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Conceived as an experiment after a more conventional directing project fell over, Ellipsis marks the feature debut of Australian actor turned filmmaker David Wenham (Lion). Shot in Sydney over 11 days and heavily improvised by its two leads, Emily Barclay (The Light Between Oceans) and Benedict Samuel (The Walk), the result is modest and amiable, unfolding over the course of one day and night; it's a kind of Antipodean version of Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise. Wenham earlier directed a segment of The Turning, the 2013 Tim Winton anthology that saw a constellation of Aussie stars debut behind the lens, and...

Emily Barclay and Benedict Samuel in 'Ellipsis'..

In the first of a two-part interview, David Wenham talks to If about making his directorial feature debut,.'Ellipsis'..

Across a stellar career spanning 30 years, David Wenham had long wanted to make an experimental, improvisational film in which the story unfolds in the space of one night.

Wenham got his chance with Ellipsis, a low budget film he directed and co-wrote, which will have its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival.

Produced by Arenamedia.s Liz Kearney, the slice-of-life film follows Emily Barclay as Viv and Benedict Samuel as Jasper, who meet by chance and roam the city of Sydney, from bars, a park and a sex shop in Kings Cross, to Bondi.

In a remarkably tight schedule, the cast workshopped the script for three days, a collaborative effort between the two leads, Wenham and director.s assistant Gabrielle Wendelin. The shoot took just seven days,...

Exclusive: LevelK handling international sales on Sydney-set drama.

LevelK has come on board for international sales, concentrating on worldwide digital distribution rights, for Ellipsis, the feature directorial debut from actor David Wenham (The Lord Of The Rings, Lion).

Emily Barclay (In My Father’s Den) and Benedict Samuel (The Walking Dead) star as two people who bump into each other one night in Sydney, “leading to conversation, a coffee and a nightlong adventure.”

Wenham and Liz Kearney produce for Arenamedia. Robert Connolly is the executive producer. Cinemaplus will release in Australia in the autumn.

Wenham explained, “Ellipsis was devised as an experiment. Conceived and workshopped in 3 days, shot in 7 days. The idea was propelled out of my experiences working as an actor over 30 years in film, the objective was twofold - to observe the effect on actors performance when all artifice is stripped bare and to trial a fast paced, efficient shooting...

Exclusive: Good Universe has boarded international rights to Viola Davis starrer The Personal History of Rachel Dupree and will launch sales on the project to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival next week. QC Entertainment, which is producing the title with Davis’ JuVee Productions, will co-rep North American rights with CAA. Claire McCarthy (The Turning) writes and directs, based on the novel by Ann Weisgarber. Davis and her producing partner Julius Tennon optioned the…...

Principal photography has begun in Perth on John V. Soto.s (The Reckoning, Needle) latest sci-fi drama Love You Twice.

Jacqueline McKenzie (The Water Diviner, Deep Blue Sea, The 4400) stars as the lead, alongside Myles Pollard (Drift, The Turning), Hayley McElhinney (The Babadook), Shannon Berry (Hunters) and Ryan Panizza. Ben Mortley (Lantana) is a new addition to the cast and will play the role of .Regg., a scientist.

Soto is directing and co-wrote Love You Twice with author Michael White (Equinox, The Medici Secret). It follows a particle physicist (McKenzie) grieving over the loss of her husband who uses a revolutionary invention to bring him back, with dire consequences for their family.

Love You Twice is a Filmscope Entertainment and Convergence Productions film. Soto is producing with Deidre Kitcher, while executive producers are Malcolm and Kate Rudd, Coppelia Tingley, Pauline Chan and Gia Zhang RenJie.

The film has a...

L-r: Zoe Pepper, David Vincent Smith and Jub Clerc.

Three Wa directors - Jub Clerc, Zoe Pepper and David Vincent Smith - are the recipients of Screenwest.s latest Feature Navigator round, a year-long initiative designed to develop local filmmakers.

.All three filmmakers displayed outstanding prior work, strong dedication to their creative careers and a passion to take the next step towards directing a feature film,. Screenwest Chief Executive Ian Booth said.

.The Feature Navigator program offers intensive, high-level support that is tailored to each director.s development needs and will connect those selected with producers, expert consultants and the local and national marketplace..

Clerc is a Nyul Nyul/Yawuru director from the Kimberley with several shorts under her belt, one of which formed a chapter of Tim Winton anthology The Turning. Watch one of Clerc's shorts, Storytime, here.

Pepper is a theatre and short film director and runs her own company,...

Nz producer Tom Hern among trio recommended for UK’s Production Finance Market.

A group of international sales agents has voted Nz producer Tom Hern (The Dark Horse) of Four Knights Films as the producer from the 65th Melbourne International Film Festival’s 37º South Market whose slate should be pitched at the UK’s Production Finance Market (Pfm) in October.

Hern will head to London to pitch the Four Knights slate of projects, which includes an action road-comedy, Pork Pie, and a whimsical post-wwii story of an 11 year-old Irish orphan émigré newly arrived in New Zealand, A Long Way Home.

Hern previously produced well-travelled 2014 drama The Dark Horse, which played at Toronto, Rotterdam and Cph Pix.

Producers Philippa Campey (The Turning) and Jamie Houge (The Lookalike) have also won places at Pfm, but did not receive travel assistance. Campey will take her Film Camp slate of features and documentaries to London, and Houge will...

The third cascade of world premieres in 15 days flowed from the headquarters of the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday as programmers revealed their Midnight Madness, Tiff Docs, Vanguard, Tiff Cinematheque and Short Cuts selections.

This week’s offering includes Ben Wheatley’s all-star gangster thriller Free Fire, which opens Midnight Madness one year after the premiere of the British auteur’s High-Rise; fast-rising Chadwick Boseman in revenge thriller Message From The King in Vanguard and a Tiff Docs strand that features climate change documentary The Turning Point, featuring and produced by Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio.

The 41st Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 to 18.

Wp = world premiere, IP = international premiere, Nap = North American premiere, Cp = Canadian premiere, Tp = Toronto premiere.

Midnight Madness

Ben Wheatley’s all-star gunfight Free Fire starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Cillian Murphy will open the section, which includes Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Rats, Adam Wingard’s Blair Witch, André Øvredal’s [link...

Gillian Armstrong's 1971 student film The Roof Needs Mowing.

Secret City director Emma Freeman remembers Vca Film and Television School, where she studied for three years in the early 2000.s, .as a place where .a lot of people were really scraping things together to make their movie..

.That's what I loved about that school., Freeman says..

.It taught me about being a storyteller and it also taught me to be resourceful. Never to be limited by what you have..

Vca Film and TV is celebrating 50 years of scraping things together this year, from its opening at Swinburne in 1966 to the jump to the Vca in 1992 and beyond.

Cinematographer Ian Baker (Japanese Story, Words and Pictures) was one of the first, in 1968..

..I had no idea what I wanted to do when I completed the course,. Baker says.

.I didn't really know that I wanted to be a cinematographer, even though...

Jackie Chan and the Bleeding Steel team.

Heyi Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures Asia announced the beginning of principal photography of the Jackie Chan sci-fi actioner.Bleeding Steel yesterday.

Written and directed by Leo Zhang, Bleeding Steel was unveiled at a press conference at the Sydney Opera House, the slopes of which would no doubt be suitable for one of Chan's trademark stunts.

The film is the biggest budget Chinese production ever to shoot in Australia, and the Canberra-raised Chan.s first to be shot primarily in Australia since Mr. Nice Guy shot in Melbourne in 1996.

The president of Heyi Pictures, Kailuo Liu, described Chan as .a gift to the film industry., and said he was "confident that with Heyi Pictures. powerful internet resources in the Chinese film industry and Jackie.s international influence, coupled with our first-class production team and an extraordinary sci-fi story, we will be able to...

The Legend of Gavin Tanner.

We Were Here and Flushed have scooped the nominations for the West Australian Screen Awards.

The West Australian Screen Awards celebraes excellence and achievements in feature film, short film, web series, music videos, television production, documentary, games and interactive productions.

Short drama We Were Here, directed by David Vincent Smith and produced by Joshua Gilbert and Simon Camp, earned six nominations, the most for the awards.

Short comedy Flushed, directed and produced by Richard Eames, also received six nominations.

ABC comedy TV series The Legend of Gavin Tanner, written and directed by Matt Lovkis and Henry Inglis and produced by Lauren Elliott received five nominations, as did short drama Sol Bunker, produced by Glen Stasiuk and directed by Nathan Mewett.

Film and Television Institute Wa (Fti) chief executive, Paul Bodlovich, said the WASAs were one of the most important events on the cultural calendar in Western Australia.

Claire McCarthy.

The Waiting City's Claire McCarthy is attached to direct The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, about black frontier women in the American Old West.

Doubt's Viola Davis is exec producing after buying the rights to the original novel by Ann Weisgarber, with Skyfall's Naomie Harris set to star.

Su Armstrong and Brian Rosen are producing for their SixtyFourSixty banner, with Julius Tennon exec producing with Davis..

London-based Gfm were shopping the film to buyers in Cannes; Idris Elba was briefly announced as being attached but dropped out.

McCarthy had a busy Cannes, with her Ophelia, starring Naomi Watts and Daisy Ridley, another hot market title.

The director, who contributed a segment to 2013's The Turning but hasn't made a feature since 2009's The Waiting City, is repped by Rgm Artists in Sydney and CAA in the U.S.

(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

Two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts (Divergent series, The Impossible) and rising superstar Daisy Ridley (Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens) are in final negotiations to star in Ophelia, the highly-anticipated and dynamic reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” focusing on the untold story of Ophelia’s (Ridley) tragic romance with the prince and her relationship with his mother Queen Gertrude (Watts), it was announced today by Covert Media’s CEO Paul Hanson.

To be directed by Claire McCarthy (The Waiting City), Ophelia is based on the award winning novel by Lisa Klein and adapted for the screen by the acclaimed and award-winning writer Semi Chellas (“Mad Men,” “The Eleventh Hour”).

“Ophelia is brimming with youth-fueled charisma, exploring the nature of true love and beauty, and I’m so excited to bring this fresh mythic spin to Hamlet from a female perspective,...

Director, Robert Connolly, will executive produce, Hive Fund winner, Guilty.

Guilty, Remembering Agatha and Bunghole have won funding in the third and final round of the Adelaide Film Festival Hive Fund initiative.

Australian artists Matthew Sleeth, Emma Magenta and Bruce Gladwin are set to collaborate with screen creatives Maggie Miles, Robert Connolly, Andrew Bovell, Julie Eckersley and Ester Harding on three new projects as part of the initiative.

Hive is an Adelaide Film Festival initiative in collaboration with the Australia Council for the Arts, Screen Australia and ABC Arts.

It is a disruptive initiative designed to bring together Australian artists and filmmakers to cross-pollinate their creative ideas, develop screen-based projects and support bright talent to take the next step.

The three newly commissioned projects will have their world premieres at the next edition of the biennial Adelaide Film Festival in 2017 and will all air on ABC TV.

The first project,...

Director, Robert Connolly, will executive produce, Hive Fund winner, Guilty.

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Guilty, Remembering Agatha and Bunghole have won funding in the third and final round of the Adelaide Film Festival Hive Fund initiative.

Australian artists Matthew Sleeth, Emma Magenta and Bruce Gladwin are set to collaborate with screen creatives Maggie Miles, Robert Connolly, Andrew Bovell, Julie Eckersley and Ester Harding on three new projects as part of the initiative.

Hive is an Adelaide Film Festival initiative in collaboration with the Australia Council for the Arts, Screen Australia and ABC Arts.

It is a disruptive initiative designed to bring together Australian artists and filmmakers to cross-pollinate their creative ideas, develop screen-based projects and support bright talent to take the next step.

The three newly commissioned projects will have their world premieres at the next edition of the biennial Adelaide Film Festival in 2017 and will all air on ABC TV.

The first project,...

Australian coming-of-age drama has begun filming; Elizabeth Debicki, Richard Roxburgh among those to join cast.

Filming has begun this week in Australia on Simon Baker’s feature film directorial debut, Breath, based on Tim Winton’s coming-of-age novel.

Baker, star of TV drama The Mentalist and features including The Devil Wears Prada, will be joined in the cast by Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, The Night Manager), Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!) and Rachael Blake (Sleeping Beauty).

Set in mid-70s coastal Australia, Breath follows two teenage boys that form an unlikely friendship with a mysterious older adventurer, who pushes them to take risks that will have a lasting and profound impact on their lives.

Newcomers Samson Coulter and Ben Spence will play teenagers Pikelet and Loonie respectively, while Roxburgh and Blake are Mr and Mrs Pike. Debicki is Eva and as previously announced, Baker will play Sando.

“Tim’s book viscerally captures the restless curiosity and yearning...

Simon Baker as Sando with Samsom Coulter (Pikelet) and Ben Spence (Loonie) in Breath.

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Filming has started in Denmark, Western Australia, on Simon Baker.s feature film directorial debut, Breath..

The film is based on Tim Winton.s award winning and international best-selling novel and stars Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, The Night Manager, upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge, The Turning, Mission: Impossible II) and Rachael Blake (Sleeping Beauty, Rake, Truth) and Baker (The Mentalist, Devil Wears Prada, Margin Call) as cast.

Newcomers Samson Coulter and Ben Spence will play Pikelet and Loonie respectively, while Roxburgh and Blake are Mr and Mrs Pike..

Debicki is Eva and as previously announced, Baker will play Sando.

Set in mid-70s coastal Australia, Breath follows two teenage boys, hungry for discovery, that form an unlikely friendship with a mysterious older adventurer.

Sando, a a former professional surfer...

Bangarra founder and frontman Stephen Page has just returned from Melbourne, where he screened Spear, his first feature, at Acmi.

The dance film, which premiered at Toronto last September, sprang from an early Bangarra piece of the same name.

"When I created Spear in 2000, we had Archie Roach singing his poetic, streetwise songs onstage. Hunter [Page-Lochard, the director's son and star of both Spear and the upcoming Cleverman] was a six year-old onstage. It was one of Wayne Blair's first acting jobs".

So many years later, Spear is now Page's first feature, though the director is no stranger to filmmaking..

"I did a dance film called Colours in 1990 that I choreographed with Victoria Taylor for the Sydney Dance Company. It was all based on colours, so each colour had a short dance story and then it was all patched together. I think Screen Australia was involved. I only got reminded about it four months ago, I forgot I actually did it".

"I...

The Daughter.

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The Daughter director Simon Stone and cast including Ewen Leslie and Odessa Young are set take part in Q and A sessions following preview screenings of the film in Sydney at Melbourne.

Palace Cinemas will host Stone (The Turning) and actors Young (Looking for Grace) and Leslie (Dead Europe) for two sessions..

Moderated by film critic David Stratton, they will follow preview screenings of the film at Palace Verona, in Sydney.s Paddington and Palace Cinema Como, in Melbourne.s South Yarra.

The Daughter is inspired by Stone.s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen.s The Wild Duck, which was first performed at Belvoir Theatre in Sydney..

The Daughter also features performances from a stellar cast which includes Geoffrey Rush, Miranda Otto and Sam Neil. .

Produced by Jan Chapman (The Piano, Lantana) and Nicole O.Donohue and with costumes by Margot Wilson (The Dressmaker), the film is a deeply...

While more Australian films are securing distribution in the Us - mostly limited theatrical combined with online release- generally the returns to producers are exceedingly modest. One Australian film released on DVD and VOD in the Us in the past 12 months clocked total of revenues of about $US250,000, of which just 3 per cent came from digital downloads, If has learned. According to Screen Australia.s research, 32 Oz films have been acquired by Us distributors since January 2013. Those deals including library titles generated a total of $US15 million in fees from sales to all platforms.

The fees per-film for all rights for new releases ranged from $30,000 to $2 million. Almost all those that were released in the past 18 months had limited theatrical release, either day-and-date with VOD or within a few weeks. Since 2011, only five films co-funded by the agency paid overages in the Us, totalling about $2 million. That.s in addition...

With help from a towering Michael Fassbender, director Justin Kurzel delivers an intense take on Shakespeare's Macbeth. Here's our review...

Some directors struggle to get away from the inherent staginess of Shakespeare's original plays, or at least seem content to let Shakespeare’s torrent of words tell the story. Australian director Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, The Turning) goes the other way, telling his story of murder, guilt and madness with sumptuous, captivating visuals while the words ebb and flow in the background. As a result, we don’t have to hang on Banquo or MacDuff’s every word to get the gist of what’s going on - it’s all there in those tortured expressions and ominious landscapes.

Michael Fassbender coolly conveys the various stages of Macbeth, a soldier who schemes and murders his way to the station of king in 11th century Scotland. We watch him shift from saucer-eyed...

"All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter." The Weinstein Co has debuted the official Us trailer for Justin Kurzel's Macbeth, the precursor to Fassbender's Assassin's Creed (also directed by Kurzel), and one of the most talked about films coming out of Cannes this year. Michael Fassbender stars as Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, in this Shakespeare adaptation also starring Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth. The cast also includes Elizabeth Debicki, Marion Cotillard, Sean Harris, David Thewlis, Jack Reynor and Paddy Considine. There are some really spectacular shots shown in this trailer, from cinematographer Adam Arkapaw, and overall it looks like my kind of Shakespeare movie. Dark, gritty, enthralling, and visceral. Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Justin Kurzel's Macbeth, direct from TWC's YouTube: Macbeth is directed by Justin Kurzel (The Turning, The Snowtown Murders) and written by Todd Louiso (Hello I Must Be Going, Love Liza,...

Anzac Girls. Sara West and Mystery Road.s Samara Weaving head the cast of Bad Girl, writer-director Fin Edquist.s psychological thriller which starts shooting in Perth on August 31.

West plays 16-year-old Amy, the title character who has to fight for her adoptive parents when her new best friend Chloe (Weaving) tries to supplant her.

Playing the parents are Felicity Price, who stars in Joel Edgerton.s Us thriller The Gift and her partner Kieran Darcy-Smith.s upcoming Western By Way of Helena, and Benjamin Winspear (House of Hancock, Rake, The Babadook).

The film marks a departure in tone for Edquist, who scripted the animated family pics Maya the Bee and Blinky Bill: The Movie, which opens in cinemas on September 10.

The producers are Steve Kearney (Oddball, My Mistress), Bruno Charlesworth (Good Vibrations, The Extra) and Tenille Kennedy. This is the feature producing debut for Kennedy, who co-produced three...

Hugo Weaving has been named as this year's CinefestOZ 2015 Screen Legend with today's launch of the festival's program.

Weaving will be recognised for his achievements as an Australian actor at the Festival.s Gala Night on 29 August at which Australia.s biggest film prize, the CinéfestOZ $100,000 Film Prize, is also awarded to an outstanding Australian film.

.Hugo Weaving is one of Australia's most celebrated actors and a passionate supporter of Australia film, television and theatre in and outside of his work. .

His credits include Stephan Elliott.s classic The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert; Jocelyn Moorhouse.s Proof and The Dressmaker opposite fellow Australian Judy Davis; Rowan Woods acclaimed drama, Little Fish alongside Cate Blanchett and Sam Neill; .Mystery Road directed by upcoming filmmaker Ivan Sen; Strangerland directed by first time director Kim Farrant opposite Nicole Kidman which screened at Sydney Film Festival and Sundance; Glendyn Ivin.s...

After recently premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, "Macbeth," starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, has unveiled the first trailer. Check it out below. "Macbeth" is a new adaptation of the William Shakespeare play. It will retain the 11th century setting and the original dialogue as well. The story follows the devious Macbeth, a Scottish lord who will stop at nothing to become King. The new movie is directed by Justin Kurzel (The Turning, The Snowtown Murders). A Us release date has yet to be announced. Trailer:...

"This is the very painting of your fear." Whoa. This first teaser trailer for Justin Kurzel's Macbeth looks amazing, which is why it's a must watch. Michael Fassbender stars as Macbeth, Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth, in this adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play, from the filmmaker who brought us The Snowtown Murders. The film just had a successful premiere at Cannes and is now aiming for release in the fall, at least in the UK. The rest of the cast includes David Thewlis, Elizabeth Debicki, Jack Reynor, Sean Harris & Paddy Considine. This has a very mesmerizing style that pulls you in, shot by Dp Adam Arkapaw, and it seems like a very emotional but still gripping take on the story of the King of Scotland. Here's the first official teaser trailer for Justin Kurzel's Macbeth, from StudioCanal's YouTube: Macbeth is directed by Justin Kurzel (The Turning, The Snowtown Murders...

Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard have a lust for power in this first trailer for MacBeth. The latest adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy comes from Snowtown and The Turning director Justin Kurzel (who is set to re-team with Fassbender and Cotillard for the planned Assassin's Creed movie), and it received an excellent response when it premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival.... Read More...

When Matt Levett was nominated for this year.s Heath Ledger Scholarship along with 17 other rising talents, the actor didn.t fancy his chances amongst what he described as a .an intimidating. line-up.

So he was both stunned and stoked to win the award presented on Monday night Us time in Los Angeles.

The 2009 Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts (Waapa) graduate says the $US10,000 cash prize will enable him to further his ambitions in Hollywood.

.It will give me the ability to stay longer and give me a foot in the door,. says Levett, who first went to the Us last September/October, when he signed with the Gersh Agency. The runners-up are fellow Waapa graduate Emilie Cocquerel and Lily Sullivan, who each get a round-trip ticket to Los Angeles and a scholarship to attend Masterclasses at Screenwise Film & TV School for actors in Sydney.

On behalf of the judges,...

Rectify's Aden Young, Aaron Pedersen, Oscar Redding and Chris Sommers are part of the ensemble cast attached to a violent Outback thriller to be directed by Jonathan auf der Heide.

An unofficial Australian-uk co-production, Mongrel is due to start shooting in South East Queensland late this year, with post in the UK.

Scripted by Brit Ross Williams, the plot follows Doug Richards (Young), a family man who embarks on a pig-hunting weekend with his mates.

The weekend turns into a nightmare as the hunting dogs savagely attack a young couple from the city. Torn between loyalty and doing the right thing, Richards must choose between an escalation in violence or facing his own death.

Pedersen is cast as a detective, Redding is a bad-ass professional pig hunter and Sommers is a local would-be tough guy.

The producers are New Holland Pictures Two's Mark Overett (The Fear of Darkness, Iron Sky...

Bryan Brown, John Jarratt, Levi Miller and Jason Isaacs head the cast of Blue Dog, the prequel to Red Dog which is now shooting in the Pilbara. Directed by Kriv Stenders and produced by Nelson Woss, the 1960s- set film scripted by Daniel Taplitz follows events leading up to the discovery of Red Dog on the road to Dampier.

The Wa government is investing $1.25 million in the project through its Royalties for Regions program and Screen Australia and ScreenWest are co-funding. Miller plays Mick, a bright, curious, resourceful kid. When his emotionally disturbed mother can no longer take care of him he is sent against his wishes to live with his grandfather (Brown) on a cattle station in the Pilbara.

The boy is lonely and isolated until he rescues a dog and the two become best friends.

Miller, who made his screen debut in the sci-fi TV series Terra Nova...

Rising young actors who.ve appeared in Unbroken, The Water Diviner, Deadline Gallipoli, Anzac Girls and The Code are among the finalists for the 7th annual Heath Ledger Scholarship.

In all 20 are in contention for the prize which includes two round-trip flights to L.A., a two-year scholarship at the Stella Adler Academy, $5,000 worth of visa and immigration services and $10,000 cash.

Presented by Australians in Film, the winner will be announced in Los Angeles on June 1. Two runners up will each receive a round-trip ticket to La and a scholarship to attend masterclasses at Screenwise Film & TV School for actors in Sydney.

Previous recipients were Cody Fern (The Last Time I Saw Richard), James Mackay (The Dressmaker, The Tomorrow People), Anna McGahan (Anzac Girls, House Husbands), Ryan Corr (The Water Diviner, Wolf Creek 2), Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows, The Rewrite) and Oliver Ackland (Party Tricks, Blinder).

The finalists were selected...

Thanks to Empire magazine, we now have three new photos from the upcoming new "Macbeth" movie, starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Check everything out below. "Macbeth" is a new adaptation of the William Shakespeare play. It will retain the 11th century setting and is said to use the original dialogue as well. The story follows the devious Macbeth, a Scottish lord who will stop at nothing to become King. The new movie is directed by Justin Kurzel (The Turning, The Snowtown Murders). It's set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May. A Us release date has yet to be announced. Photos: (click to enlarge)...

"It reminded me a lot of a Western." Empire has debuted three photos from Justin Kurzel's Macbeth, which will be premiering In-Competition at the Cannes Film Festival later in May. This adaptation of the Shakespeare classic stars Michael Fassbender as Macbeth, the duke of Scotland, and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth. The two of them can be seen in photos below, which have been released to remind us the film's festival unveiling is coming up. Aside from a Western, Kurzel says this reminded him "of a landscape and atmosphere that felt much more dangerous than I'd ever seen before from adaptations of Macbeth." Here's the three new photos for Macbeth, debuted via Empire where they have more details from Kurzel. Macbeth is directed by Justin Kurzel (The Turning, The Snowtown Murders) and written by Todd Louiso (Hello I Must Be Going, Love Liza, The Marc Pease Experience), based on...

Funding for three distribution projects, animation company Bogan and several creators of the very-popular-online Bondi Hipsters brand are among the recipients of Us$2.73m ($3.5m) from Screen Australia.

Sydney-based comedy brothers Christiaan and Connor Van Vuuren and their collaborators have produced 150 pieces of irreverent content, built a subscriber base of 50,000 on their YouTube channel and added a raft of characters and stories to their Bondi Hipsters brand for the ABC TV series Soul Mates – all in four years.

“Now we won’t have to wait for the weekend when people are free (to film),” they joked. Instead they’ll employ more writers, partner with others having success online, and develop and produce content faster across all platforms, working alongside development manager Chloe Rickard.

Kiwi Assassins: The Musical is one of the feature concepts covered by the deal. Kiwi Assassins are secret agents in Australia – one storyline has them kidnapping a young Russell Crowe and returning him to...

Screen Australia will fund the direct-to-digital release of up to four low-budget films in a pilot scheme over the next two years.

The initiative is part of $3.2 million in funding for 10 production companies and organisations under the agency.s new Enterprise Industry program announced today.

The scheme will entail each film having event screenings at selected cinemas and being released the same day on iTunes and all other electronic platforms.

Screen Australia will fund the marketing costs, which COO Fiona Cameron estimates will be between $300,000 and $500,000.

.Some low budget films need to be accessible and to find their audiences immediately,. Cameron tells If. .It.s a good place for Screen Australia to explore because there is considerable risk. We want to see if this is a commercial proposition for certain other films..

The event screenings- which may mean four-walling cinemas- will guarantee each project qualifies for the 40% producer offset. Those...

Stephen Page’s new feature is currently in production and is produced by the creative team behind The Turning.

LevelK has acquired world rights to Spear.

Directed by Stephen Page, Spear is produced by Robert Connelly and John Harvey and follows a young Aboriginal man who sets off on a journey of initiation to understand what it means to be a man in a modern day world.

Connolly commented: “We are all extremely excited to be working with LevelK again on the first feature to come out of the creative ensemble brought together for The Turning, which was successfully launched by LevelK at the Berlinale last year.”

Spear is currently in production and has investment through The Hive initiative from Adelaide Film Festival, Screen Australia, The ABC and the Australia Council along with partners Bangarra Dance Theatre, Definition Films, Soundfirm and Carriageworks.

It will premiere in October at the Adelaide Film Festival.

LevelK has reteamed with Arenamedia on producer Robert Connolly's upcoming feature Spear. Spear, from chorographer and director Stephen Page, charts the journey of a young Indigenous man as he grapples with what it is to be a man in the modern day world. Currently in production, the film is an adaptation of Page.s original work of the same name and will be combined with Indigenous dance from the prestigious Australian dance company Bangarra Dance Theatre. It is not the first time Page and Connolly have teamed up together, with Page having directed the chapter .Sand. from Connolly.s critically acclaimed Tim Winton.s The Turning. John Harvey, who produced Sand, will also be on board. ."We are all extremely excited to be working with LevelK again on the first feature to come out of the creative ensemble brought together for The Turning, which was successfully launched by LevelK at the Berlinale last year,...

Mia Wasikowska is among the directors of this uneven portmanteau movie based on a short-story collection by prize-winning author Tim Winton

The Turning is a portmanteau movie adapted from a short story collection by prizewinning Australian author Tim Winton; in its complete form for Australian release, this originally ran for three hours, but is now cut down to a smaller selection for the UK. Each short film has a different director and production team, some with actors such as Mia Wasikowska making their directorial debut.

The whole thing is, therefore, variable, but even at the level of the individual short film it looks disconcertingly unfinished and unformed, each piece seeming like a sketch for something bigger. The films themselves mostly show an alienated and anxious Australia, both indigenous and white, dealing with loneliness, abuse and alcoholism. For me, the most successful are the final three: Long, Clear View by Wasikowska,...

★★★☆☆ Based on a 2005 short story collection by Australian author Tim Winton, The Turning (2013) arrives in UK cinemas in heavily truncated form; nearly half of the three-hour running time has been lopped off. While by no means a disaster, it does mean that seventeen chapters have been cleaved down to nine. So, while the poetic tone and thematic kernels remain, the context and raison d'être of the anthology - once pitched as a 'unique cinema event' - loses its essence. This latest cut is also different from the one shown on Australian television back in early 2014. So why the meddling? Wasn't the point all along to make a major artistic statement?...

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) has announced Rose Byrne as the first recipient of its newly created award . the Aacta Trailblazer Award.

The Award was formed in order to recognise an individual.s achievements, abilities and successes throughout their career, and honours the achievements of Australians working in both the domestic and global film and television industry.

In a statement released to the media, Aacta described the Award as .recognition of the multi-disciplinary achievements of talented Australian screen practitioners who inspire others with their portfolio of work, acknowledging their valuable contribution to promoting Australian screen culture and excellence, both here and abroad..

It is a discretionary award and is determined by the Board and President of AFI | Aacta.

Aacta President, Geoffrey Rush, said: .Rose Byrne.s transcendent reputation in the public eye in combination with her success on the big and small screen marries with one...

Today we have a UK trailer for "The Turning," which is based on Australia's best-selling book of short stories by Tim Winton. It stars Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Hugo Weaving, Mirando Otto and Richard Roxburgh. Check out the trailer below. Plot: Ten stories explore the impact of past on present, and how the seemingly random incidents that change and shape us can never be escaped or let go of. All of the stories are bound together by recurring themes; the passing of time, regret, addiction and obsession. "The Turning" has more than a dozen directors, including Mia Wasikowska, David Wenham (300: Rise of an Empire) and Justin Kurzel (Assassin's Creed). It's been playing at multiple festivals for over a year, but a Us release date has yet to be set. Trailer:...

There’s a film with Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, and Richard Roxburgh that Us audiences haven’t had a chance to see yet. The Turning is an Australian anthology film that adapts a set of short stories by Tim Winton, with more than a dozen directors, including Mia Wasikowska and Anthony Lucas (The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello), David Wenham (300: Rise of […]

The post ‘The Turning’ Trailer: Australian Anthology Features Cate Blanchett and Rose Byrne appeared first on /Film.

Debuting at Melbourne International Film Festival to strong reviews last fall, The Turning features 17 different helmers each taking a chapter from Tim Winton‘s novel to form a full-length film. We’ve now got a new U.K. trailer for the ambitious project, which features the directorial debut of Mia Wasikowska and David Wenham, as well as segments from Snowtown‘s Justin Kurzel […]...

It shouldn’t be difficult to see a movie that’s been made, is available, has received almost unanimous praise and involves popular movie stars, including Cate Blanchett and Rose Byrne onscreen and Mia Wasikowska behind the camera. The Turning probably just feels like it’s taking forever to come out, but even though the first trailer debuted in 2013, it’s merely been taking the long road through the international film festival scene. It hasn’t been sitting on a shelf or anything like that. Now this beautiful-looking Australian production is about to open in the UK and Ireland next month, and a slightly new trailer is online, mostly different in its positive pull quotes — because there’s enough favor for substitutions. What about a Us release? Main Street Films are set to distribute the anthology film sometime this year, though it’s surely a difficult venture since the thing is three hours long in its original...

The Turning has released a UK trailer.

Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Rose Byrne and Lord of the Rings' Miranda Otto feature in the Australian film.

The movie is based on a collection of ten short stories written by Tim Winton, brought to the screen by a group of directors including Maps to the Stars actress Mia Wasikowska.

The stories centre around the themes of how the past impacts the present and the huge effect that seemingly random incidents can have on our lives.

The film was released last year in Australia.

The Turning will be released in the UK on February 6. A Us release date is yet to be announced.

Given the big names involved—Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Rose Byrne, and Miranda Otto, in segments directed filmmakers including Mia Wasikowska, Justin Kurzel, David Wenham, and more—it's a bit surprising the Aussie omnibus "The Turning" is taking its time appearing on U.S. shores. Main Street Films has the U.S. rights, but not much has been heard about a release date. But the moody film is headed to the U.K., and a new trailer just dropped. Based on the ten short stories by Tim Winton, this multi-threaded film starts with the relationship between a young woman living in a trailer park with her abusive husband, and spreads out from there. Here's the official synopsis: Ten stories interweave in their respective narratives, creating an intriguing and twisting central plot-line that often centres around the enigmatic members of the Lang family, each consumed by their shared pasts. The Turning...

Robert Connolly's Paper Planes has been selected to screen at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. The children's film will have its European premiere in the Generation Kplus program.

That will Connolly's third production to be featured in the Berlin festival. His first was The Boys, directed by Rowan Woods, in 1998. Last year his omnibus film Tim Winton's The Turning had its European premiere in Berlin. .

Connolly said, .We are all very excited to return to the Berlinale next year to launch Paper Planes in Europe, a festival that has been a wonderful pioneer in championing cinema for kids from all over the world..

The tale of an Australian boy's passion for flight and his challenge to compete in the World Paper Plane Championships in Japan, it. will have its first 3D screenings in Berlin.

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said, .We are thrilled for Rob and his...

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that it has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Academy Award winner Russell Crowe’s (“Gladiator”) directorial debut, from RatPac Entertainment, The Water Diviner, which the Studio will release in select U.S. theaters on April 24, 2015.

Starring Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) and Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion, Quantum Of Solace), The Water Diviner is an epic adventure set four years after the devastating battle of Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

Australian farmer Connor (Crowe) travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in the action, where he forges a relationship with the beautiful Turkish woman (Kurylenko) who owns the hotel in which he stays. Holding on to hope, and with the help of a Turkish Officer, Connor embarks on a journey across the country to find the truth about the fate of his sons. The Water Diviner is an extraordinary tale of love,...

The ABC will be forced to dramatically cut spending on content if the federal government does not fund the costs of redundancies and other efficiency savings.

ABC MD Mark Scott delivered that blunt warning on Monday as he complained the broadcaster is still waiting to be told exactly how much it will have to slash its operating budget by months after the May budget imposed a $120 million reduction over four years.

Expressing his frustration, Scott said in a speech at Melbourne University: .We are still not sure precisely how much will be cut. We are still not sure precisely when the cuts will become payable..

Scott bemoaned the uncertainty and lamented the forced redundancies of more than 80 people, representing more than 1,000 years of experience.

.The final strategy for dealing with the funding cuts will have to be determined by the board and executive once the size of the cut and the repayment timing is known,...

Film Movement has bought North American rights to My Mistress, Stephen Lance.s erotic drama about the affair between a vulnerable teenager. (Harrison Gilbertson) and a French S&M mistress (Emmanuelle Béart).

By If.s reckoning at least 27 Australian titles have secured Us distribution deals this year. Most are getting limited theatrical releases as a platform for home entertainment exposure.

Film Movement will release the film on DVD and VOD, including via its subscription streaming service dubbed Film-of-the-Month Club.

The deal was negotiated by international sales agent LevelK, which had already sold the film to Japan (New Select), the UK ( Film House), Russia (Russian Report) and Hong Kong (Sundream Motion Pictures).

LevelK.s Tine Klint is screening the film this week at the Busan International Film Festival in Korea and hopes to close more deals. Produced by Leanne Tonkes and Steve Kearney, the film opens in Australia on November 6 via Transmission.