Category: Latest News

Odin’s Eye Entertainment Introduces ‘The Library Boys’

Posted on by

Buyers getting first taste of upcoming Australian high-school, high-jinks drama at American Film Market (AFM)

Odin’s Eye Entertainment (OEE) has recently announced it has secured worldwide sales on an upcoming feature film, The Library Boys, directed and penned by rising star Zane Borg (A Man and a Woman, Phantasm).

Only 21 years old when he shot the film, Borg, now 23, brought on executive producers Russell Cunningham of RLC Motion Picture Entertainment, Odin’s Eye CEO Michael Favelle and Pancake Originals’ Gabriel Carrubba to complete the picture in preparation for worldwide sales. Odin’s Eye Entertainment has commenced sales on the project and is introducing to buyers at the AFM

Based on Borg’s own experiences, The Library Boys offers a fresh, universal take on the classic coming-of-age story. Zane (Jack Kenny), James (Joe Kenny), and Mitch (Uisce Goriss-Dazeley) are about to graduate from high school. Lifelong friends, they are met head-on with the challenges of entering adulthood; Zane becomes obsessed with the new girl at school, James’ long-term girlfriend is pushing for him to grow up, meanwhile, Mitch is just trying to lose his virginity but somehow becomes involved with Tilly, the most popular girl in school. Exploring the ups and downs of adolescence struggles with identity and the importance of friendship, The Library Boys is an honest, heartfelt portrayal of high school life in the final year.

Filmed in Victoria under strict COVID protocols, the micro-budget film was shot in 30 days with post-production support from Post Lab IO and Music and Effects.

“We are delighted to be working with Zane who is a remarkable, fresh talent. His script, vision and casting excited us from the outset and the completed film is already earning serious interest from buyers at AFM,” said OEE’s Favelle.

About Odin’s Eye Entertainment: 

Established in 2006 by Michael Favelle, Odin’s Eye Entertainment (OEE) is a vertically integrated Production, Distribution, and International Sales Agency that specializes in working with emerging and established filmmakers across a wide variety of genres. As a Sales Agency, OEE represents Feature-Length Motion Pictures, Documentaries, and Television content worldwide, hosting its own sales booth at every major festival including, but not limited to, CANNES, AFM, MIPCOM, BERLIN & FILMART. Commencing in 2012, sister company, Odin’s Eye Animation (OEA) creates and sources original and existing IP for developing and producing theatrical quality animation content for international sale. With strategic initiatives with a network of international content development and animation studios, OEA is uniquely placed to work with some of the best independent studios and talent worldwide including director John Stevenson: KUNG FU PANDA; Director Jimmy Hayward HORTON HEARS A WHO, Free Birds; Director Barry Cook: MULAN.

OEE is also a recognised Australian Distributor whose first theatrical release was the Toronto IFF discovery title CANOPY in 2016. Subsequent release titles include SNOW QUEEN 3, WHEELY, DINO KING: JOURNEY TO FIRE MOUNTAIN, and most recently the award-winning Horror pic THE FURIES. OEE’s regular clients include industry heavyweights LIONSGATE for OPEN WATER 3: CAGE DIVE, NETFLIX for THE REAL MIYAGI, ANIMAL CRACKERS, and UNIVERSAL PICTURES AUSTRALIA. Based in OEE’s and OEA’s Sydney offices, Michael along with Lauren Thomas – Development & Acquisitions Executive – North America; Astrid Samuel Head of Business and Legal Affairs; Russell Cunningham – Global Strategist; and John Theodosiou –  Production and Accounts Assist strive to ensure Odin Eye’s forward business strategies remain focused on prestige live-action like the high concept thriller THE INFERNAL MACHINE starring Guy Pearce and Alice Eve as well as high-quality animations such as ALEBRIJES from Academy Award Winning Producer Aron Warner and the Australian franchise TALES FROM SANCTUARY CITY.

Introducing The 2021 Casting Guild of Australia Awards Nominees

Posted on by

The Casting Guild of Australia has recently announced the nominees in all categories for its annual CGA Awards. The only casting awards ceremony in the southern hemisphere that celebrates and recognises casting across all mediums including film, television, advertising, and theatre and online content, the winners will be announced at the virtual ceremony via Facebook on Saturday 20 November.

Hosted by Lucy Durack and Eddie Perfect, the Awards seek to acknowledge and support the critical role casting directors play in bringing together great casting opportunities both on a national and international stage.

CGA President David Newman said: “If 2020 was the year of uncertainty, 2021 has proven to be a year of determination and adaptation. Despite what has been thrown at them, casting directors have managed to cast many astounding projects and make sure, despite all the difficulties, that Australian and international stories could continue to be told. We’re looking forward to celebrating these achievements at our awards this year and recognising those who have been nominated.

“We particularly want to thank the actors who have been on a very rocky roller coaster for the last 12 months; many getting roles only to lose them as they were unable to get to the shoot; actors who have spent untold days alone in quarantine – multiple times; and those who got stuck and couldn’t return home. We’re hoping the new normal will be much kinder to you moving forward.”

The full list of 2021 CGA Award nominees include:

Best Casting in A Feature Film

  • High Ground – Anousha Zarkesh
  • Nitram – Nikki Barrett, Alison Telford, Kate Leonard
  • The Dry – Jane Norris
  • The Furnace – Nikki Barrett

Best Casting in a TV Drama, TV Miniseries & Telemovie

  • Eden – Danny Long
  • Fires – Nikki Barrett
  • The Newsreader – Nathan Lloyd
  • Wakefield – Marianne Jade

Best Casting in a TV Comedy

  • Aftertaste – Marianne Jade, Angela Heesom, Lou Heesom
  • Fisk – Kirsty McGregor
  • Frayed S2 – Kirsty McGregor
  • Why Are You Like This – Amy Mete

Best Casting in a Short Film

  • The Reality – Danny Long
  • The Stranger – Danny Long
  • Tough – Daisy Hicks
  • You and Me, Before and After – Stevie Ray

Achievement in Casting

  • All My Friends Are Racist (Web Series) – Nathan Lloyd
  • Celebration Nation (Web Series) – Annabel Clayton
  • Mortal Kombat – Angela Heesom, Lou Heesom
  • The Bureau of Magical Things – Tom McSweeney, David Newman

Best Casting in a Theatre Production

  • Fun Home – Janine Snape, Alex Souvlis
  • Grand Horizons – Alex Souvlis
  • The Lifespan of a Fact – Janine Snape

Best Casting in a TVC

  • eBay – Daniella Friedman
  • Flybuys ‘I Give A Flybuys’ – Amy Mete, Nick Hamon
  • Google X ‘Helping You Help Them’ – Natalie Jane Harvie
  • Lamb ‘Make Lamb, Not Walls’ – Leon Fryer
  • Tylenol ‘Mother’s Day’ and ‘Anthem’ – Danny Long
  • Worksafe – Mel Mackintosh

Best Casting in a TVC – Community

  • Dept Social Services, Disability Gateway – Natalie Jane Harvie
  • DSS, Care and Support Sector – Daniella Friedman
  • Kellogg’s My Perfect Bowl: Corn Flakes – Lucky Price
  • NSW RFS: How Fireproof is Your Plan – Lucky Price
  • Tourism & Events Queensland – Michelle Clancy

The 2021 CGA Rising Stars will also be presented on the night with recipients announced soon.

Be sure to tune into the Virtual Awards on November 20 at https://www.facebook.com/groups/cgaawards2021

For further information about CGA visit: www.castingguild.com.au

Afghan-Australian Drama “When Pomegranates Howl” Generates Early Oscars Buzz

Posted on by

Australian/Afghanistan co-production When Pomegranates Howl has been selected as Australia’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 2022 Academy Awards. 

It also recently garnered a nomination for Best Youth Film at the 2021 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, which will announce winners on 11 November.

Written and directed by Granaz Moussavi (My Tehran for Sale) this unforgettable anti-war drama, which was shot in Afghanistan, follows Hewad an irrepressible nine-year-old boy, who hustles on the streets of Kabul – selling everything from pomegranate juice to protection from the evil eye. 

Portrayed by Arafat Faiz, an untrained young actor, Hewad is a quick-witted, street-smart kid, who seizes every chance and dreams of becoming a movie star to support his mother and sister.  When an Australian photojournalist befriends Hewad and starts documenting his life in order to create an empathetic depiction of children in a war-torn society, Hewad is hopeful that his luck may finally be changing.

Partly funded by the Adelaide Film Festival and post-produced in Adelaide, When Pomegranates Howl is the latest film from Moussavi, a graduate of AFTRS and Adelaide’s Flinders University, who immigrated to Australia from Tehran with her family in the late 90s.  Since that time, she has distinguished herself as a contemporary poet, film director, and screenwriter.

Distributed in Australia by Bonsai Films, this poignant feature will next be seen at the 2021 Sydney Film Festival along with a late November preview season in Sydney and Canberra, prior to a select theatrical release in the first quarter of 2022.

This article was sourced from a media release sent by Annette Smith of Ned & Co

WIN 5 Complimentary Double Passes To Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn

Posted on by

Potential Films is thrilled to be releasing the raucous and wonderful Romanian feature film, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn by director Radu Jude which is due to cinemas on November 25, 2021. 

The winner of the Berlin Film Festival for Best Film, it also played/ is playing at New York Film Festival, London Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Brisbane Film Festival, Melbourne Film Festival (Covid cancelled) and Brisbane Film Festival.

Synopsis: Schoolteacher, Emi, finds her reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is uploaded onto the internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender in an outrageously comical tribunal. BAD LUCK BANGING offers a withering critique of the many issues of misogyny, shaming, censorship, hypocrisy and bigotry. It is a film with a raucously fun and exasperated attitude but nevertheless deadly serious in addressing the issues it raises. An honest look at contemporary life during the pandemic.

In Cinemas November 25. Showing at:

VICTORIA

Palace Pentridge
Pivotonian Cinema

NSW
 

Palace Central
Dendy Newtown
The Ritz
Mount Vic Flicks

WA
 

Luna Cinema

QLD
 

Palace James St

SA

Palace Nova Eastend 

TAS

The State, Hobart

ACT

Dendy Canberra

BERLINALE JURY STATEMENT

“The Golden Bear goes to a film which has that rare and essential quality of a lasting art work. It captures on screen the very content and essence, the mind and body, the values and the raw flesh of our present moment in time. Of this very moment of human existence. It does so by provoking the spirit of our time (i.e., zeitgeist), by slapping it, by challenging it to a duel. And while doing that, it also challenges this present moment in cinema, shaking, with the same camera movement, our social and our cinematic conventions. It is an elaborated film as well as a wild one, clever and childish, geometrical and vibrant, imprecise in the best way. It attacks the spectator, evokes disagreement, but leaves no one with a safety distance.”

REVIEWS

This provocative and unapologetically profane Buñuelian prank [is] one of the first examples of a genuine auteur work to emerge in a world upended by COVID-19…
Variety

It’s a daring and hilarious cinematic gamble that gives a justifiable middle finger to the sheer inanity of the Western world.”
Indiewire

A provocative pandemic polemic… Jude remains a boldly original voice in modern European cinema, with serious things to say and increasingly adventurous ways of saying them.
The Hollywood Reporter

Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn is one fo the most important pieces of cinema in the 21st century.. you certainly cannot or should not ignore it.
High on Films

It’s a wholly inventive and amusing film that crashes societal norms against one another with sharp humour and navigates its politics with real bite and imagination.
Little White Lies

It is an incendiary, playful, and wonderfully exasperated piece of filmmaking that shows a director trying to draw some threads of sense from our current malaise.
The Film Stage

AWARDS

Berlin International Film Festival 2021
Winner:  Golden Berlin Bear Best Film

Indie Lisboa International Independent Film Festival 2021
Nominee: Silvestre Award Best Feature Film

Jameson CineFest – Miskolc International Film Festival 2021
Nominee: Emeric Pressburger Prize Best Feature Film

Jerusalem Film Festival 2021
Nominee:  Best International Film

Pula Film Festival 2021
Winner: Golden Arena Best Film, Croatian Minority Coproductions
Winner: Best Croatian Contribution to a Minority Co-Production
Nominee: Golden Arena International Competition: Best Film

San Sebastián International Film Festival 2021
Nominee: FIPRESCI Film of the Year
Nominee: Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Prize

Transilvania International Film Festival 2021
Nominee: Romanian Days Award Best Feature Film

We would like to offer 5 complimentary double passes valued at $40 each as a giveaway for our readers to see Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn. All you have to do is write a short sentence in the comments section of our Facebook page post about why you should win the tickets and you’re immediately in the running – it’s that simple!

Take a look at the fabulous trailer and information about the film below. 

Sydney Multicultural Film Awards Nominations & Finalists 2021: The Complete List

Posted on by

SMFA (Sydney Multicultural Film Awards) is excited to announce the list of nominees and finalists for the 2021 Sydney Multicultural Film Awards. The festival received over 110 film submissions from directors and producers all over the world across 15 categories and is set to announce the official winners on November 20th, 2021.

SMFA is an award ceremony that celebrates the talent coming from creatives from all around the world, with a focus on inclusion, diversity, and multiculturalism. Set in Sydney, this festival offers a beautiful backdrop and home to the awards ceremony.

In its first year, the festival will be online due to the current lockdown in Australia, however, it will be a spectacular face-to-face event in the following years.

After considering a strong field of 110 submissions, our judges have voted to determine this year’s nominees and finalists. These submissions represent the best and most affecting short films to come out of the past year.

“We are honoured to see a plethora of films from around the world. Everything from music videos, to short films to animation. We are delighted to uphold universal messages, despite cultural, language barriers.” Director of Sydney Multicultural Film, Maryrose Salubre said.

All films from the finalists are going to be featured by the official media partner, TV1 Australia. SMFA is excited to finally announce the list of nominees and finalists for the 2021 Sydney Multicultural Film Awards. Our nominees tell a story of overcoming adversity, empowerment, and individuality.

Finalists For Best Original Score

Happy Birthday Dear
The Ribbon

Finalists For Best Cinematography

A Section from Troy
KARMINA
You Are The One
A Cry For Help

Finalists For Best Editor

Transfert
You Are The One
KARMINA

Finalists For Best Short Film Documentary

Dajla: cinema and oblivion – Arturo Dueñas Herrero (Spain)
Refugee’s welcome, Kostiantyn Mishchenko
Pacing the Pool, Jay Jay Jegathesan, (Australia)

Finalists For Best Short Animation

The Leaf, Leonardo Sá (Canada)
Painting By Numbers, Radheya Jegatheva (Australia)
Ballad of Pipe and Necklace- Martin Babić ( Croatia)

Finalists For Best Experimental

TalkingWe Is Easy, Being Us – JOESÉR ALVAREZ, ARIANA BOAVENTURA (Brazil)
Below A Dark Wood – Bill Slovick (United States)

Finalists For Best Music Video

Stevan, Hope It’s Not – Jedi Kang
G.O.F – Fairy Temple – Radheya Jegatheva
Leave It On The Line – Teddy Grossman (United States)
From What You Left Behind- – Jodhi Ramsden-Mavric
A Little Déjà Vu- Anna Lia ALVISI (Australia)
WHERE I’M FROM – Pascal Tessaud (France)

Finalists For Best Short Film

Tyrannosaur and the Secret Garden (Director’s Cut), Steve Price (United Kingdom)
Sorrow, Stefan Teofilovic, (Serbia)
Holestepper (Pisahueco), Sergio Fernández Muñoz (Peru)
Karmina, Wiktor Ejsmont (Poland)
Other, Samantha Jean (United States)
Mr.Sisyphus, Jedi Kang (Korea)
Ceci N’est Pas Une Pomme (This is Not An Apple), Miguel Sebastian Romero (United States)
A Cry For Help, Steven Esteb (United States)

Finalists For Best Supporting Actor

Red Sin – Owen Hu
Akebo – Donne Ngabo (Theogene)

Finalists For Best Supporting Actress

Other- Samantha Jean
Self Therapy – Luca Leyers, Ine Schoemans

Finalists For Best Director

Harmonica – Yalçın Dilsiz (Turkey)
Ceci N’est Pas Une Pomme (This is Not An Apple) – Miguel Sebastian Romero (United States)
You Are The One – Shimul Shikder (MD AKTHERUZZAMAN)
Story of A Story – Debajit Banerjee (Australia)
Red Sin – Christopher Ortiz (United States)

Finalists For Best Actress

Ceci N’est Pas Une Pomme (This Is Not An Apple) – Shirley Kim Nguyen (United States)
Other – Mandie Cheung (United States)
Akebo – Aurore Girabanyu (Uwineza)

Finalists For Best Actor

Soul Catcher – Jay Jay Jegathesan
Road.Dogs – Wol Riak (Krown)
Sisyphus – Sungwoo Kang
The Writer’s Journey – Flip Sertic (United States)

MIFF Is Launching Its First-Ever XR Commission And It’s A Whopping $80k VR Commission

Posted on by

To celebrate MIFF’s contribution to cinema and screen culture in Melbourne over the past seven decades, MIFF is launching its first-ever XR Commission.

With thanks to MIFF Major Supporter Ling Ang, a philanthropic grant of A$80,000 will be awarded for the creation of an immersive XR work that celebrates, interrogates, and illuminates Melbourne – its history and future, its communities and inhabitants – as well as MIFF’s integral role in sustaining the city’s relationship with the moving image.

Submissions are open to Australian artists from all disciplines, whether it be filmmaking, digital media, game development, visual art, or theatre. The chosen project will have its world premiere at MIFF’s 70th edition, to be held on 4–21 August 2022.

Applications close Thursday 18 November.  You can apply now via this link: MIFF XR Commission Application

“Ellie And Abbie” Star Zoe Terakes Makes History As First Non-Binary Actor In Consideration For All-Male Category At AACTA Awards

Posted on by

Actor Zoe Terakes makes THEIRStory today as the first nonbinary Australian actor in consideration for Best Lead Actor in a Feature Film at the 2021 AACTA Awards.

Terakes made the history-making decision to enter the category, which will see them recognised amongst their male peers for their performance as the cool and complex Abbie in romantic comedy Ellie and Abbie.

Abbie became one of the most beloved characters of the coming-of-age rom-com, which tells the story of Ellie (Sophie Hawkshaw), a year 12 student and captain of her school, who has recently realised she has fallen for a girl in her class, Abbie (Terakes). The film premiered at the Mardi Gras Film Festival in 2020 as the first Australian film in 27 years to open the festival and received a national theatrical release on November 19, 2020.

Terakes said: “It’s not an easy decision. I’m not a woman, but I also don’t feel entirely like a man. I’m a boy human. A human boy. And so, until there is an awards system that accommodates genderqueer/trans folks, we’re gonna have to make the system work for us. I’m an actor, not an actress. I definitely feel more aligned with “male” identifiers. And I don’t want to be nominated for the gender of the character I’m playing. Yes, ‘Abbie’ in the film is female. But Eddie Redmayne wasn’t nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars when he did the Danish girl.

“So, listen. It’s all a bit confusing and feels a bit, to quote Missy Higgins, “triangle trying to squeeze through a circle” but until we de-gender awards ceremonies altogether, I’ll be up for nomination in the category that most aligns with my gender; best male actor.”

In a group statement AACTA said: “While AACTA have had other non-binary entrants and nominees in the past, this is the first time a non-binary actor has engaged in the conversation and exercised their right to choose which award suited them. To the best of AACTA’s knowledge, Zoe is also the first person to enter a gendered award for a role portraying a different gender character.”

Voting in the AACTA Awards determines which productions, performers and practitioners will be honoured with Australia’s highest screen accolade. Voting is exclusive to AACTA members, with members drawn from every sector of the screen entertainment industry. Voting for this year’s AACTA Awards closes on Monday 18 October, 2021.

Bradley Cooper Leads The First Trailer For Guillermo Del Toro’s New ‘Nightmare Alley’

Posted on by

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

Release date: In Cinemas January 20, 2022

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn

Synopsis: In Nightmare Alley, an ambitious carnival worker (Bradley Cooper) with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who is even more dangerous than he is. A film by Guillermo del Toro.

Check out the trailer below:

Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story Pulls No Punches In New Trailer

Posted on by

 

Walt Disney Company recently released a new trailer, poster, and stills for Academy Award® winning director Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of the musical “West Side Story,” which will open only in cinemas on Boxing Day, 2021.

Directed by Academy Award® winner Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner Tony Kushner, “West Side Story” tells the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City. This reimagining of the beloved musical stars Ansel Elgort (Tony); Rachel Zegler (María); Ariana DeBose (Anita); David Alvarez (Bernardo); Mike Faist (Riff); Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino); Ana Isabelle (Rosalía); Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank); Brian d’Arcy James (Officer Krupke); and Rita Moreno (as Valentina, who owns the corner store in which Tony works). Moreno – one of only three artists to be honored with Academy®, Emmy®, GRAMMY®, Tony®, and Peabody Awards – also serves as one of the film’s executive producers.

Bringing together the best of both Broadway and Hollywood, the film’s creative team includes Kushner, who also serves as an executive producer; Tony Award® winner Justin Peck, who choreographed the musical numbers in the film; renowned Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor and GRAMMY Award® winner Gustavo Dudamel, who helmed the recording of the iconic score; Academy Award®-nominated composer and conductor David Newman (“Anastasia”), who arranged the score; Tony Award®-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (“Fun Home,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie”), who supervised the cast on vocals; and Grammy®-nominated music supervisor Matt Sullivan (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Chicago”), who served as executive music producer for the film. The film is produced by Spielberg, Academy Award®-nominated producer Kristie Macosko Krieger and Tony Award®-winning producer Kevin McCollum. “West Side Story” has been adapted for the screen from the original 1957 Broadway show, with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and concept, direction, and choreography by Jerome Robbins.

From 20th Century Studios, The Walt Disney Company will release “West Side Story” in Australian cinemas on Boxing Day, 2021. Check out the trailer below:

Walt Disney Australia Release Schedule As Of September 2021…The Countdown Begins NOW

Posted on by

2021 has been a tough year for the movie industry. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to drastically affect the world, the year’s biggest films were caught in the crossfire which resulted in a number of setbacks and cancellations brought upon by the pandemic. However, Walt Disney Australia has decided to put some of these skepticisms to rest, with the company revealing their Australian release schedule for all their films until 2023. Without further ado, check out Paramount Pictures Australia’s release schedule as of September 2021.