exciting and talented writer/director gifted with a unique voice and strong creative vision. We have been tracking Mirrah Foulkes for a number of years and are impressed that for her first feature she has managed to blend dark and dirty deeds with great wit and humour, creating an atmospheric fantasy world brimming with intrigue. It is no surprise to us that such a distinctive project has attracted significant US investment from VICE Media, and a top tier producing team.
The feature project originated with VICE Media's Chief Commercial & Creative Officer Tom Punch and his sister Lucy Punch, and will commence filming in regional Victoria in April 2018.
Film Victoria CEO Jenni Tosi congratulated Ms Foulkes on her directorial debut saying, We're delighted to be supporting Mirrah to realise her bold and distinctive retake on the lives of Judy and Punch. Casting Mia Wasikowska, who brings nuance and intelligence to her roles, is an inspired choice and the cinematic locations she has selected will add yet another dimension to the world she has created in the screenplay. We wish the team every success with this exciting feature.
Production credit: A VICE Media Australia with Blue-Tongue Films feature with principal production investment from VICE Media (USA) and Screen Australia, in association with Film Victoria.
Related MaterialsDownload PDF
Media enquiries Jane Alexander | Senior Publicist
61 2 8113 5833 | 61 400 940 682 | jane.alexander@screenaustralia.gov.au
Clio Anne Ellis | Publicist and Events
61 2 8113 1091 | 61 450 492 745 | clio.ellis@screenaustralia.gov.au
All other general/non-media enquiries Sydney 61 2 8113 5800 | Melbourne 61 3 8682 1900 | info@screenaustralia.gov.au
Asia, Australia & Oceanic Stories
11/04/2024
Alone Australia Ep 2 reaches over 1m Australians
11 April, 2024
Media releases
The program continues to consistently grow week-on-week in linear audience w...
11/04/2024
11 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and Meta launch fourth year of First...
10/04/2024
10 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $2.3 million for nine documentaries
Guardians of the River
Screen Australia has announced nine doc...
09/04/2024
Groundbreaking NITV documentary series Our Law expands across Australia from Thu...
09/04/2024
Techtel, the creators of inflo, today announced that a new speech to text transcription engine from openai called Whisper, is available to inflo customers who a...
04/04/2024
Manu Feildel, Miranda Otto and Pat Rafter join life-changing new season of Who D...
04/04/2024
Alone Australia season 2 continues to redefine Australian TV viewing through on-...
27/03/2024
Living Black, the longest-running Indigenous current affairs television program ...
26/03/2024
Crime is relative in SBS's new Canneseries nominated crime-family drama with...
25/03/2024
SBS gears up for Season 2 of Alone Australia with the creation of Alone Cologne...
22/03/2024
SBS Learn partners with the Islamic Museum of Australia to support classrooms in...
21/03/2024
21 03 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $1.6 million in support of the games industry
Which Way Up: Galaxy Games
Screen Australia has anno...
18/03/2024
18 03 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and VicScreen launch new Screen Careers initiative
LTR Denise Eriksen, Esther Coleman Hawkins, Caroline Pitcher, K...
15/03/2024
15 03 2024 - Media release The Creators 2024 Participants Announced
The Creators program recipients. L-R Thomas Duncan-Watt, Vanessa Gazy, Sarah Lambert, Lea...
14/03/2024
SBS to mark Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr with all Australians
14 March, 2024
Media releases
Content in 22 languages*, a collection of movies to stream free on d...
14/03/2024
March 14,2024
-- KDDI Corporation
KDDI Corporation resolved at a meeting of the Board of Directors held today to change (newly appointed, retire) a director ...
13/03/2024
13 03 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces dramas Critical Incident and Sunny Nights for Stan
Critical Incident: Akshay Khanna and Zoe Boe. Photo c...
07/03/2024
Explore the afterlife with SBS podcast Grave Matters'
6 March, 2024
Media releases
Most of us are woefully unprepared for one of life's few certai...
06/03/2024
Multi-award winning electronic music duo to represent Australia at this year'...
06/03/2024
Developing Lunar 3GPP Mobile Network Technologies for Moon Exploration
GITA...
04/03/2024
SBS announces new development fund to discover Australia's biggest and riski...
28/02/2024
Yumi Stynes returns for season two of SBS podcast SEEN'
26 February, 2024
Media releases
Eight new trailblazers join feminist Australian icon Yumi Sty...
28/02/2024
28 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $810,000 in development funding for 29 projects
Willy
Screen Australia has announced 23 feature fi...
27/02/2024
27 02 2024 - Media release Michael Ebeid AM appointed as new Screen Australia Chair
Michael Ebeid AM and Megan Brownlow
The Hon. Minister for the Arts, Tony...
26/02/2024
Supporting AFEELAs entertainment experience and global launch with a communicati...
21/02/2024
21 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and Australians in Film Announce App...
21/02/2024
Aiming to deliver new video-related solutions utilizing 5G SA this year
Son...
21/02/2024
Support the team with gifts while enjoying AR games in the stadium
KDDI COR...
21/02/2024
KDDI CORPORATION
February 21,2024
-- Tokyo, February 21, 2024 From February 2...
20/02/2024
KDDI CORPORATION
February 20,2024
-- KDDI announces that its consolidated subsidiary, SORACOM, INC. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Ken Tamagawa, herei...
15/02/2024
Alone Australia Season 2 Returns 27 March | Meet the Cast
15 February, 2024
Media releases
Smash hit series Alone Australia returns Wednesday 27 March on S...
15/02/2024
NITV's flagship footy show Over the Black Dot returns Tuesday 5 March, live ...
15/02/2024
15 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $560,000 for crew and gamemaker skills programs
Liz Keogh Palmer (Australian Production Design Guil...
13/02/2024
2024 is a landmark year for SBS's award-winning current affairs line-up, cov...
13/02/2024
22 01 2024 - Media release Six Australian projects bound for South by Southwest Festival in the US
Audrey, Birdeater, The Moogai
Six Australian screen projec...
12/02/2024
12 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and YouTube Australia Launch Skip Ahead 9
Uncovering Street Dance: Australia from Skip Ahead 8. Photographed by Ry...
08/02/2024
08 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and ABC announce Bay of Fires is back for season two
Marta Dusseldorp as Stella in Bay of Fires
ABC, Screen Austr...
07/02/2024
4 in 10 Australians battling sleep issues as nation's sleep crisis grows
7 February, 2024
Media releases
Dr Michael Mosley and the sleep scientists fro...
06/02/2024
Six screen creatives selected for the 2024 SBS Emerging Writers' Incubator i...
02/02/2024
SBS Scripted TV Lunch sessions return for another year of connecting with creati...
02/02/2024
February 2,2024
-- KDDI Corporation
KDDI announced the financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2024.
Summary In the third q...
31/01/2024
Filming Begins on SBS' Romantic Original Drama Four Years Later' in Ind...
30/01/2024
A stellar 2024 for SBS podcasts kicks off with The SBS Book Club' and Huma...
29/01/2024
The host with the most, Adam Liaw, is back with an all new inviting season of Th...
22/01/2024
Eddie's Lil' Homies premieres on NITV and Netflix on Friday 16 February
22 January, 2024
Media releases
Animated comedy series inspired by AFL grea...
22/01/2024
22 01 2024 - Media release Five Australian projects bound for South by Southwest Festival in the US
Audrey, Birdeater, The Moogai
Five Australian screen proj...
18/01/2024
Sounds of Solidarity and WugulOra added to NITV and SBS's Always Was, Always...
18/01/2024
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with SBS Learn this Lunar New Year
18 January, 2024
Media releases
SBS Learn is giving teachers the opportunity to share t...
17/01/2024
This Valentine's Day SBS's The Matchmakers dives into the unique and pri...
25 10 2017 - Media release Mia Wasikowska to star in Mirrah Foulkes' debut feature Judy and Punch 
