THE LEGEND OF THE FIVE: THE JOANNE SAMUEL INTERVIEW

Since her television debut in a 1974 episode of The Box, Joanne Samuel has been one of the Australian sector’s most adored actors. Whether as ‘Jessie’, the ill-fated wife whose fate turns Max mad in Dr. George Miller’s Mad Max (1979) to being the heart and soul of 136 episodes of the primetime soap Skyways (1979-80), Samuel has exuded warmth, charm and a natural screen presence like few in the industry ever have. Jump forward 40 years, with her career in front of the camera providing a remarkable legacy, Joanne Samuel has stepped behind the lens for the first time.

Her feature film directing debut is an environmentally-themed teen adventure called The Legend of The Five. “I want to make another one and another one, to repay the industry that I have grown up in and really, really love,” Samuel told SCREEN-SPACE, with her family-friendly film in limited release for the Australian school holidays...    

“My son Jesse Ahern produced it, researching what was marketable,” Samuel says, pointing out her family film was a family affair from its inception. “We wanted to make a film (together) and I thought it was a natural progression for me to just step up and direct. I have directed theatre and a few other things, so I thought I need to just do this.”

The story of five diverse teens who are plunged into a fantasy realm to save a life-giving tree from an evil force, The Legend of The Five drew upon the great all-ages films of the 1980s. “We wanted to make a family genre film, because it’s my favourite. I love PG-, G-rated adventures,” says the director, citing The Princess Bride, Labyrinth and The Goonies as inspirations. “Jesse came up with the idea and we worked on it with writer Peter McLeod, finally rolling cameras in October 2018.” (Pictured, right; Samuel, in blue, with cast and crew)

Read the SCREEN-SPACE review of The Legend of The Five here.

Working with her cast was an extension of Joanne Samuel’s passion for inspiring young creativity; she runs the 3 Sisters Youth Theatre in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. “We do film and theatre work with the kids and they come up with their own concepts and visions,” she says, highlighting the challenge her production faced when addressing the very clued-in young modern audience. “I knew that our ‘family adventure film’ had to offer so much more. Working with the kids and having some understanding of how the modern teen thinks was a real advantage. I do so love working with them.”

The ensemble represents a broad spectrum of teenage types, as was always the intention. “We deliberately went after a diverse group,” Samuel recalls, who cast LA-based Australian actors Lauren Esposito and Lee Joel Scott opposite big-screen newcomers Gabi Sproule, Nicholas Andrianakos and Deborah An. “We wanted the kids to be as much like what kids are like today and then to transport them to this place that is like nothing they have ever imagined. Keeping them relatable to the target audience was crucial, as it allowed us to still create drama from the fantasy setting.”

If her cast has an international flavour, her location choices are very much Australian. Sweeping aerial photography of the stunning terrain captures the magnificence of the region, a landscape that has since been all but destroyed by the fires that ripped through the nation’s heartland last summer. “The location is a character. It is a magical place,” says Samuel, who has called the Blue Mountains her home for many years. “We looked at what we had at hand, and I knew the spots we had to go to.” (Pictured, right; Samuel, far right, on location durning the shoot)

Samuel knew that for her film to succeed it would have to travel, but always knew it’s heart reflected hers. “For my first film, it was important that we ticked all the boxes for our markets, both national and international,” she says, “but I love that people will know it is an Australian film. I want to tell Australian stories.”

AUDIO GUIDE FOLLOW-UP SOUNDS GOOD BUT SHORTS NEED CASH

From its World Premiere at the SciFi Film Festival last September, Chris Elena’s award-winning short film Audio Guide was set to take the world by storm. When the young director shipped it around, programmers responded; it was booked for slots at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and California’s Cinequest.

But COVID-19 nixed those festivals, as well as the 2020 run of the Aussie arts bash, Short + Sweet. Elena connected with the creative team behind the planned production of Refused Classification, a darkly comedic anti-censorship play that was to have debuted at Short + Sweet. Together, they have reworked the concept and the project has re-emerged as Elena’s highly anticipated follow-up.

"It is a fictional story about the M.P.A.A. and how they've been negatively geared towards queer relationships and sex in general,” says Elena (pictured, right). “Polyamorous, bisexual and queer audiences have been robbed of seeing themselves on screen without restrictions. And lovers of film have had to put up with condensed and watered down stories and depictions due to a flawed and dated ratings system.”

Elena has adapted the play’s text with co-writer Bradford Elmore, who co-hosts the podcast By The Bi with his wife, Angela (pictured, below). The popular chat show explores bisexuality, the swinger lifestyle and open relationships, most notably their own. “Refused Classification is a love letter to them and the community," promises Elena, who will reteam for the shoot with his Audio Guide DOP Kym Vaitiekus and leading lady Emma Wright, who is on board as associate producer.

Faced with an arts sector in financial turmoil and an industry funding model that has abandoned the short film format, Elena is banking on private backers. “We’re crowdfunding this project because it won't exist otherwise,” states Elena, bluntly. “It's a short story but it's an important one and we want to share it with you.” 

The production is utilising the Australian Cultural Fund website to collate it’s production budget and launches in line with an online screening of Audio Guide on the St Kilda Short Film Festival; the campaign will be active until August 1.

THE LIST: FIVE OF THE BEST FROM SUSAN PRIOR

Every film industry needs an actress like Australian film needs Susan Prior. In Hollywood, it’s Judy Greer; the U.K. has Janet McTeer and Joely Richardson; the French rely upon Ludivine Sagnier. Prior and her global peers are that most valued of cast members - the character actor, the presence that ensures depth, integrity and intelligence. Prior has become a beloved presence on the small-screen (All Saints; Puberty Blues; Top of the Lake; The Gloaming) and one of the nation’s most respected stage performers (opposite Hugo Weaving in Riflemind, for director Philip Seymour Hoffman; the renowned Bell Shakspeare production of King Lear).

Recognised early in her career as an asset to any film production (Idiot Box, 1996; Heaven's Burning, 1997; Praise, 1998), our film sector has turned repeatedly to one of our finest actors. Ahead of her online discussion with Actors Centre Australia Head of Acting Adam Cook this Wednesday, May 13, we look to the big-screen for Susan Prior’s five best movie moments....        

THE ROVER (Dir: David Michôd; 2014) Pairing with her Animal Kingdom director brought Prior a long-overdue industry statuette - the AACTA Best Supporting Actress trophy for her role as ‘Dorothy Peeples’. David Michôd’s bleak, dystopian outback-noir needed an actress of rare strength to shine against the eccentricity of leads Guy Pearce and Robert Pattison and ugliness of the setting; Prior (and co-star Gillian Jones) punch through the oppressiveness of the material with fierce, forceful, female potency. 

THE VIEW FROM GREENHAVEN (Dirs: The MacRae Brothers; 2008) Kenn and Simon MacRae’s bittersweet drama/comedy allows Prior her most naturally warm and endearing role. As ‘Kate’, the daughter who yearns for some input into the complex marital dynamics of her ageing parents, Wendy Hughes and Chris Hayward, Prior (alongside a wonderful Russell Dyskstra) is a typically lovely presence; the naturalness of her performance underlines the ease with which the actress projects warmth and empathy on-screen.

A DIVIDED HEART (Dir: Denny Lawrence; 2005) An all-too-rare lead role for Prior in this World War II-set romantic drama. Director Denny Lawrence (Emoh Ruo, 1985; Afraid to Dance, 1995) and legendary producer, the late David Hannay (Stone, 1974; Mapantsula, 1988) cast Prior as Millie Vickery, the wife of an Australian soldier (David Roberts) who finds herself in conflict with her sister (Blazey Best) for the affection of an American serviceman (fellow NIDA alumni, Christopher Stollery). Scant cinema exposure and dumped onto DVD by Roadshow Home Video, the handsomely-produced period piece is testament to Prior’s potent presence as a leading lady given the right vehicle.

BOOK WEEK (Dir: Heath Davis; 2018) In one of 2018’s great support performances, Prior plays Lee, a career high-school teacher whose pragmatism and strength of character helps her boozy, directionless colleague Nick (the equally wonderful Alan Dukes; pictured, right) through some tough times.  “Susan is easily the most hard working, passionate and prepared actress I’ve ever seen,” director Heath Davis told Cinema Australia. “She puts her heart and soul into everything in order to find the truth of a scene. She lives and breathes it like all the greats.” (Read the SCREEN-SPACE Review here)    

ANIMAL KINGDOM (Dir: David Michôd; 2010) Prior and Michôd had worked together as part of the editorial team at industry journal Inside Film, where they became close. When the young director moved forward on his debut feature after years in development, Prior’s involvement in a small but pivotal role as ‘Alicia Henry’ came about through both their friendship and a deep respect for each other's talent. In hindsight, the acclaimed crime thriller launched a new wave of local talent into the global film sector and Prior’s presence was central to a landmark moment in Australian film history.

IN CONVERSATION: SUSAN PRIOR is a live streaming event via the ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA Facebook page. It will commence 7:30pm AEST on Wednesday, May 13.

VALE GEORGE OGILVIE

The Australian arts community is today mourning the passing of George Ogilvie, one of its most beloved elder statesmen. A masterful director and creative collaborator across theatre, film and television disciplines, Ogilvie mentored a generation of young actors with a commitment to his art and craft that was unparalleled.

One of twin sons born in Goulburn to Scottish immigrants, Ogilvie grew up in Canberra and was drawn to the theatre from a young age, exhibiting acting prowess and musical skills in his early teens. At 20, he moved to London and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and with the iconic Jimmy James Company, where he performed works by Agatha Christie, Tennessee Williams, Terence Rattigan and Noel Coward, amongst many others.

Ogilvie returned to Australia in 1954 and, under the professional guidance of theatrical greats Walt Cherry and John Sumner, began to explore directing; his early work included landmark productions of Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey, Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding and Ann Jellicoe’s The Knack. He would travel and work extensively in Europe, studying with the great mime Jacques Lecoq in Paris and forging a reputation upon his return to to London as one of the industry’s finest directors of actors.

It was John Sumner who encouraged his protégé to return to Australia to take up the role of Artistic Director at the Melbourne Theatre Company, a six year engagement during which he directed 23 plays, winning the Melbourne Theatre Critic’s award for Best Director on three occasions. Over the subsequent decades, George Ogilvie became one of the most influential figures in Australian live theatre.

He oversaw the South Australian Theatre Company as Artistic Director from 1972-1975; worked with the Sydney Theatre Company, directing Nick Enright's The Man With Five Children, starring Steve Bisley and Proof, starring Jacqueline McKenzie and Barry Otto; staged now legendary productions for the Australian Ballet (most famously, ‘Coppelia’, in 1979 and again in 2006) and Australian Opera ('Il Seraglio'; 'Falstaf'; 'Lucretia Borgia'; 'Don Giovanni'); and, taught extensively at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Actor’s Centre Australia and The Eora Centre.

George Ogilvie turned to television at the height of the mini-series heyday to launch the next phase of his directing career. He made his debut helming an instalment of the true-life political saga The Dismissal in 1983, which he followed with a multi-episode arc behind the cameras on the historical sports drama Bodyline, both for producers George Miller and Byron Kennedy.

He would work steadily in television for the next twenty years, directing Bryan Brown in The Shiralee (1987); Claudia Karvan in Princess Kate (1988); Angie Milliken in two made-for-TV procedurals, The Feds (both 1993); Gary Sweet and Jacqueline McKenzie in The Battlers (1994); Richard Roxburgh in The Last of The Ryans (1997); and, eleven episodes of the hit series, Blue Heelers (from 2002-06).

His affiliation with the Kennedy Miller production outfit led to one of the most high-profile feature film directing debuts in Australian industry history. Ogilvie earned co-director honours alongside franchise founder George Miller (pictured, above; from left, Miller, star Tina Turner and Ogilvie, in red) on the highly-anticipated sequel Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985; while Miller invested time and energy in the films kinetic action sequences, Ogilvie was employed to guide the cast (many of them child actors) through the dialogue and drama. The director had proven his worth with the film’s prickly leading man previously; Ogilvie had directed Mel Gibson for the Nimrod Theatre Company’s acclaimed 1982 staging of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

He parlayed his profile into two smaller-scale but potent workds – Short Changed (1986), an inter-racial custody drama, nominated for five AFI Awards, that pits a white woman against an Aboriginal man for the custody of their son; and, The Place at The Coast (1987; pictured, right), a Bergman-esque drama set in a remote seaside community that tackles both environmental issues and father-daughter dynamics with Ogilvie’s trademark intelligence and sensitivity. (Pictured, below; Bryan Browm and Rebecca Smart in The Shiralee)

His final big-screen effort was The Crossing in 1990, the film that launched the leading-man career of a young actor named Russell Crowe. "Oh, I just loved him," Ogilvie told The Sydney Morning Herald in a 2016 interview. "He was a force. He worked hard but he did expect everyone around him to work hard as well. None of the crew liked him, thought he was an arrogant little pisspot." The coming-of-age period drama, co-starring Danielle Spencer (pictured, below; with Crowe) and Robert Mammone, earned Crowe his first AFI Award nomination; it would win the highest industry honour for Jeff Darling’s cinematography. Twenty-four years later, Ogilvie returned to acting briefly as a favour for his friend, with a small part in Crowe's directing debut, The Water Diviner (2014).   

In 1983, George Ogilvie was cited in the Queens Birthday Honours List when he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to theatre and the performing arts. Despite never earning a directing nomination for his film and television work, he was recognised by the Australian Film Institute in 1988, when he received the prestigious Byron Kennedy Award, an accolade that honours “innovation, vision and the relentless pursuit of excellence.” In 2006, he published his memoirs, entitled Simple Gifts: A Life in the Theatre.

A deeply spiritual man who practised Siddha Yoga for many years, travelling to the Ganeshpuri ashram in India to meditate, George Ogilvie devoted his later life to inner peace and understanding; in an interview for ABC Radio National in 2006, he recounted camping by the Sea of Galilee, reading the Bible as he walked its banks. A private man whose legacy is a body of work unmatched in the Australian entertainment industry, Ogilvie spent his final years in his home in Sydney’s Potts Point, with his dogs and close friends. He was 89.  

VALE SASKIA POST

Australian actress Saskia Post, whose vivid portrayal of doomed rock-star girlfriend ‘Anna’ in Richard Lowenstein’s Dogs in Space made her an icon to a generation of teenage moviegoers, passed away March 16 at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital from complications stemming from a congenital heart condition. She was 59.

Born of Dutch heritage in 1961 in Martinez, California, Saskia Steenkamer immigrated with her family to Australia in 1975. Studying writing at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and acting at both University of New South Wales and The Drama Studio in Sydney, she soon became a popular and respected figure in the arts communities in both cities.

She made an immediate impact on audiences in her television debut, playing WWII Dutch refugee ‘Julianna Sleven’ in the popular series, The Sullivans (pictured, right; centre, with co-stars Norman Yemm and Vicki hammond), and would work steadily in the medium with semi-regular slots on primetime soaps Sons and Daughters and A Country Practice and the mini-series Return to Eden.

Following a small cameo in Haydn Keenan’s film Going Down (1982), Post made her credited debut in the nuclear-era drama One Night Stand for director John Duigan (Dimboola, 1979; Winter of Our Dreams, 1981). A four-hander about teenagers spending a night together in the Sydney Opera House as war erupts in Eastern Europe, Post shone opposite the equally impressive Tyler Coppin, Cassandra Delaney and Jay Hackett (pictured, below) in a film that beckons cult status.

Post followed One Night Stand with a support role in Ray Lawrence’s AFI Best Film honouree Bliss (1985), playing Barry Otto’s daughter in the critically-acclaimed adaptation of Peter Carey’s book. Other film work included Jocelyn Moorhouse’s Proof (1991), with Russell Crowe and Hugo Weaving, and Stavros Kazantzidis’ True Love & Chaos (1997), alongside Miranda Otto, Noah Taylor and Ben Mendehlson.

Post also became a sought-after stage performer, with a long career playing key roles in such productions as Hating Alison Ashley, Salome, Endgrain, Train to Transcience, Could I Have this Dance?, In Angel Gear, Figures in Glass, Skin and Vincent in Brixton.

But it will be Dogs in Space, Lowenstein’s chaotic recollections of Melbourne’s hard-edged inner-city 70’s music scene, for which Saskia Post will be forever remembered. As the wise-beyond-her-years Anna, she both towers over yet succumbs willingly to the enigmatic, self-destructive musician Sam (Michael Hutchence), in a performance that itself seems to dominate then ultimately submit to the tragic trajectory of the heroin-infused narrative.

Film writer Thomas Caldwell, in his 2011 analysis of the film’s enduring legacy, described Post as, “The heart of the film…[radiating] every time she is on screen with her combination of punk attitude and classical Hollywood beauty.” In 2016, theatre director Robert Chuter, who worked with Post on his 1990 stage production In Angel Gear, wrote a brief appreciation of their collaboration, recalling, “she was one of my favourite people/actors: beauty, dignity, curiosity, talent, kind, independence.” (Pictured, right; Post, left, with Lowenstein and Hutchence).

Although she surfaced briefly in 2017 for what would be her final onscreen appearance in Timothy Spanos’ underground oddity Throbbin’ 84, Saskia Post spent her final years in the small Victorian township of Trentham, where she practiced transpersonal art and therapy. Her impact upon both her community and her many fans was evident when nearly $15,000.00 was raised via a Chuffed crowdfunding campaign to help with her living and medical costs.

FIRST LOOK: PAUL HOGAN AS 'PAUL HOGAN' IN THE VERY EXCELLENT MR DUNDEE

One of Australia's favourite film larrakins is set for a big screen return. Paul Hogan, the Lightning Ridge-born comedian who transformed from Harbour Bridge rivetter to Australian TV legend to global superstar in the wake of his blockbuster 1986 comedy Crocodile Dundee, plays a fictionalised version of himself in The Very Excellent Mr Dundee.

The meta-comedy will arrive in Australian cinemas on April 30 via Transmission Films, with international distribution to be confirmed. "Paul Hogan is an Australian icon, and we're delighted to continue our association with this living legend,” said Transmission's joint Managing Directors, Andrew Mackie and Richard Payten.

Directed by Dean Murphy, who previously worked with Paul on Strange Bedfellows (2004), Charlie & Boots (2009) and That’s Not My Dog! (2018), The Very Excellent Mr Hogan features the actor on the brink of receiving a Knighthood for services to comedy. “Don’t do anything to mess this up”, his manager tells him. However, despite all his best efforts, the next six weeks sees his name and reputation hilariously destroyed.

“Audiences always have a great time with Paul when he’s on screen, but this film is particularly special," says Murphy. "People ask what's true and what's not. What I do know is fact is certainly funnier than fiction.”

A line-up of some of the greatest comedy stars of their generations have come on-board the project, including British comedy legend John Cleese, American funnyman Chevy Chase and local stars Shane Jacobson and Julia Morris. Also joining 'Hoges' on-screen will be Australian icon Olivia Newton-John, comedian Jim Jefferies, Die Hard’s Reginald Veljohnson, Seinfeld’s Wayne Knight and actress Rachael Carpani.

Since Crocodile Dundee, directed by Peter Faiman, and its hit 1988 sequel, directed by John Cornell, Hogan has worked from bases in both Australia and the U.S. His Hollywood career faltered after the disappointing reception afforded his 1990 afterlife comedy, Almost an Angel. He returned to his homeland to make the comedy Lightning Jack (1994) and family adventure, Flipper (1996), before a third, ill-fated attempt to resurrect his once-popular outback hero in 2001's Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. He has since worked steadily in Australia with Murphy on feel-good films that appeal to his avid fanbase.  

AACTA INTERNATIONAL CEREMONY HONOURS AWARD-SEASON FRONT-RUNNERS

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has announced the winners of the 9th AACTA International Awards at a star-studded Ceremony held at Mondrian Los Angeles.

Winning the Award for Best Film was the South Korean black comedy thriller Parasite, written and directed by Bong Joon Ho (pictured, below) who accepted the Australian Academy’s highest honour. The film also received the AACTA Award for Best Asian Film at the AACTA Awards in Sydney last month, as well as Best Picture at the 2019 Asia Pacific Screen Awards in November.

Quentin Tarantino’s 9^th film, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood took home two awards, with Tarantino winning Best Direction and Brad Pitt winning Best Supporting Actor for his acclaimed turn as Hollywood stuntman Cliff Booth. Margot Robbie was nominated in the Supporting Actress for her performance as Sharon Tate in Tarantino’s box-office hit, but was beaten by…Margot Robbie, in Jay Roach’s Bombshell. It represents the second AACTA International Award earned by the Australian actress; in 2018, she won the Best Actress trophy for I, Tonya.

“This year we are thrilled to celebrate such a vast and vibrant group of winners, showcasing international excellence, irrespective of geography,” said AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella. “The AACTA International Awards continue to honour the best achievements in screen, adding a uniquely Australian voice to the international awards circuit. I congratulate all of the evening’s winners – with special congratulations to our Australian winner Margot Robbie – and wish them every success throughout the upcoming awards season.”

The lead performance awards went to Adam Driver, who won Best Lead Actor for his portrayal of stage director Charlie Barber in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story and Saoirse Ronan, who won Best Lead Actress for her performance as the outspoken tomboy, Jo March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. First-time AACTA nominee Taika Waititi received the Award for Best Screenplay for the World War II satire Jojo Rabbit, which has also seen Waititi earn his first two Golden Globe® nominations. 

The evening's leading contender, Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, went home empty-handed despite a roster of six nominations.

Host Jason Dundas was joined on stage to present awards by some of the industry’s leading film and television talent, including director Niki Caro (Whale Rider, the soon-to-be-released Mulan), producer Bill Mechanic (Hacksaw Ridge, Coraline), director Phillip Noyce (Rabbit Proof Fence, The Bone Collector) and television personality Josh Thomas (Please Like Me, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay).

The full list of winners and nominees are:

AACTA International Award for Best Film: THE IRISHMAN; JOKER; THE KING; ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD; PARASITE

AACTA International Award for Best Direction: 1917 – Sam Mendes; THE IRISHMAN – Martin Scorsese; JOKER – Todd Phillips; ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD – Quentin Tarantino; PARASITE – Bong Joon Ho

AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay: THE IRISHMAN – Steven Zaillian; JOJO RABBIT – Taika Waititi; JOKER – Todd Phillips, Scott Silver; ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD – Quentin Tarantino; PARASITE – Bong Joon ho, Jin Won Han

AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actor: Christian Bale – FORD V FERRARI; Antonio Banderas – PAIN AND GLORY; Robert De Niro – THE IRISHMAN; Adam Driver – MARRIAGE STORY; Joaquin Phoenix – JOKER

AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actress: Awkwafina – THE FAREWELL; Scarlett Johansson – MARRIAGE STORY; Saoirse Ronan – LITTLE WOMEN; Charlize Theron – BOMBSHELL; Renée Zellweger – JUDY

AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor: John Lithgow – BOMBSHELL; Al Pacino – THE IRISHMAN; Joe Pesci – THE IRISHMAN; Brad Pitt – ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD; Song Kang-Ho – PARASITE

AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress: Toni Collette – KNIVES OUT; Nicole Kidman – BOMBSHELL; Florence Pugh – LITTLE WOMEN; Margot Robbie – BOMBSHELL; Margot Robbie – ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

THE NIGHTINGALE SOARS AT AACTA 2019

Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale has dominated the 2019 AACTA Awards in a ceremony held in Sydney’s Star Casino last night. The brutal account of an unlikely friendship stemming from vengeance in colonial Tasmania took home five AACTA trophies, when tallied with its win at the Luncheon Ceremony held Tuesday.

Kent’s follow-up to her global hit The Babadook has earned her a unique place in AFI | AACTA history, with her wins for Best Direction, Best Screenplay and Best Film (as producer) being a first for a woman across all three categories, for the same film, in a single year. (Pictured, top; from left, Aisling Franciosi and Jennifer Kent. Photo credit:Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP)

The film’s lead, Aisling Franciosi took out the Best Actress prize with her first nomination against such heavyweight competition as Mia Wasikowska (Judy and Punch), Miranda Tapsell (Top End Wedding) and Teresa Palmer (Ride Like a Girl). The Nightingale also earned first-time nominee Magnolia Maymuru (pictured, right) a gong in the Best Supporting Actress category.

Denying the film an AACTA clean sweep last night were Damon Herriman winning Best Actor for Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy and Punch and Joel Edgerton winning Best Supporting Actor for David Michod’s The King. Tuesday’s luncheon ceremony, in which key technical categories were honoured, evened out the playing field a bit further with nods to DOP Adam Arkapaw (Best Cinematography, The King); Peter McNulty and Anthony Maras (Best Editing, Hotel Mumbai); Liam Egan (Best Sound, Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan); Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton  (Best Production Design, The King); and, Jane Petrie (Best Costume Design, The King). Composer François Tétaz won Best Original Score for Judy & Punch.

Australia’s entrant in the Best Foreign Language Oscar race, Rodd Rathjen’s Bouyancy (largely spoken in Thai/Khmer), won the Best Independent Film category. Daniel Gordon’s’ The Australian Dream, one of two accounts of footballer Adam Goodes’ fight against systemic racism, took out Best Documentary. Fresh off a Best Film win at the recent Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite took Best Asian Film honours.

BEST FILM PRESENTED BY FOXTEL
WINNER: The Nightingale
Hotel Mumbai; Judy & Punch; The King; Ride Like a Girl; Top End Wedding

BEST INDIE FILM PRESENTED BY EVENT CINEMAS
WINNER: Buoyancy (pictured, right)
Acute Misfortune; Book Week; Emu Runner; Sequin in a Blue Room

BEST DIRECTION
WINNER: Jennifer Kent The Nightingale
Anthony Maras Hotel Mumbai; Mirrah Foulkes Judy & Punch; David Michod The King

BEST LEAD ACTOR
WINNER: Damon Herriman Judy & Punch
Timothee Chalamet The King; Baykali Ganambarr The Nightingale; Dev Patel Hotel Mumbai; Hugo Weaving Hearts and Bones

BEST LEAD ACTRESS
WINNER: Aisling Franciosi The Nightingale
Nazanin Boniadi Hotel Mumbai; Teresa Palmer Ride Like a Girl; Miranda Tapsell Top End Wedding; Mia Wasikowska Judy & Punch

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
WINNER: Joel Edgerton The King (pictured, right)
Damon Herriman The Nightingale; Andrew Luri Hearts And Bones; Ben Mendelsohn The King; Michael Sheasby The Nightingale

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
WINNER: Magnolia Maymuru The Nightingale
Tilda Cobham-Hervey Hotel Mumbai; Hilary Swank I Am Mother; Bolude Watson Hearts And Bones; Ursula Yovich Top End Wedding

BEST DOCUMENTARY
WINNER: The Australian Dream
The Eulogy; The Final Quarter; In My Blood It Runs; Mystify: Michael Hutchence

BEST SCREENPLAY
WINNER: The Nightingale Jennifer Kent 
Hotel Mumbai John Collee, Anthony Maras; Judy & Punch Mirrah Foulkes; The King David Michôd, Joel Edgerton

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
WINNER: The King Adam Arkapaw
Danger Close: The Battle Of Long Tan Ben Nott; Hotel Mumbai Nick Remy Matthews; The Nightingale Radek Ladczuk

BEST EDITING 
WINNER: Hotel Mumbai Peter Mcnulty, Anthony Maras
Judy & Punch Dany Cooper; The King Peter Sciberras; The Nightingale Simon Njoo

BEST SOUND
WINNER: Danger Close: The Battle Of Long Tan Liam Egan
Hotel Mumbai Sam Petty, Pete Smith, Nakul Kamte, James Currie, Peter Ristic; The King Robert Mackenzie, Sam Petty, Gareth John, Leah Katz, Mario Vaccaro, Tara Webb; The Nightingale Robert Mackenzie, Dean Ryan, Leah Katz, Pete Smith

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
WINNER: Judy & Punch François Tétaz
Danger Close: The Battle Of Long Tan Caitlin Yeo; Hotel Mumbai Volker Bertelmann (aka Hauschka); Ride Like A Girl David Hirschfelder

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
WINNER: The King Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
Hotel Mumbai Steven Jones-Evans; Judy & Punch Jo Ford; The Nightingale Alex Holmes

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
WINNER: The King Jane Petrie
Hotel Mumbai Anna Borghesi; Judy & Punch Edie Kurzer; The Nightingale Margot Wilson

BEST ASIAN FILM
WINNER: Parasite (pictured, right)
Andhadhun; Gully Boy; Hello, Love, Goodbye; Ne Zha; Shadow; Super Deluxe; The Wandering Earth; We Are Little Zombies

ALYSSA DE LEO WOWS MIFF AND SAVES LIVES WITH SHORT FILM CLASSIC

Is the best film at the 2019 Melbourne International Film Festival an ad commissioned by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC)? Screening ahead of every MIFF session, ‘The Afterlife Bar’ imagines a social gathering of the celebrity souls, the drinking session quickly becoming a “How did you die?” chat. John Lennon, Che Guevara and Princess Di all recount their demise (it’s funnier than it sounds), before the camera settles on a young man named Jeremy; he admits, to the stunned patrons, he was texting while driving.

The concept and script is the inspired work of Alyssa De Leo, a 20 year-old RMIT filmmaking student. De Leo (pictured, above) penned a brilliant short-form comedy disguised as a road safety call-to-action; her script won the Split Second Film Competition and was shepherded into production by ad agency Taboo, production company Airbag and director Will Horne.  “From the beginning, I was always going to take the comedic approach,” the young writer told SCREEN-SPACE, enjoying the first high-profile creative triumph of what promises to be a fascinating film industry career….

SCREEN-SPACE: Let's go right back to the start. When/how did the inspiration for the concept of 'an afterlife bar' come to you? What was the germ of the idea?

ALYSSA: When I first heard about the competition, I knew MIFF and the TAC wanted something quite different and creative, I guess what you wouldn’t usually see in a typical TAC ad. I’ve always been fascinated by history and historical figures, especially as an avid movie watcher and reader. I enjoy biopics and would love to write one someday. As a writer I’m always thinking about characters and to me, historical figures are some of the best characters out there. So I kind of had those two ideas floating around in my head, historical figures and road safety - not things that usually go together! One day they just kind of clicked together in my head and I thought to myself ‘That’s bizarre but it could work.’ I love writing comedy and can’t help but inject it into most things I write, even if it's a serious subject. But I thought the comedic approach could be effective in getting that road safety message across, as it’s not only entertaining but educational too, and I think something like that might stick with you more.

SCREEN-SPACE: How did you settle on the 'dead celebs'? I conjured in my head a table that might have also used a more age-appropriate Paul Walker or a River Phoenix, or might that have been a bit too soon, too tragic?

ALYSSA: There was a huge mix of celebs I considered when I first came up with the idea. When writing the first draft, I looked at which celebrities had well known deaths, but also how their deaths could be interjected into jokes and punchlines effectively. In the original script I actually had Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi too, along with Princess Di, Mary Queen of Scots, Steve Jobs and Shakespeare. When I first met with Airbag and Taboo, we had a script workshop where we made a huge list of potential celebs to add - there was everyone from Charles Darwin, Neil Armstrong, and Joan of Arc. When choosing the final celebs, the key thing we looked at were people who you would recognise instantly. Cleopatra, Ned Kelly, John Lennon; you see that Egyptian dress, rusty helmet, round glasses, and you know who those people are. We also didn’t want to include anyone whose death was too recent. I remember Steve Irwin’s name came up and we just thought, too soon. I think Steve Jobs is the most recent death we have in there, but I think his part works, considering the ad is about not using your phone while driving, and he’s kind of responsible for how popular phones are nowadays.

SCREEN-SPACE: Was it tough shaping a creative vision that satisfied both you and the TAC brief? Can you envision a working life that balances both ad industry work and more independent short/feature output?

ALYSSA: I found it really rewarding working with everyone who was involved - the TAC, Airbag and Taboo. I was very involved throughout the whole process and they didn’t hinder my creative vision at all, which was great. They wanted to stick to the bone of my original script as much as possible. They were really open to any ideas I had, and while they suggested a couple of things to change or add, anything they said only made the project better. It was a super collaborative process. I can imagine myself balancing ad work and shorts and features in the future. My ideal goal would be to write for both television and film one day, but I’m super open to doing more ad work - it’s a really fun process and I’d love to make some more.

SCREEN-SPACE: Which makes me think - given its popularity and award-winning status, might you adapt The Afterlife Bar into a feature?

ALYSSA: (Laughs) It’s only a matter of time, isn’t it? I actually have thought about what an ‘Afterlife Bar’ feature film might look like. We could add a ton more celebrities, maybe explore the history of the bar, how it came to be, which celebs work there, and look at more of Jeremy’s backstory - maybe what he was like when he was alive, and the choices he made leading to his unfortunate fate. It would also be fun to expand the world of the afterlife. Afterlife salon? Afterlife stadium? Afterlife market? It could definitely happen.

MENDO'S BABYTEETH LEAVES IMPRESSION ON VENICE SELECTORS

The project credited with bringing acting legend Ben Mendelsohn back home for the first time in nine years has secured the Australian industry’s only feature film placement at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. Director Shannon Murphy’s Babyteeth, a bittersweet rom-com/drama about a seriously ill teenage girl and the drug dealer she falls for, will face off against new works from Brad Pitt, Roman Polanski, Scarlett Johansson, Olivier Assayas, Joaquin Phoenix and Steven Soderbergh on The Lido in the prestigious festival’s In Competition strand.

Adapted by Rita Kalnejais’ from her own hit play and representing the debut feature for experienced television helmer Murphy, Babyteeth was produced by Alex White and executive produced by Oscar-nominated producer Jan Chapman (The Piano, 1993). Australian distribution was picked up by Universal Pictures Australia as part of their acquisition of Entertainment One (eOne); international sales are through Celluloid Dreams.

The Venice selection marks a stellar debut for White’s development and production company Whitefalk Films, who launched their feature slate with Babyteeth after the success of their shorts Trespass (Best Australian Short Film, MIFF 2017) and Florence Has Left the Building (Best Short Film, Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts Awards 2015). Also on board as financing entities are Screen Australia in association with Create NSW, WeirAnderson.com and Spectrum Films.

Mendelsohn (pictured, top) stars opposite Essie Davis as Henry and Anna Finlay, the over-protective parents of gravely sick Milla (Eliza Scanlen). When their daughter becomes enamored with a local drug dealer (Toby Wallace) and begins living her waning life to its fullest potential, Henry and Anna’s life takes on a newly energized perspective.

Babyteeth is the latest high-profile project for 20 year-old Scanlen (pictured, right), who scored big opposite Amy Adams in the mini-series Sharp Objects and will next be seen as ‘Beth March’ in Greta Gerwig’s fresh look at Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, alongside Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Emma Watson and Saoirse Ronan.

Also set to premiere at Venice is the short The Diver, from directors Michael Leonard and Jamie Helmer, as well as two virtual reality short films - Callum Cooper's Porton Down and the migrant experience vision, Passenger, from co-directors Isobel Knowles and Van Sowerwine.

While Babyteeth is the only Australian feature to earn a screening berth at Venice (and one of only two films in competition that are directed by women), other homegrown talent Lido-bound include director David Michod, who will debut his latest Netflix-backed title The King, and Nicole Kidman, co-star of Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 work Eyes Wide Shut, which will feature as a Special Screening alongside Matt Wells’ doco Never Just a Dream: Stanley Kubrick And Eyes Wide Shut.

The full list of the 2019 Venice Film Festival’s IN COMPETITION titles are:

The Truth (Kore-eda Hirokazu; France/Japan) – OPENING FILM
The Perfect Candidate (Haifaa Al-Mansour; Saudi Arabia/Germany)
About Endlessness (Roy Andersson; Sweden)
Wasp Network (Olivier Assayas; France/Belgium)
Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach; U.S.)
Guest of Honor (Atom Egoyan; Canada)
Ad Astra (James Gray; U.S.)
A Herdade (Tiago Guedes; Portugal/France)
Gloria Mundi (Robert Guediguian; France)
Waiting for the Barbarians (Ciro Guerra; Italy)
Ema, (Pablo Larrain; Chile)
Saturday Fiction (Lou Ye; China)
Martin Eden (Pietro Marcello; Italy/France/Germany)
La Mafia non è più quella di Una Volta (Franco Maresco; Italy)
The Painted Bird (Vaclav Marhoul; Czech Republic)
The Mayor of Rione Sanità (Mario Martone; Italy/France)
Babyteeth (Shannon Murphy; Australia)
Joker (Todd Philips; U.S.)
An Officer and a Spy (Roman Polanski; France)
The Laundromat (Steven Soderbergh; U.S.)
No. 7 Cherry Lane (Yonfan; China)