Clockwise from top left: Terminator: Genisys (Paramount Pictures), Non-Stop (Universal Pictures), River Wild (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)Photo: The A.V. Club
Now that you’ve adjusted to Netflix’s new pricing plans and added your out-of-household members, it’s time to check out what the streamer will be adding to...
Now that you’ve adjusted to Netflix’s new pricing plans and added your out-of-household members, it’s time to check out what the streamer will be adding to...
- 8/2/2023
- by Robert DeSalvo
- avclub.com
In our fifth edition of Arab Stars of Tomorrow, Screen International puts the spotlight on six emerging Middle Eastern and North African talents.
In our fifth edition of Arab Stars of Tomorrow, Screen International puts the spotlight on six emerging Middle Eastern and North African talents in the fields of acting and directing.
This year’s selection features Egyptian actress Bassant Ahmed, Kuwaiti filmmaker Maysaa Almumin, Emirati actor Khalifa Al-Jassem, Tunisian actress Zbeida Belhajamor, Saudi director Sara Mesfer and Sudanese actor Mustafa Shehata.
For the third year running, the edition has been organised in cooperation with the Cairo International Film Festival.
In our fifth edition of Arab Stars of Tomorrow, Screen International puts the spotlight on six emerging Middle Eastern and North African talents in the fields of acting and directing.
This year’s selection features Egyptian actress Bassant Ahmed, Kuwaiti filmmaker Maysaa Almumin, Emirati actor Khalifa Al-Jassem, Tunisian actress Zbeida Belhajamor, Saudi director Sara Mesfer and Sudanese actor Mustafa Shehata.
For the third year running, the edition has been organised in cooperation with the Cairo International Film Festival.
- 12/2/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Balancing production with border uncertainty will be a key challenge for Western Australia’s screen industry heading into 2022, according to Screenwest CEO Rikki Lea Bestall.
The separation of Wa from the other states due to the Delta outbreak on the east coast has proven to be an early test of Bestall’s tenure, with Wa Premier Mark McGowan yet to set a border reopening date.
Bestall succeeded Willie Rowe as CEO in May, three months after Screenwest outlined a stretch target of $150 million in production expenditure across 2021-2024, while also announcing development funding for six new features under the Brighter Ideas program.
A strategic plan – ‘Leading the Way: A Growing and More Sustainable Wa Screen Industry’ – detailed how the industry could triple in size provided the supporting infrastructure and crew are available.
Speaking to Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner in a webinar earlier this week, Bestall said seeking assurances...
The separation of Wa from the other states due to the Delta outbreak on the east coast has proven to be an early test of Bestall’s tenure, with Wa Premier Mark McGowan yet to set a border reopening date.
Bestall succeeded Willie Rowe as CEO in May, three months after Screenwest outlined a stretch target of $150 million in production expenditure across 2021-2024, while also announcing development funding for six new features under the Brighter Ideas program.
A strategic plan – ‘Leading the Way: A Growing and More Sustainable Wa Screen Industry’ – detailed how the industry could triple in size provided the supporting infrastructure and crew are available.
Speaking to Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner in a webinar earlier this week, Bestall said seeking assurances...
- 11/18/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
“High Ground,” a 1930s-set drama film, picked up eight nominations for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. It narrowly led the field of contenders that included controversial drama “Nitram” with seven nominations, “The Dry” with six and “Penguin Bloom” with five.
Nominations were announced over the weekend ahead of a week of voting. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at Sydney Opera House on Dec. 8, 2021.
Six films received nominations for best film: “The Dry,” “The Furnace,” “High Ground,” “Nitram,” “Penguin Bloom” and “Rams.” Five of the six also received nominations for best director.
“High Ground,” received five of its nominations for acting, with two of its performers going head-to-head in the best actor category, and two more in the best supporting actor section.
Similarly, “Nitram,” which chronicles the build-up to a real-life mass shooting in Tasmania, received nominations for its two leads and two supporting cast.
Nominations were announced over the weekend ahead of a week of voting. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at Sydney Opera House on Dec. 8, 2021.
Six films received nominations for best film: “The Dry,” “The Furnace,” “High Ground,” “Nitram,” “Penguin Bloom” and “Rams.” Five of the six also received nominations for best director.
“High Ground,” received five of its nominations for acting, with two of its performers going head-to-head in the best actor category, and two more in the best supporting actor section.
Similarly, “Nitram,” which chronicles the build-up to a real-life mass shooting in Tasmania, received nominations for its two leads and two supporting cast.
- 11/1/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Aacta has revealed those in contention for the major film, television and short-form prizes at this year’s awards, with High Ground leading the charge in the film categories and The Newsreader ahead in television.
The nominations follow those revealed for feature documentary in July, with the technical craft categories still to come.
Aacta also announced today that this year’s awards will move from The Star to the Sydney Opera House, with the ceremony to be held December 8.
There has also been a change in broadcast partners from Seven to 10, where the ceremony will air first followed by an encore on Fox Arena on Foxtel, Binge, and Aacta TV.
High Ground has earned eight nominations, including Best Film. Also nominated for the night’s major prize are Nitram, which earned seven nods, The Dry, which has six, as well as The Furnace, Penguin Bloom and Rams.
The Best Indie Film Award,...
The nominations follow those revealed for feature documentary in July, with the technical craft categories still to come.
Aacta also announced today that this year’s awards will move from The Star to the Sydney Opera House, with the ceremony to be held December 8.
There has also been a change in broadcast partners from Seven to 10, where the ceremony will air first followed by an encore on Fox Arena on Foxtel, Binge, and Aacta TV.
High Ground has earned eight nominations, including Best Film. Also nominated for the night’s major prize are Nitram, which earned seven nods, The Dry, which has six, as well as The Furnace, Penguin Bloom and Rams.
The Best Indie Film Award,...
- 10/30/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps are among the writers aiming to win consecutive prizes at this year’s Awgie Awards.
Grant, who won the adaptation prize with Cripps for Penguin Bloom in 2020 and for the True History of the Kelly Gang in 2019, is nominated this year for his work on Nitram, against the Here Out West writing team of Nisrine Amine, Bina Bhattacharya, Matias Bolla, Claire Cao, Arka Das, Dee Duygu Dogan, Vonne Patiag and Tien Tran; Falling for Figaro‘s Ben Lewin and Allen Palmer; and The Furnace‘s Roderick MacKay in the original feature film category.
Cripps and Robert Connolly have been recognised for The Dry, which is one of two nominees for the feature film adaptation award alongside Babyteeth, written for the screen by the original playwright Rita Kalnejais.
In the television categories, Tony McNamara’s The Great is pitted against Wakefield, Five Bedrooms and Wentworth for...
Grant, who won the adaptation prize with Cripps for Penguin Bloom in 2020 and for the True History of the Kelly Gang in 2019, is nominated this year for his work on Nitram, against the Here Out West writing team of Nisrine Amine, Bina Bhattacharya, Matias Bolla, Claire Cao, Arka Das, Dee Duygu Dogan, Vonne Patiag and Tien Tran; Falling for Figaro‘s Ben Lewin and Allen Palmer; and The Furnace‘s Roderick MacKay in the original feature film category.
Cripps and Robert Connolly have been recognised for The Dry, which is one of two nominees for the feature film adaptation award alongside Babyteeth, written for the screen by the original playwright Rita Kalnejais.
In the television categories, Tony McNamara’s The Great is pitted against Wakefield, Five Bedrooms and Wentworth for...
- 10/26/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
John Huston’s classic “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948) echoes through Roderick MacKay’s feature debut “The Furnace” which premiered at last year’s Venice section Orizzonti, before heading on a festival tour with the final stop at Karlovy Vary, where we caught it. Both films are the stories of gold and greed, but the key difference between them are their milieus and the differences between the American and the Australian use of western genre tropes.
In America, westerns were created to preserve the myth of the hardy pioneers that fought the savage Natives for the land and have pushed the frontiers of the so-called civilised world from one ocean to another. Only in the New Hollywood era, the revisionist westerns appeared aimed at debunking the myths and used as the metaphorical canvas to expose the American imperial politics of the 20th century. In Australia, however, the western setting...
In America, westerns were created to preserve the myth of the hardy pioneers that fought the savage Natives for the land and have pushed the frontiers of the so-called civilised world from one ocean to another. Only in the New Hollywood era, the revisionist westerns appeared aimed at debunking the myths and used as the metaphorical canvas to expose the American imperial politics of the 20th century. In Australia, however, the western setting...
- 9/1/2021
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
Screenwest will help fund the development of six new features from creatives including Alison James, Roderick MacKay, Zak Hilditch, Ben Young, Martin Wilson and Stephen McCallum.
The projects have been funded via the Brighter Ideas program, which was launched to bolster internationally successful Wa talent who have either returned to, or been confined to the state, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
James said of her new project, A Haven for Strays: “I’m thrilled to be one of the recipients of the Brighter Ideas fund and to now have the opportunity to work with a script editor on this screenplay.
“We’re at a unique point where many mid-level and experienced writer/directors have returned to Perth from overseas due to Covid-19 and for a state that has long suffered from brain drain to the Eastern States and the US, I think it’s a great idea to focus their...
The projects have been funded via the Brighter Ideas program, which was launched to bolster internationally successful Wa talent who have either returned to, or been confined to the state, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
James said of her new project, A Haven for Strays: “I’m thrilled to be one of the recipients of the Brighter Ideas fund and to now have the opportunity to work with a script editor on this screenplay.
“We’re at a unique point where many mid-level and experienced writer/directors have returned to Perth from overseas due to Covid-19 and for a state that has long suffered from brain drain to the Eastern States and the US, I think it’s a great idea to focus their...
- 2/8/2021
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Western Australia’s screen industry has the potential to triple in size across the next three years, provided it has the supporting infrastructure and crew available, according to Screenwest.
The industry body has identified a “stretch” target of $150 million in production spending for the state from 2021-2024 as part of a new strategic plan for the sector.
‘Leading the Way: A Growing and More Sustainable Wa Screen Industry’ highlights ways to “lead, promote, support and grow” the Wa screen industry to ensure it increases its Australian market-share of inbound production.
It comes after the state government formally called for market-led proposals to build, locate, and operate a Perth-based studio facility in August last year.
Outgoing Screenwest CEO Willie Rowe told If the production spending target outlined in the strategic plan would be “largely linked” to the development of the precinct as well as production attraction incentives.
“We’ve set an...
The industry body has identified a “stretch” target of $150 million in production spending for the state from 2021-2024 as part of a new strategic plan for the sector.
‘Leading the Way: A Growing and More Sustainable Wa Screen Industry’ highlights ways to “lead, promote, support and grow” the Wa screen industry to ensure it increases its Australian market-share of inbound production.
It comes after the state government formally called for market-led proposals to build, locate, and operate a Perth-based studio facility in August last year.
Outgoing Screenwest CEO Willie Rowe told If the production spending target outlined in the strategic plan would be “largely linked” to the development of the precinct as well as production attraction incentives.
“We’ve set an...
- 2/8/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
"You get me there... you get what's yours." Signature Entertainment has released a new official UK trailer for a western thriller titled The Furnace, made by Australian filmmaker Roderick MacKay. This originally premiered at last year's Venice Film Festival. The Furnace is a tense Western set in the 1890s gold rush of Western Australia. To escape the outback, a young Afghan cameleer named Hamif falls in with a mysterious bushman on the run with two bars of stolen Crown gold. The film stars David Wenham, Ahmad Malek, Jay Ryan, Mahesh Jadu, and Baykali Ganambarr. Well now, this looks pretty damn good! Yet another Australian western confronting racism and the horrible past of Australia and the white men who killed many years ago. I enjoy the score that builds in the second half of this trailer, it won me over. Check it out below. Here's the official UK trailer (+ poster) for Roderick MacKay's The Furnace,...
- 1/4/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
For the first time since cinemas reopened, two titles have earned more than $1 million in a single weekend, with The Witches bowing and The War With Grandpa continuing to climb.
It’s a positive sign for exhibitors in the lead up to the school holidays and the end of year, with titles The Croods: A New Age, Wonder Woman 1984 and The Dry all on the horizon.
Robert Zemeckis’ Roald Dahl adaptation, starring Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer, ranked no. 1, opening on $1.13 million from 396 screens (or $1.6 million with previews) for Warner Bros.
While some exhibitors are dismayed by the film’s M-rating, arguing it limits how accessible it is for families, it is still the best opening weekend for any film since Christopher Nolan’s Tenet on August 27.
It’s also equivalent with The Addams Family, a WB title released this time last year, in a pre-covid world.
Village Cinemas’ Geoff...
It’s a positive sign for exhibitors in the lead up to the school holidays and the end of year, with titles The Croods: A New Age, Wonder Woman 1984 and The Dry all on the horizon.
Robert Zemeckis’ Roald Dahl adaptation, starring Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer, ranked no. 1, opening on $1.13 million from 396 screens (or $1.6 million with previews) for Warner Bros.
While some exhibitors are dismayed by the film’s M-rating, arguing it limits how accessible it is for families, it is still the best opening weekend for any film since Christopher Nolan’s Tenet on August 27.
It’s also equivalent with The Addams Family, a WB title released this time last year, in a pre-covid world.
Village Cinemas’ Geoff...
- 12/14/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Writer-director Roderick MacKay is keen to further explore frontier mythology following the release of his debut feature The Furnace this week.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
Having had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, the 1890s drama will open on 115 screens via Umbrella Entertainment tomorrow.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
Having had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, the 1890s drama will open on 115 screens via Umbrella Entertainment tomorrow.
- 12/9/2020
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Debut director Roderick MacKay’s compelling meat pie western poses questions about Australian identity but never feels polemical or even political
A sunburnt and badly wounded David Wenham, looking haggard and sounding hoarse but radiating as much gravitas as ever, slogs across outback Australia as a gold thief in The Furnace, accompanied by a young Afghan cameleer (Ahmed Malek) with whom his character develops an unlikely friendship. Or perhaps “business associate” is a better way of putting it. On the ground propped up against a log of wood, grumbling about how he must find somewhere to rest “before the dingoes get me”, Mal (Wenham) soon reveals he has in his possession two 400oz crown-marked gold bars: a veritable mother lode of riches.
But Mal doesn’t walk so good, being potentially on death’s door and all, so he needs the help of Hanif, the cameleer, to reach the titular location.
A sunburnt and badly wounded David Wenham, looking haggard and sounding hoarse but radiating as much gravitas as ever, slogs across outback Australia as a gold thief in The Furnace, accompanied by a young Afghan cameleer (Ahmed Malek) with whom his character develops an unlikely friendship. Or perhaps “business associate” is a better way of putting it. On the ground propped up against a log of wood, grumbling about how he must find somewhere to rest “before the dingoes get me”, Mal (Wenham) soon reveals he has in his possession two 400oz crown-marked gold bars: a veritable mother lode of riches.
But Mal doesn’t walk so good, being potentially on death’s door and all, so he needs the help of Hanif, the cameleer, to reach the titular location.
- 12/8/2020
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
Roderick MacKay’s debut feature plays in El Gouna’s feature competition this week.
Cairo-based Mad Solutions has acquired Arab distribution and marketing rights to Australian writer and director Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace, ahead of its screening in competition at the El Gouna Film Festival (October 23-31) this week.
Set against the backdrop of Australia’s 1890 gold rush, the feature will have special resonance with audiences in Egypt and the wider Middle East due to the presence of Egyptian star Ahmed Malak.
The actor, who was a Screen International Arab Star of Tomorrow in 2018, co-stars an Afghan...
Cairo-based Mad Solutions has acquired Arab distribution and marketing rights to Australian writer and director Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace, ahead of its screening in competition at the El Gouna Film Festival (October 23-31) this week.
Set against the backdrop of Australia’s 1890 gold rush, the feature will have special resonance with audiences in Egypt and the wider Middle East due to the presence of Egyptian star Ahmed Malak.
The actor, who was a Screen International Arab Star of Tomorrow in 2018, co-stars an Afghan...
- 10/28/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
‘The Furnace.’
Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.
They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.
Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.
However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.
“Business is not what it used to be...
Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.
They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.
Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.
However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.
“Business is not what it used to be...
- 10/14/2020
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
‘The Furnace.’
Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.
They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.
Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.
However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.
“Business is not what it used to be...
Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.
They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.
Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.
However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.
“Business is not what it used to be...
- 10/14/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The producers and funding bodies behind “The Furnace” took quite a chance when they agreed to back Roderick MacKay in his debut feature, yet clearly the young writer-director knows how to sell his vision just as well as he knows how to make a movie. Set in the deserts of Western Australia in the late 19th century, this ambitious, ethnically diverse and visually dramatic Western about an Afghani camel driver and a hard-bitten gold thief in the outback is a classic oater on every level, reminiscent of the more sensitive Westerns of the 1970s in which natives are accorded dignity and depth and moral quandaries aren’t black and white. Premiering in the Horizons section at Venice, the film combines racial sensitivity with good old-fashioned storytelling, which should be a winning competition on big screens at home but also abroad.
It opens in 1897, when a title explains that Western Australia...
It opens in 1897, when a title explains that Western Australia...
- 9/16/2020
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
Mansoor Noor in ‘The Furnace.’
When Mansoor Noor decided to study at the Actors Centre Australia in 2014 after playing the lead in the ABC sci-fi series Shifters and a supporting role in the ABC docudrama Singapore 1942: End of Empire, it was a big gamble.
“It was a huge investment and risk for me, given there were hardly any people that looked like me on the screen and stages, unless it was a stereotype,” Noor tells If.
“I’m so glad I did because of the changes we are starting to see now, although in the the majority of my on-set experiences, I have yet to see the same shift to diversity we are seeing on screen.”
Noor’s career is flourishing, reflecting his versatility. He played a bad cop in Cleverman, a doctor in Rake, a journalist in The Secrets She Keeps, an impressionable young scientist in Eddie Arya’s thriller Risen,...
When Mansoor Noor decided to study at the Actors Centre Australia in 2014 after playing the lead in the ABC sci-fi series Shifters and a supporting role in the ABC docudrama Singapore 1942: End of Empire, it was a big gamble.
“It was a huge investment and risk for me, given there were hardly any people that looked like me on the screen and stages, unless it was a stereotype,” Noor tells If.
“I’m so glad I did because of the changes we are starting to see now, although in the the majority of my on-set experiences, I have yet to see the same shift to diversity we are seeing on screen.”
Noor’s career is flourishing, reflecting his versatility. He played a bad cop in Cleverman, a doctor in Rake, a journalist in The Secrets She Keeps, an impressionable young scientist in Eddie Arya’s thriller Risen,...
- 9/15/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Roderick MacKay hopes his film, which premiered at Venice, can trigger new interest in modern Australia’s complex and brutal history
While researching the Australian gold rush of the 1800s, director Roderick MacKay came across an image that immediately jumped out at him: men dressed in turbans and flanked by camels stood next to the bushmen of nascent modern-day Australia. “I stumbled upon images of these guys in traditional garb with the camel trains in the otherwise familiar Australian outback and was just like, ‘What the hell is this?’” says the director.
What he’d found was a part of Australia’s history that was largely unknown until recently: the story of the men drawn from all over the British empire – known as “cameleers” – who helped build links between early Australian colonial settlements.
While researching the Australian gold rush of the 1800s, director Roderick MacKay came across an image that immediately jumped out at him: men dressed in turbans and flanked by camels stood next to the bushmen of nascent modern-day Australia. “I stumbled upon images of these guys in traditional garb with the camel trains in the otherwise familiar Australian outback and was just like, ‘What the hell is this?’” says the director.
What he’d found was a part of Australia’s history that was largely unknown until recently: the story of the men drawn from all over the British empire – known as “cameleers” – who helped build links between early Australian colonial settlements.
- 9/8/2020
- by Lanre Bakare in Venice
- The Guardian - Film News
Easier for a Camel: MacKay Unearths Troubling History in Revisionist Western Debut
Like Jennifer Kent before him with 2018’s The Nightingale, director Roderick MacKay mines similar (if more obscure) historical barbarousness in the Outback for his debut, The Furnace. Like a revisionist Western featuring robberies, criminals, corrupt lawmen and brutal environments, two unlikely partners become entangled in the transport of stolen gold requiring the insignia of the crown being melted off before it can yield a profit. Featuring a diverse array of characters reflecting the significant racial make-up of a country with a fascinating history of shifting power structures only recently utilized as the horrific backdrop for a number of prolific directors, MacKay crafts an intriguing first feature around an unexpected perspective in a film both troubling and illuminating.…...
Like Jennifer Kent before him with 2018’s The Nightingale, director Roderick MacKay mines similar (if more obscure) historical barbarousness in the Outback for his debut, The Furnace. Like a revisionist Western featuring robberies, criminals, corrupt lawmen and brutal environments, two unlikely partners become entangled in the transport of stolen gold requiring the insignia of the crown being melted off before it can yield a profit. Featuring a diverse array of characters reflecting the significant racial make-up of a country with a fascinating history of shifting power structures only recently utilized as the horrific backdrop for a number of prolific directors, MacKay crafts an intriguing first feature around an unexpected perspective in a film both troubling and illuminating.…...
- 9/7/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
‘The Furnace.’
Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace has been hailed as a compelling, ambitious and meticulously researched exploration of a little-known slice of Australian history following the world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
Critics praised the performances of Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as Hanif, a wide-eyed young Afghan cameleer, and David Wenham as a shifty gold prospector.
DOPs Michael McDermott and Bonnie Elliott’s camerawork was lauded for capturing the ancient landscapes of the Western Australian interior, as were Mark Bradshaw’s score and production designer Clayton Jauncey’s recreation of the gold rush town Mount Magnet in its infancy.
Produced by Timothy White and Tenille Kennedy, the 1890s drama co-starring Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson, Kaushik Das, Baykali Ganambarr, Trevor Jamieson, Mahesh Jadu and Samson Coulter screened in the festival’s Horizons section on Saturday.
The plot follows Malek’s Hanif and Wenham’s Mal who...
Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace has been hailed as a compelling, ambitious and meticulously researched exploration of a little-known slice of Australian history following the world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
Critics praised the performances of Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as Hanif, a wide-eyed young Afghan cameleer, and David Wenham as a shifty gold prospector.
DOPs Michael McDermott and Bonnie Elliott’s camerawork was lauded for capturing the ancient landscapes of the Western Australian interior, as were Mark Bradshaw’s score and production designer Clayton Jauncey’s recreation of the gold rush town Mount Magnet in its infancy.
Produced by Timothy White and Tenille Kennedy, the 1890s drama co-starring Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson, Kaushik Das, Baykali Ganambarr, Trevor Jamieson, Mahesh Jadu and Samson Coulter screened in the festival’s Horizons section on Saturday.
The plot follows Malek’s Hanif and Wenham’s Mal who...
- 9/6/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
When settlers began opening up the wild frontier of Western Australia in the 19th century, they relied heavily on immigrant cameleers from India, Afghanistan, and Persia. The predominantly Muslim and Sikh group, commonly referred to as “Ghans,” were instrumental in settling the Outback, but their contributions to the formation of modern-day Australia have largely been scrubbed from history.
“The Furnace” is first-time writer-director Roderick MacKay’s attempt to shed light on that little-known past, with the story of a young man from Afghanistan who falls in with a mysterious bushman on the run from the law with stolen gold. The film stars Toronto Film Festival Rising Star Ahmed Malek, Jay Ryan, and David Wenham, and has its world premiere Sept. 4 in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival.
“The Furnace” is produced by Timothy White (“I Am Mother”) and Tenille Kennedy (“H Is For Happiness”), and co-produced by Georgia White,...
“The Furnace” is first-time writer-director Roderick MacKay’s attempt to shed light on that little-known past, with the story of a young man from Afghanistan who falls in with a mysterious bushman on the run from the law with stolen gold. The film stars Toronto Film Festival Rising Star Ahmed Malek, Jay Ryan, and David Wenham, and has its world premiere Sept. 4 in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival.
“The Furnace” is produced by Timothy White (“I Am Mother”) and Tenille Kennedy (“H Is For Happiness”), and co-produced by Georgia White,...
- 9/4/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Roderick MacKay’s drama about ‘cameleers’ in western Australia is as unadorned as cow hide – see it on a wide screen if you can
The empty rows of seats inside the cinemas of Venice is a disconcerting sight, but it’s got nothing on the wide-open spaces of The Furnace, a brutish Aussie western that’s playing out in the festival’s Orizzonti sidebar. Social distancing is a necessity; all the men have gold fever. Sidle up too close to a rival prospector and more likely than not he’ll put a bullet in your brain.
While Roderick MacKay’s debut feature is finally more about action than history, this nonetheless disinters a fascinating lost subculture. In the late 19th-century, the British empire exported camels and their handlers to the deserts of western Australia. The handlers were predominantly Indian, Iranian and Afghan labourers, and their job was to ferry supplies...
The empty rows of seats inside the cinemas of Venice is a disconcerting sight, but it’s got nothing on the wide-open spaces of The Furnace, a brutish Aussie western that’s playing out in the festival’s Orizzonti sidebar. Social distancing is a necessity; all the men have gold fever. Sidle up too close to a rival prospector and more likely than not he’ll put a bullet in your brain.
While Roderick MacKay’s debut feature is finally more about action than history, this nonetheless disinters a fascinating lost subculture. In the late 19th-century, the British empire exported camels and their handlers to the deserts of western Australia. The handlers were predominantly Indian, Iranian and Afghan labourers, and their job was to ferry supplies...
- 9/4/2020
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
Cinema has long provided a vivid canvas for Australian cinema to confront the country’s history of racial conflict, but there are many more stories to tell. Recent entries such as Warwick Thornton’s “Sweet Country” and Jennifer Kent’s “The Nightingale” capture the simmering anger and resentment between white settlers and the Indigenous people in their crosshairs in disturbing detail. Set against the backdrop of sprawling rocky landscapes, these brutal Westerns give the genre renewed immediacy for a country working through the demons of the past through the stories it offers up.
“The Furnace” marks the latest compelling entry to this emerging subgenre, and while writer-director Roderick MacKay’s first feature hews to plenty of formulaic twists, .
A tense and bloody chase across the Western Australian desert set against the 1890s Gold Rush, “The Furnace” focuses on the little-known plight of a “Ghan” cameleer — one of many Muslim and...
“The Furnace” marks the latest compelling entry to this emerging subgenre, and while writer-director Roderick MacKay’s first feature hews to plenty of formulaic twists, .
A tense and bloody chase across the Western Australian desert set against the 1890s Gold Rush, “The Furnace” focuses on the little-known plight of a “Ghan” cameleer — one of many Muslim and...
- 9/4/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Following in the horseshoe prints of Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country and Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang, debuting feature writer-director Roderick MacKay continues to mine the classic archetypes and tropes of the Western to explore the complex cross-cultural historical threads of Australian identity in The Furnace. While the simmering threat of violence could have been dialed up into more visceral climactic set-pieces, the film tells an engrossing story of a little-known chapter in colonial history, unfolding across the ruggedly beautiful desert landscapes of Western Australia.
The surreal presence of camels may be common in images of the Australian outback,...
The surreal presence of camels may be common in images of the Australian outback,...
Following in the horseshoe prints of Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country and Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang, debuting feature writer-director Roderick MacKay continues to mine the classic archetypes and tropes of the Western to explore the complex cross-cultural historical threads of Australian identity in The Furnace. While the simmering threat of violence could have been dialed up into more visceral climactic set-pieces, the film tells an engrossing story of a little-known chapter in colonial history, unfolding across the ruggedly beautiful desert landscapes of Western Australia.
The surreal presence of camels may be common in images of the Australian outback,...
The surreal presence of camels may be common in images of the Australian outback,...
Wife of a SpyThe programme for the 2020 edition of the Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Gia Coppola, Lav Diaz, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Alice Rohrwacher, Gianfranco Rosi, Frederick Wiseman, Chloé Zhao, and more.COMPETITIONIn Between Dying (Hilal Baydarov)Le sorelle Macluso (Emma Dante)The World to Come (Mona Fastvold)Nuevo Orden (Michel Franco)Lovers (Nicole Garcia)Laila in Haifa (Amos Gitai)Dear Comrades (Andrei Konchalovsky)Wife of a Spy (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)Sun Children (Majid Majidi)Pieces of a Woman (Kornél Mundruczó)Miss Marx (Susanna Nicchiarelli)Padrenostro (Claudio Noce)Notturno (Gianfranco Rosi)Never Gonna Snow AgainThe Disciple (Chaitanya Tamhane)And Tomorrow The Entire World (Julia Von Heinz)Quo Vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Zbanic)Nomadland (Chloé Zhao)Out Of COMPETITIONFeaturesThe Ties (Daniele Luchetti)Lasciami Andare (Stefano Mordini)Mandibules (Quentin Dupieux)Love After Love (Ann Hui)Assandria (Salvatore Mereu)The Duke (Roger Michell)Night in Paradise (Park Hoon-jung)Mosquito...
- 8/3/2020
- MUBI
Naomi Watts in ‘Penguin Bloom’ (Photo credit: Hugh Stewart.)
Glendyn Ivin’s Penguin Bloom, the adaptation of Bradley Trevor Greive and Cameron Bloom’s novel starring Naomi Watts, The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln and Jacki Weaver, will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The drama produced by Emma Cooper, Watts and Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky is among 50 features in the line-up.
The festival’s 45th edition will run from September 10–19, a combination of physical, socially-distanced screenings, drive-ins, digital screenings, virtual red carpets, press conferences and industry talks.
Penguin Bloom’s selection is another welcome boost for Australian cinema after the news that Roderick MacKay’s The Furnace will have its world premiere in the Horizons section of the Venice International Film Festival.
Scripted by Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps, the film follows Watts as Sam Bloom, a young Sydney...
Glendyn Ivin’s Penguin Bloom, the adaptation of Bradley Trevor Greive and Cameron Bloom’s novel starring Naomi Watts, The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln and Jacki Weaver, will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The drama produced by Emma Cooper, Watts and Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky is among 50 features in the line-up.
The festival’s 45th edition will run from September 10–19, a combination of physical, socially-distanced screenings, drive-ins, digital screenings, virtual red carpets, press conferences and industry talks.
Penguin Bloom’s selection is another welcome boost for Australian cinema after the news that Roderick MacKay’s The Furnace will have its world premiere in the Horizons section of the Venice International Film Festival.
Scripted by Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps, the film follows Watts as Sam Bloom, a young Sydney...
- 7/30/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
After yesterday’s unveiling of the Venice line-up, the sales announcements have rolled in:
Celluloid Dreams has boarded international sales on Sun Children, which screens in competition. The company previously repped director Majid Majidi’s debut feature Baduk back in 1991. The new feature is the story of 12-year-old Ali and his three friends. When Ali is entrusted to find hidden treasure underground, he recruits his gang to help.
U.S. outfit Arclight will handle world rights on The Furnace, the directing debut of Australian writer Roderick MacKay. It stars Ahmed Malek, Jay Ryan and David Wenham in a story set in 1890s gold rush-era Australia. Umbrella Films will distribute the film in Australia and New Zealand. Pic plays in Venice’s Horizons strand.
Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival, which is taking place in a hybrid physical-online form this year, has set its opening night feature as Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow.
Celluloid Dreams has boarded international sales on Sun Children, which screens in competition. The company previously repped director Majid Majidi’s debut feature Baduk back in 1991. The new feature is the story of 12-year-old Ali and his three friends. When Ali is entrusted to find hidden treasure underground, he recruits his gang to help.
U.S. outfit Arclight will handle world rights on The Furnace, the directing debut of Australian writer Roderick MacKay. It stars Ahmed Malek, Jay Ryan and David Wenham in a story set in 1890s gold rush-era Australia. Umbrella Films will distribute the film in Australia and New Zealand. Pic plays in Venice’s Horizons strand.
Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival, which is taking place in a hybrid physical-online form this year, has set its opening night feature as Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow.
- 7/29/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
‘The Furnace.’
Writer-director Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace, an 1890s drama set during the gold rush in Western Australia, will have its world premiere in the Horizons section of the 77th Venice Film Festival.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
“I’m thrilled at this opportunity for the...
Writer-director Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace, an 1890s drama set during the gold rush in Western Australia, will have its world premiere in the Horizons section of the 77th Venice Film Festival.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
“I’m thrilled at this opportunity for the...
- 7/28/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Hot on the heels of the 2020 New York Film Festival releasing its first selection in Nomadland (taking the Centerpiece slot at the fest), Venice is chiming in as well. Not only are they also going to be showing Chloe Zhao’s movie, but the festival has in fact unveiled its entire lineup for this year. It’s a crop of titles that’s low on flashy name recognition, at least for now, but it’s an international group that should hopefully be cause for some celebration in the cinematic world. These days, that’s hard to come by, to say the least. Read on for the entire list… If there’s something else of note besides Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland at Venice right now, it’s either The Duke from Roger Michell, starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, or The World to Come. The former is a crime comedy, while...
- 7/28/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Umbrella Films to distribute in Australia, New Zealand.
Arclight Films has come on board to represent worldwide sales excluding Australia and New Zealand on Venice Orizzonti selection The Furnace, an Australian adventure story that highlights the little-known history of Afghan cameleers.
Australian writer Roderick MacKay makes his directorial debut on the film starring Ahmed Malek, Jay Ryan, and David Wenham.
The Furnace is described as an unlikely hero’s tale set during the 1890s gold rush of Western Australia and highlights the forgotten history of the so-called ‘Ghan’ cameleers, predominantly Muslim and Sikh men from India, Afghanistan, and the Middle...
Arclight Films has come on board to represent worldwide sales excluding Australia and New Zealand on Venice Orizzonti selection The Furnace, an Australian adventure story that highlights the little-known history of Afghan cameleers.
Australian writer Roderick MacKay makes his directorial debut on the film starring Ahmed Malek, Jay Ryan, and David Wenham.
The Furnace is described as an unlikely hero’s tale set during the 1890s gold rush of Western Australia and highlights the forgotten history of the so-called ‘Ghan’ cameleers, predominantly Muslim and Sikh men from India, Afghanistan, and the Middle...
- 7/28/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
This year’s pandemic-altered Venice Film Festival will include a record number of competition films directed by women, festival organizers announced on Tuesday. And two of those are also the only Hollywood studio films to make the competition lineup — Mona Fastvold’s “The World to Come” and Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland.”
In all, eight of the 18 competition features have a female director — an improvement from last year, when just two made the cut.
“Nomadland,” a drama starring Frances McDormand released by Searchlight Pictures, will simultaneously premiere through the Toronto Film Festival as well as through the New York Film Festival and the now-canceled Telluride fest (at a special drive-in screening in Southern California). Sony’s “The World to Come” stars Casey Affleck, Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston.
Also Read: Frances McDormand's 'Nomadland' to Get Joint World Premiere From Venice and Toronto Film Festivals
Other top titles screening out...
In all, eight of the 18 competition features have a female director — an improvement from last year, when just two made the cut.
“Nomadland,” a drama starring Frances McDormand released by Searchlight Pictures, will simultaneously premiere through the Toronto Film Festival as well as through the New York Film Festival and the now-canceled Telluride fest (at a special drive-in screening in Southern California). Sony’s “The World to Come” stars Casey Affleck, Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston.
Also Read: Frances McDormand's 'Nomadland' to Get Joint World Premiere From Venice and Toronto Film Festivals
Other top titles screening out...
- 7/28/2020
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
With Telluride Film Festival forced to cancel their yearly event, what is now the first of the major fall festivals, Venice, has announced their complete lineup. Along with Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, which was revealed yesterday, the lineup includes more of our most-anticipated films of the year, including Frederick Wiseman’s City Hall, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife of a Spy, Gia Coppola’s Mainstream, Abel Ferrara’s Sportin’ Life, Lav Diaz’s Genus Pan, Mona Fastvold’s The World to Come, Kornél Mundruczó’s Pieces of a Woman, Gianfranco Rosi’s Notturno, and more.
There were also a few surprises in the lineup. Luca Guadagnino has directed a new documentary titled Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, while Alice Rohrwacher and Jr have teamed for the new short film, Omelia Contadina. Quentin Dupieux’s Mandibules will also premiere out of competition.
In perhaps the best surprise of all, a new, recently uncovered film by Orson Welles,...
There were also a few surprises in the lineup. Luca Guadagnino has directed a new documentary titled Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, while Alice Rohrwacher and Jr have teamed for the new short film, Omelia Contadina. Quentin Dupieux’s Mandibules will also premiere out of competition.
In perhaps the best surprise of all, a new, recently uncovered film by Orson Welles,...
- 7/28/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
While the coronavirus pandemic has canceled major festivals such as Cannes and Telluride, the 2020 Venice Film Festival is moving ahead as planned and will be the world’s first major film festival since Sundance and Berlin at the start of the year. Venice 2020’s main selection will be split into three sections: Venezia 77 (aka the main competition), Out of Competition, and Horizons. The titles selected for the main competition will compete for the Golden Lion, which was awarded last year to Todd Phillips’ “Joker.”
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s drama “Lacci” will open the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2. The movie is the first Italian title to open Venice in 11 years. The last Italian opener was Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baarìa” at the 2009 festival. “Lacci” is included in this year’s Out of Competition section. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” follow-up “Nomadland” was also confirmed for a world premiere...
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s drama “Lacci” will open the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2. The movie is the first Italian title to open Venice in 11 years. The last Italian opener was Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baarìa” at the 2009 festival. “Lacci” is included in this year’s Out of Competition section. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” follow-up “Nomadland” was also confirmed for a world premiere...
- 7/28/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The Venice Film Festival is unveiling the lineup of its 77th edition, which, barring complications, will be the first major international film event to hold a physical edition following the coronavirus crisis.
Previously announced titles include Chloé Zhao’s road drama “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, which will screen at Venice and Toronto simultaneously on Sept. 11, in both cases preceded by virtual introductions.
The out-of-competition opener will be Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s anatomy of a marriage drama “Lacci” (“The Ties”) (pictured) starring Alba Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”) and Luigi Lo Cascio (“The Traitor”) as the couple at the film’s center.
The virtual press conference is scheduled to begin at 11am Cet. This post will be updated live as films are revealed.
Venice Film Festival Lineup
In Competition
“In Between Dying,” Hilal Baydarov
“Le Sorelle Macaluso,” Emma Dante (Italy)
“The World to Come,” Mona Fastvold (U.S.)
“Nuevo Orden,” Michel Franco
“Lovers,...
Previously announced titles include Chloé Zhao’s road drama “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, which will screen at Venice and Toronto simultaneously on Sept. 11, in both cases preceded by virtual introductions.
The out-of-competition opener will be Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s anatomy of a marriage drama “Lacci” (“The Ties”) (pictured) starring Alba Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”) and Luigi Lo Cascio (“The Traitor”) as the couple at the film’s center.
The virtual press conference is scheduled to begin at 11am Cet. This post will be updated live as films are revealed.
Venice Film Festival Lineup
In Competition
“In Between Dying,” Hilal Baydarov
“Le Sorelle Macaluso,” Emma Dante (Italy)
“The World to Come,” Mona Fastvold (U.S.)
“Nuevo Orden,” Michel Franco
“Lovers,...
- 7/28/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Competition line-up includes films by Chloe Zhao, Susanna Nicchiarelli, Kornel Mandruczo and Andrei Konchalovsky.
The line-up of the 77th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12) has been announced.
Scroll down for the full line-up
The big talking points from this year’s selection include an improved gender split, with eight women selected for the competition section (compared to two last year), and a lack of major US projects. Venice will be one of the first major film festivals to take place as a physical event following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Among the big-name auteurs selected are Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Michel Franco (Nuevo...
The line-up of the 77th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12) has been announced.
Scroll down for the full line-up
The big talking points from this year’s selection include an improved gender split, with eight women selected for the competition section (compared to two last year), and a lack of major US projects. Venice will be one of the first major film festivals to take place as a physical event following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Among the big-name auteurs selected are Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Michel Franco (Nuevo...
- 7/28/2020
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
‘High Ground’.
With Melbourne cinemas closed and most of those still in operation averaging capacities of 10 – 20 per cent, Madman Entertainment sensibly has decided to release Stephen Johnson’s High Ground next year.
The 1930s-set drama, which stars Simon Baker, Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Jack Thompson, Callan Mulvey, Aaron Pedersen, Caren Pistorius and Ryan Corr, was originally slated to open on July 9.
It will join a number of other Aussie titles dated for 2021, including Glendyn Ivin’s Penguin Bloom (January 1) and Robert Connolly’s The Dry (April 8), both Roadshow releases.
Inspired by true events, scripted by Chris Anastassiades and produced by Maggie Miles, Yothu Yindi co-founder Witiyana Marika, Johnson, David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin, High Ground has its world premiere in the Berlinale Special screenings section of the Berlin International Film Festival.
“High Ground obviously has had its trajectory post-Berlinale world premiere impacted by Covid-19,” Madman MD Paul Wiegard tells If.
“With...
With Melbourne cinemas closed and most of those still in operation averaging capacities of 10 – 20 per cent, Madman Entertainment sensibly has decided to release Stephen Johnson’s High Ground next year.
The 1930s-set drama, which stars Simon Baker, Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Jack Thompson, Callan Mulvey, Aaron Pedersen, Caren Pistorius and Ryan Corr, was originally slated to open on July 9.
It will join a number of other Aussie titles dated for 2021, including Glendyn Ivin’s Penguin Bloom (January 1) and Robert Connolly’s The Dry (April 8), both Roadshow releases.
Inspired by true events, scripted by Chris Anastassiades and produced by Maggie Miles, Yothu Yindi co-founder Witiyana Marika, Johnson, David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin, High Ground has its world premiere in the Berlinale Special screenings section of the Berlin International Film Festival.
“High Ground obviously has had its trajectory post-Berlinale world premiere impacted by Covid-19,” Madman MD Paul Wiegard tells If.
“With...
- 7/22/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Zak Hilditch, Alison James and infant.
Expat Australian filmmakers in Los Angeles and London are coping as best they can through the Covid-19 pandemic, including supporting each other.
Zak Hilditch was gearing up to shoot Airborne (formerly Celestial Blue), a prescient thriller about a mid-flight pandemic, in Bulgaria mid-year, produced by Liz Kearney and Ross Dinerstein, backed by Xyz Films.
“Like everything else, it’s all a huge grey area as to whether that’s even remotely feasible,” he tells If. Alexandra Daddario is attached to play a flight attendant who struggles to contain the infected passengers and against the odds land the aircraft safely.
Zak’s wife Alison James, who signed with Wme and Grandview after directing the short Judas Collar, is focused on writing and developing her own projects and collaborating with others in the Us and Australia.
I Am Mother’s Grant Sputore and his wife moved...
Expat Australian filmmakers in Los Angeles and London are coping as best they can through the Covid-19 pandemic, including supporting each other.
Zak Hilditch was gearing up to shoot Airborne (formerly Celestial Blue), a prescient thriller about a mid-flight pandemic, in Bulgaria mid-year, produced by Liz Kearney and Ross Dinerstein, backed by Xyz Films.
“Like everything else, it’s all a huge grey area as to whether that’s even remotely feasible,” he tells If. Alexandra Daddario is attached to play a flight attendant who struggles to contain the infected passengers and against the odds land the aircraft safely.
Zak’s wife Alison James, who signed with Wme and Grandview after directing the short Judas Collar, is focused on writing and developing her own projects and collaborating with others in the Us and Australia.
I Am Mother’s Grant Sputore and his wife moved...
- 4/1/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Erik Thomson (Photo: Alex Vaughan).
In a perfect world Erik Thomson would have just wrapped filming of Amazon Prime’s Back to the Rafters and have started pre-production on the ABC dramedy Yes, Chef!
Stateless star Fayssal Bazzi would be preparing to go to the Us to meet with agents and producers and looking forward to the May release of Paul Ireland’s Measure or Measure, in which he co-stars with Hugo Weaving.
After roles in Amazon Studios’ historical drama The Underground Railroad and the BBC and Netflix serial-killer drama The Serpent, Damon Herriman was set to star in a film in New Zealand.
Roz Hammond was getting ready to perform alongside Lachy Hulme in director Tyran Parke’s stage adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at Her Majesty’s in May.
All of that is now on hold, of course, curtailed by the Covid-19 crisis.
In a perfect world Erik Thomson would have just wrapped filming of Amazon Prime’s Back to the Rafters and have started pre-production on the ABC dramedy Yes, Chef!
Stateless star Fayssal Bazzi would be preparing to go to the Us to meet with agents and producers and looking forward to the May release of Paul Ireland’s Measure or Measure, in which he co-stars with Hugo Weaving.
After roles in Amazon Studios’ historical drama The Underground Railroad and the BBC and Netflix serial-killer drama The Serpent, Damon Herriman was set to star in a film in New Zealand.
Roz Hammond was getting ready to perform alongside Lachy Hulme in director Tyran Parke’s stage adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at Her Majesty’s in May.
All of that is now on hold, of course, curtailed by the Covid-19 crisis.
- 3/30/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Relic’
While some distributors are cutting back, Umbrella Entertainment plans to release approximately 18 titles in cinemas this year, up from 14 in 2019.
The distributor has high hopes for its Australian acquisitions which run the gamut of genres from drama, horror and Western to sci-fi.
“We’re passionate about overcoming the cultural cringe that Australian audiences still have a tendency to display and are dedicated to fostering new Australian talent,” Umbrella head of acquisitions Ari Harrison tells If.
“As a small, close-knit team, we aim to concentrate our efforts on films that we love and can support from the ground up. We want to work hand-in-hand with the filmmakers with the goal of getting their film ‘out there’ so that it finds its audience.
“Essentially we aim to ensure that the films we acquire have the capacity for national theatrical success in Australia and New Zealand, with potential for continued growth via their ancillary platforms.
While some distributors are cutting back, Umbrella Entertainment plans to release approximately 18 titles in cinemas this year, up from 14 in 2019.
The distributor has high hopes for its Australian acquisitions which run the gamut of genres from drama, horror and Western to sci-fi.
“We’re passionate about overcoming the cultural cringe that Australian audiences still have a tendency to display and are dedicated to fostering new Australian talent,” Umbrella head of acquisitions Ari Harrison tells If.
“As a small, close-knit team, we aim to concentrate our efforts on films that we love and can support from the ground up. We want to work hand-in-hand with the filmmakers with the goal of getting their film ‘out there’ so that it finds its audience.
“Essentially we aim to ensure that the films we acquire have the capacity for national theatrical success in Australia and New Zealand, with potential for continued growth via their ancillary platforms.
- 2/16/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Veteran actor, David Wenham and rising star Ahmed Malek are set to star in “The Furnace.” The adventure drama is by first time feature director Roderick MacKay, with production by Timothy White (“I Am Mother”) and Tenille Kennedy (“H Is For Happiness”).
Set in Western Australia’s 1890s gold rush, “The Furnace” is an unlikely hero’s tale, navigating greed and the search for identity in a new land. It illuminates the forgotten history of Australia’s ‘Ghan’ cameleers, predominantly Muslim and Sikh men from India, Afghanistan and Persia, who opened up the country’s desert interior, and formed unique bonds with local Aboriginal people.
Malek, an Egyptian actor who was named one of the Rising Stars at the Toronto Film Festival in 2018, will play a camel driver who teams up with a bushman, played by Wenham. Together, they must outwit zealous troopers in a race to reset gold bars at a secret furnace.
Set in Western Australia’s 1890s gold rush, “The Furnace” is an unlikely hero’s tale, navigating greed and the search for identity in a new land. It illuminates the forgotten history of Australia’s ‘Ghan’ cameleers, predominantly Muslim and Sikh men from India, Afghanistan and Persia, who opened up the country’s desert interior, and formed unique bonds with local Aboriginal people.
Malek, an Egyptian actor who was named one of the Rising Stars at the Toronto Film Festival in 2018, will play a camel driver who teams up with a bushman, played by Wenham. Together, they must outwit zealous troopers in a race to reset gold bars at a secret furnace.
- 9/13/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Ahmed Malek.
Writer-director Roderick Mackay’s feature debut The Furnace is set to kick off in Wa next month, headlined by a cast that includes Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek, David Wenham and The Nightingale’s Baykali Ganambarr.
Set in the during the 1890s gold rush, the film is described as an “unlikely hero’s tale” navigating greed and identity. It illuminates a history of Australia’s ‘Ghan’ cameleers, predominantly Muslim and Sikh men from India, Afghanistan and Persia, who opened up the desert interior, and formed unique bonds with local Aboriginal people.
Malek, named a Rising Star at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, will play Hanif, a young cameleer who forms a partnership with a bushman on the run with Crown gold. The bushman, Mal, will be played by Wenham, a long-time supporter of the project. Together, they must outwit zealous troopers in a race to reset the gold bars at a secret furnace.
Writer-director Roderick Mackay’s feature debut The Furnace is set to kick off in Wa next month, headlined by a cast that includes Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek, David Wenham and The Nightingale’s Baykali Ganambarr.
Set in the during the 1890s gold rush, the film is described as an “unlikely hero’s tale” navigating greed and identity. It illuminates a history of Australia’s ‘Ghan’ cameleers, predominantly Muslim and Sikh men from India, Afghanistan and Persia, who opened up the desert interior, and formed unique bonds with local Aboriginal people.
Malek, named a Rising Star at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, will play Hanif, a young cameleer who forms a partnership with a bushman on the run with Crown gold. The bushman, Mal, will be played by Wenham, a long-time supporter of the project. Together, they must outwit zealous troopers in a race to reset the gold bars at a secret furnace.
- 9/13/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Like A Photon’s Nadine Bates and Kristen Souvlis, pictured with their muppet Violetta, have received funding from Screen Australia for two animated features.
Two animated feature films from Queensland-based production company Like A Photon and Stan/Jungle Entertainment’s No Activity Christmas special are among the recent 12 projects to receive production investment from Screen Australia.
The agency announced today it will inject over $9 million in production funding across five features, five TV dramas and two digital series.
Kristen Souvlis and Nadine Bates’ Like A Photon will produce animated feature Combat Wombat, about a wombat turned unintentional superhero, as well as The Wishmas Tree, which follows a young possum’s misguided wish for a white Wishmas. Both projects will be directed by Ricard Cusso Judson, with Matt Everitt to act as consulting animation director (The Lego Batman Movie) on Combat Wombat.
The creative team behind web series High Life – producer Adam Dolman,...
Two animated feature films from Queensland-based production company Like A Photon and Stan/Jungle Entertainment’s No Activity Christmas special are among the recent 12 projects to receive production investment from Screen Australia.
The agency announced today it will inject over $9 million in production funding across five features, five TV dramas and two digital series.
Kristen Souvlis and Nadine Bates’ Like A Photon will produce animated feature Combat Wombat, about a wombat turned unintentional superhero, as well as The Wishmas Tree, which follows a young possum’s misguided wish for a white Wishmas. Both projects will be directed by Ricard Cusso Judson, with Matt Everitt to act as consulting animation director (The Lego Batman Movie) on Combat Wombat.
The creative team behind web series High Life – producer Adam Dolman,...
- 9/19/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Writer-director Roderick MacKay and producer Justin McArdle are a talented team of Australian filmmakers who have just released an impressive short called Factory 293. Perhaps what's most impressive is they were able to transform their home of sunny Australia into the snowy landscape of rural 1940s Russia.
The film is the result of a successful crowd funding campaign.
Synopsis:
In a remote part of Stalin's war-torn Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic, Grigor, Manager of munitions FACTORY293, faces the realities of his existence.
Despite the infatuation of his female factory workforce, he is drawn to increasingly melancholic thoughts - Stalin has abandoned him. With a howling blizzard outside, the factory's power is sudd [Continued ...]...
The film is the result of a successful crowd funding campaign.
Synopsis:
In a remote part of Stalin's war-torn Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic, Grigor, Manager of munitions FACTORY293, faces the realities of his existence.
Despite the infatuation of his female factory workforce, he is drawn to increasingly melancholic thoughts - Stalin has abandoned him. With a howling blizzard outside, the factory's power is sudd [Continued ...]...
- 9/15/2014
- QuietEarth.us
You could say that writer-director Roderick MacKay, producer Justin McArdle and their talented team set themselves an unlikely goal - if not an impossible one - with their latest short film FACTORY293. How so? Well, they were attempting the very minor feat (deliberate understatement there) of transforming sunny, 2013 Perth, Australia into snow blasted landscape of rural 1940 Russia. In a remote part of Stalin's war-torn Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic, Grigor, Manager of munitions FACTORY293, faces the realities of his existence. Despite the infatuation of his female factory workforce, he is drawn to increasingly melancholic thoughts - Stalin has abandoned him. With a howling blizzard outside, the factory's power is suddenly cut, interrupting Grigor's intent to take decisive action. In a flurry to...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 9/15/2014
- Screen Anarchy
A scene from The Fan..
.
Tim Winton.s The Turning was named best feature at the 26th annual Wa Screen Awards presented in Perth on Monday night.
Drift was recognised for best actor Myles Pollard, Tim Duffy.s screenplay and for Glenn Dillon.s sound.
Emily Rose Brennan.s performance in the online series The Legend of Gavin Tanner: Episode 5 - The Big Fight, earned her the best actress award. The comedy also took the People.s Choice Award for the Mad Kids team of writer/star Matt Lovkis, director Henry Inglis and producer Lauren Elliott.
Nicholas Dunlop was honoured as best director for Comic Book Heroes, the ABC documentary about the quest by Australian comic book creators Wolfgang Byslma and Skye Walker Ogden to penetrate the Us market by travelling to Comic-Con International in San Diego; it also won best factual TV production.
Antony Webb's The Fan...
.
Tim Winton.s The Turning was named best feature at the 26th annual Wa Screen Awards presented in Perth on Monday night.
Drift was recognised for best actor Myles Pollard, Tim Duffy.s screenplay and for Glenn Dillon.s sound.
Emily Rose Brennan.s performance in the online series The Legend of Gavin Tanner: Episode 5 - The Big Fight, earned her the best actress award. The comedy also took the People.s Choice Award for the Mad Kids team of writer/star Matt Lovkis, director Henry Inglis and producer Lauren Elliott.
Nicholas Dunlop was honoured as best director for Comic Book Heroes, the ABC documentary about the quest by Australian comic book creators Wolfgang Byslma and Skye Walker Ogden to penetrate the Us market by travelling to Comic-Con International in San Diego; it also won best factual TV production.
Antony Webb's The Fan...
- 7/14/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
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