Screen Australia congratulates the producers and creative teams of Australian films Early Winter, Tanna and The Daughter, which have been selected for the prestigious Venice Days and Venice Critics' Week the independent parallel sections of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival 2015. Tanna will screen in competition in Venice Critics' Week, Early Winter will screen in competition and The Daughter will screen out of competition as the closing night film in Venice Days.
Richard Harris, Head of Business and Audience at Screen Australia, says: Venice is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, so to have such a great representation of Australian films across these competitions is a great result. The diversity of these films speaks volumes about the current depth of Australia's creative filmmaking talent.
Tanna is set in the South Pacific where Wawa, a young girl from one of the last traditional tribes, falls in love with her chief's grandson, Dain. When an inter-tribal war escalates, Wawa is unknowingly betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers run away, but are pursued by enemy warriors intent on killing them. They must choose between their hearts and the future of the tribe, while the villagers must wrestle with preserving their traditional culture and adapting it to the increasing outside demands for individual freedom. Tanna is based on a true story and performed by the people of Yakel.
It stars Marie Wawa, Mungau Dain, Marceline Rofit, Albi Nangia and Chief Charlie Kahla.
Directors Bentley Dean and Martin Butler say: The tribe from Vanuatu who acted in Tanna had never seen a feature film before and we'd never made one. Walking the red carpet together for the world premiere at such a prestigious festival will be enormously exciting.
Tanna is supported by Contact Films, Screen Australia, Film Victoria and Screen NSW.
Early Winter (a Canadian/Australian co-production) tells the story of a man in quiet crisis, working long hours at a rest home to support his family, which he feels may be on the edge of collapse. 2010 Cannes Cam ra d'Or winning director Michael Rowe (Leap Year, The Well) is based in Mexico and has worked on only Spanish-language films until now.
Michael both wrote and directed Early Winter, drawing on real life insights from his family's and friends' experiences as health-workers in nursing homes in country Victoria in Australia. Reinterpreted for a Canadian setting, Early Winter draws on universal themes of loneliness, detachment and isolation within relationships.
It stars acclaimed Canadian actor Paul Doucet (Unit 9, Funkytown) and the 2012 Cannes Best Actress in Un Certain Regard, Suzanne Cl ment (Mommy, Laurence Anyways).
Director Michael Rowe says: I was interested in exploring a relationship breakdown or crisis point, that was intensified by the isolation that a winter brings on. And the broader themes of immigration and isolation experienced by people when they're out of context and trying to emotionally survive in environments that aren't their own. These are ongoing themes in my films.
Cinema has a way of putting up a mirror to people about their own lives and experiences. Hopefully, it can also open up possibilities for improving the way people live. At the end of the day, I feel that happiness and living well doesn't have a whole lot to do with circumstances. It has a lot more to do with knowing how to be happy and how to interact with people around you. I think we often get trapped in emotional cycles.
Early Winter is a Melbourne International Film Festival project, which will screen in an alternative version at Venice Days, as a world premiere. The film is supported by SODEC, Telefilm Canada, Screen Queensland, Screen Australia and the MIFF Premiere Fund.
The Daughter is renowned Australian theatre director Simon Stone's first foray into cinema, inspired by his stage interpretation of The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen. It's the story of a long-buried family secret that re-emerges when a man returns home, which threatens the lives and relationships of two families in a small Australian town.
The Daughter stars Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech, Pirates of the Caribbean), Ewen Leslie (Dead Europe, Jewboy), Paul Schneider (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Bright Star), Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Reaching for the Moon), Anna Torv (Deadline Gallipoli, Fringe) and Sam Neill (The Piano, Jurassic Park) and introducing rising star, Odessa Young. It's produced by Jan Chapman (The Piano, Lantana) and Nicole O'Donohue (Griff the Invisible, The Last Impresario).
Producers Jan Chapman and Nicole O'Donohue say: We are honoured that The Daughter has been selected as part of Venice Days for Closing Night and pay tribute to our ensemble cast, dedicated Australian crew and our writer/director Simon Stone who has been acknowledged in this way for his first feature film.
Director Simon Stone says: I ve always loved the Venice Film Festival and Venice Days is such an exciting section to be invited to. I just can't wait to share our film with audiences there.
The Daughter is supported by Screen Australia, Screen NSW, The Gingerbread Man and Kazstar.
ABOUT THE FILM EVENTS
Venice Days
Venice Days began in 2004 as an independent event on the fringes of the Venice Film Festival, modelled on the prestigious Directors' Fortnight' of the Cannes Festival. Its aim is to draw attention to high-quality cinema, without any kind of restriction, with a focus on innovation, research, originality and independence. Since it began, the Days have come to represent a real alternative to the festival's official areas and a place for authors, producers, distributors and journalists to meet and discuss the
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Screen Australia congratulates the producers and creative teams of Australian films Early Winter, Tanna and The Daughter, which have been selected for the prestigious Venice Days and Venice Critics' Week the independent parallel sections of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival 2015. Tanna will screen in competition in Venice Critics' Week, Early Winter will screen in competition and The Daughter will screen out of competition as the closing night film in Venice Days.
