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On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

This September, we’re celebrating Back to School Night with four midnight movies that aren’t just academically themed but also teach the lessons essential to understanding this school of cinema.

First, read the spoiler-free bait — a weird and wonderful pick from any time in film and why we think it’s worth memorializing. After you’ve watched the movie, come back for the bite — a breakdown of all the spoiler-y moments you’d want to unpack when exiting a theater.

The Bait: You’re Invited to the Worst School Dance Since “Carrie”

“He looks dead,” panics the teenaged Lola (Robin McLeavy) while surveying the unconscious body of her prom date Brent (Xavier Samuel) in the trunk of her dad’s car. “You’ve ruined it!”

“I didn’t use that much!

Welcome to IndieWire After Dark, where we pick a new theme for our midnight movie programming every month!

Join us Friday nights at 9:30 p.m. Et to explore the best in fringe films — available at any hour in the streaming age.

Kick up your feet and get ready to take note. This September, we’re celebrating Back to School Night.

IndieWire After Dark is practicing the fundamentals over the next four weeks, kicking off a fall semester of midnight movies that’s all about students, teachers, parents, and the lethal side of learning. Yes, the following recommendations are education-themed — but they’re also great building blocks for any new students in this school of cinema.

Not unlike Harvard, Yale, or the elite university in “Halloween H20,” the admissions rate for titles featured in our weekly watch-and-rewatch club is competitive. We want to see every Tubi, Freevee, and fringe Shudder effort out there.

Eric Bana has been a mainstay on the big screen for decades. The Australian comedian turned dramatic actor has been in everything from Ang Lee’s Hulk to Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down, J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek, and Judd Apatow’s Funny People. Getting his big break on the Australian shows Full Frontal and the eponymous The Eric Bana Show Live, the actor hit Hollywood’s radar with his role in Chopper as the infamous criminal Mark Chopper Read. After over twenty years in the industry, Bana returned to Australia for the 2021 mystery The Dry and has now reprised the role of Aaron Falk for the sequel, Force of Nature.

Based on the novel by Jane Harper, Force of Nature picks up a year after The Dry as Aaron Falk and his partner investigate a money laundering scheme with the aid of insider Alice Russell (Anna Torv). When...

It’s an indie grab bag and a fun one this weekend with the widely pummeled TIFF-premiering Poolman, (the people will decide), Jamie Foxx in comedy Not Another Church Movie, and Eric Bana’s Force of Nature: The Dry 2 sequel. Mubi and Strand Releasing are testing the market with limited openings Gasoline Rainbow and A Prince. A24 begins a slow rollout of I Saw The TV Glow.

The widest release on 1,180+ screens is Briarcliff’s Not Another Church Movie directed by Johnny Mack, starring Jamie Foxx, Vivica A. Fox, Kevin Daniels and Mickey Rourke. Daniels is Taylor Pherry (silent p), an ambitious young man on a holy mission from God (Foxx) — to tell his family’s stories and inspire his community. But the Devil (Rourke) has plans of his own.

Vertical’s Poolman at 160+ locations is Pine’s directorial debut andhe also stars as Darren, a native Angeleno who...

The arid landscape of the fictional Australian town Kiewarra lends the 2020 mystery thriller “The Dry” its name and identity. It’s the type of place filled with interpersonal tension, which frequently reflects onto a barren, sun-scorched environment itching to go up in flames.

When federal agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) returns to his hometown to look into the double murder-suicide supposedly perpetrated by his childhood best friend, he’s thrust back into the town’s powder-keg energy. Everyone looks at him with suspicion because they suspect he was responsible for the drowning of his high school girlfriend twenty years prior, with their resentment exacerbated by his off-the-books investigation. Adapted from Jane Harper’s procedural mystery novel by the same name, “The Dry” marinates in buried backcountry secrets and childhood trauma, both of which unfortunately never transcend their generic function or presentation on screen.

Four years later, the awkwardly titled sequel...

If there is any justice in this world, we’ll get an Aaron Falk mystery every few years in perpetuity. Force of Nature: The Dry 2, written and directed by Robert Connolly and based on the novel by Jane Harper, offers up a brand-new case for viewers and does not require that you’ve seen its engaging predecessor (The Dry). This time the setting is the Giralang Ranges, a fictional rainforest of labyrinthine density. Along with the drastic change in scenery from the first outing (which hewed closer to an outback aesthetic tourists would expect), there’s been an expansion of production value. As Falk closes in on the identity of the killer, a violent storm closes in. This time there are more characters, more plot, and more conflicting motivations.

The plot revolves around a corporate retreat gone bad. Five women went out on a team-building hiking-camping trip. Only four came back.

After getting through the reopened old wounds and fresh corpses of “The Dry” in his dusty outback hometown, Eric Bana’s Federal Agent Aaron Falk certainly deserved a change of scenery. He gets one in woodsy “Force of Nature: The Dry 2,” though naturally the second feature adapted by director Robert Connolly from Jane Harper’s print mystery series soon finds him equally knee-deep in troublesome sleuthing. This sequel to one of Australia’s biggest homegrown hits reprises much of its page-turning plottiness — as well as a straining for emotional depth that proves elusive. IFC is releasing to U.S. theaters and home formats on May 10.

Once again, and perhaps a little too neatly, a case forces Falk to revisit the tragedies of his own past. In the prior film, a childhood friend’s funeral set him to investigating its cause, an effort which soon exposed disturbing links to his...

Plot: Five women participate in a hiking retreat but only four come out the other side. Federal agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper head into the mountains hoping to find their informant still alive.

Review: We reviewed the Australian mystery drama The Dry a couple of years ago. We enjoyed Eric Bana’s first Australian film after moving to Hollywood and found director Robert Connolly’s adaptation of Jane Harper’s novel to be refreshing. That film told the story of a federal investigator who returns home to investigate the murder of a childhood friend, which bears a distinct connection to a crime he himself was accused of decades prior. Bana and Connolly have reunited for the second novel in the Aaron Falk trilogy, Force of Nature. Carrying the subtitle that indicates it as a sequel to The Dry, Force of Nature is a substantially different story. Shifting from a...

If, by chance, you’ve never heard of Australian genre director Sean Byrne, you need to remedy that fact right away. While far from a household name, Byrne directed two of the best horror movies of the last twenty years – The Loved Ones in 2009 and The Devil’s Candy in 2015. The Loved Ones, in particular, is a gem, with star Robin McLeavy’s performance as high school stalker Lola, being one of the most memorable horror baddies in recent memory.

And now, it looks like Byrne is finally directing another film, with Variety revealing that he’s set to direct the horror flick Dangerous Animals, which stars Hassie Harrison (the Yellowstone girl who caused a major bunkhouse feud a few seasons back), Jai Courtney, and Josh Heuston.

Here’s what Variety has to say about the project:

Written by Nick Lepard, “Dangerous Animals” exhibits the same play with genre tropes of “The Devil’s Candy,...

Australian writer-director Robert Connolly had a domestic hit in 2021 with The Dry, a slow-burn murder mystery built around Eric Bana’s somber performance as a pensive city cop drawn back to the remote town of his childhood in the middle of a prolonged drought. Bana returns as Aaron Falk in Force of Nature: The Dry 2, which is otherwise a sequel in name alone. The setting this time is a lush and very wet mountain rainforest, drenched by a massive thunderstorm at a key point in the narrative. That makes half the title a complete misnomer.

This is a handsomely produced, solidly acted thriller that’s certainly watchable, though the perplexing subtitle is not its only issue. Unlike its riveting predecessor, it’s absorbing but never quite gripping.

Connolly sticks to novelist Jane Harper’s template from the first book in her Aaron Falk trilogy, in which the Australian Federal Police...

"I know what it's like out there. I know what happens when things turn bad." IFC Films has unveiled the official US trailer for the Australian mystery sequel titled Force of Nature: The Dry 2, arriving in the US to watch this May (in theaters & on VOD). This crime thriller is a follow-up to the hit film The Dry (2020) continuing the story with the same character. Both of these star Eric Bana as a Federal Agent named Aaron Falk; in the first film, he gets wrapped up in a murder mystery when he goes to his hometown. In this next one, five women participate in a hiking retreat but only four come out on the other side. Federal agents Falk and Cooper head into the Victorian mountains hoping to find her still alive. Bana co-stars with Anna Torv, Deborra-Lee Furness, Robin McLeavy, Sisi Stringer, Lucy Ansell, Richard Roxburgh, Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor,...

Presented by Lisa Frankenstein, 1989 Week is dialing the clock back to the crossroads year for the genre with a full week of features that dig six feet under into the year. Today, Jenn Adams puts a candy-colored lens over the hot pink horror sub-genre.

The color most associated with the horror genre is undoubtedly red. Not only the hue of blood and anger, it’s also the shade of the iconic devil – a masculine figure said to be the source of all evil. But in recent years a new color has emerged to evoke a different kind of rage. Hot pink has become the new tone of female-centered horror. An effeminate variation of blood red, this electric hue combines the strawberry tones of wholesome girlhood with the electric fires of female empowerment.

Zelda Williams uses this color to her advantage in her horror comedy Lisa Frankenstein. Quiet and reserved, Lisa...

"None of you have been honest with me about what happened out there..." Roadshow Films in Australia has unveiled an official trailer for their crime thriller sequel Force of Nature: The Dry 2, a follow-up to the hit film The Dry from a few years ago. Both of these star Eric Bana as a Federal Agent named Aaron Falk; in the first film, he unwittingly gets wrapped up in a murder mystery when he goes to visit his hometown. In this next one, five women participate in a hiking retreat but only four come out on the other side. Federal agents Falk and Cooper head into the Victorian mountains hoping to find their informant still alive. Eric Bana returns with Anna Torv, Deborra-Lee Furness, Robin McLeavy, Sisi Stringer, Lucy Ansell, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor, Richard Roxburgh, Tony Briggs, and Kenneth Radley. Another chilling crime movie / murder mystery to keep audiences hooked.

WME Independent licences crime thriller in Australia, UK, Italy.

IFC Films has acquired North American rights to The Dry follow-up and Australian crime thriller Force Of Nature, which WME Independent is continuing to sell at TIFF.

Roadshow Films has acquired the thriller for Australia and New Zealand, Leonine Studios for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Notorious Pictures for Italy and Spain, Sky for the UK, Three Lines for Benelux, M2 for Eastern Europe and Selmer for Scandinavia.

Bana reprises his role as federal agent Aaron Falk and reunites with The Dry director Robert Connolly on the story of agents who venture...

Click here to read the full article.

IFC Films has picked up the North American rights to the Australian crime thriller Force of Nature from director Robert Connolly.

The follow-up to Connolly’s box office The Dry reteams the director with Eric Bana, who reprises his role as Aaron Falk. Force of Nature is based on the book series by Jane Harper and captures five women taking part in a corporate hiking retreat where only four come out on the other side.

Federal Agents Falk and Carmen Cooper head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate and hopefully find their whistle-blowing informant, Alice Russell, alive.

“Eric Bana brought the character of Aaron Falk to life last year, intriguing audiences across the globe. Returning to this beautifully written true-crime universe with Eric, Robert, and the amazing team at Made Up Stories ensures all the ingredients that made The Dry a...

Director Robert Connolly and star Eric Bana are reuniting for a detective film based on the novel “Force of Nature,” set in the Australian wilderness.

Connolly and Bana were previously teamed on Australian smash hit movie “The Dry,” which like “Force of Nature” was adapted from a novel by Jane Harper. They also worked together on “Blueback,” a family-friendly, ecologically activist celebration of the natural world, adapted from a Tim Winton novella.

“Force of Nature” sees five women take part in a corporate hiking retreat, with only four coming out on the other side. Federal agents Aaron Falk (Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor) and Carmen Cooper (Jacqueline McKenzie) head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate, in hopes of finding their whistle-blowing informant still alive.

Production is now underway and will take place entirely within Victoria state, primarily in the Dandenong Ranges, Yarra Valley and the Otways.

The film is a Made Up Stories...

Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Prisoners of War,” the series finale of “Homeland.”

“Homeland” went out on a high note Sunday with a 66-minute final episode that was full of the elements that defined the series.

The episode, entitled “Prisoners of War,” (a nod to the Israeli series from Keshet on which this 20th Century TV one was based) was written by executive producers Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon and directed by executive producer Lesli Linka Glatter. It gave stars Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin a final outing that was worthy of their eight years in the spy trenches as Carrie Mathison and Saul Berenson, the CIA prodigy gone rogue and her faithful mentor, respectively.

“Prisoners of War” began with a glimpse of Carrie riding in the back of a car while the had a vision of her long-lost love, Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis...

John Brumpton in ‘Measure for Measure.’

One of Australia’s hardest working actors, John Brumpton rarely turns down offers – except when he is asked to work for free.

In the past year he has played a rapist in Stephen Johnson’s Western High Ground, a gunslinger in the second season of Mystery Road, Hugo Weaving’s protector in Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure and a worried dad in Jamie Helmer and Michael Leonard’s short The Diver, which premieres in competition in Venice.

IMDb lists 95 credits for the actor who made his screen debut in The Flying Doctors in 1989 and took up the profession after working as a surveyor and professional boxer.

“It’s a tough industry and surviving this long is an achievement,” he tells If. “My approach is: ‘Just be yourself.’”

He was inspired to become an actor by watching Bryan Brown in Stir, Breaker Morant and...

Netflix has released a trailer for you to watch for a badass-looking new martial arts sci-fi series called Wu Assassins and it looks like a blast! I love martial arts films and shows and this is gonna be good! It stars The Raid actor Iko Uwais and Summer Glau and this is the synopsis that was released:

He’s on a mission to save Chinatown, even if it means killing his own father. Kung Fu meets sci-fi meets Asian street food in Wu Assassins

Wu Assassins follows Kai Jin, a young Chinatown chef in present day San Francisco, as he becomes entangled with the Chinese Triad’s pursuit of deadly ancient powers known as the "Wu Xing." After an encounter with a mystical spirit, Kai reluctantly becomes the Wu Assassin, using his enhanced martial arts skills to recover supernatural powers from five modern day criminals threatening to use them to destroy the world.

Tony McNamara.

Us streaming service Hulu has commissioned The Great, a series created and scripted by Tony McNamara, which stars Elle Fanning as the 18th Century Russian Empress.

McNamara and Marian Macgowan, who produced his 2002 movie The Rage in Placid Lake, will be among the executive producers on the 10-part series produced by Mrc. Paramount has the rights in the rest of the world.

Last year Hulu ordered the pilot which was directed by Matt Shakman (Game Of Thrones) and filmed in Yorkshire. The plot was described as a genre-bending, anti-historical ride through Russia as Catherine rises from Catherine the Nothing to Catherine the Great.

Gwilym Lee will reprise his role as Grigory Orlov, the best friend and confidant of Russian emperor Peter (Nicholas Hoult). The cast includes Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge and Sacha Dhawan.

On Sunday McNamara and Deborah Davis, his co-writer on The Favourite,...

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday morning. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?” can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: What is the best horror film of the 21st century?

Charles Bramesco (@intothecrevasse), Freelancer for Rolling Stone, The Verge, Vulture

Everyone knows that the greatest Halloween film of all time is the 1962 nudie-cutie “House on Bare Mountain,” and my slavish devotion to giallo means that personal favorite horror movie of the new century is “Berberian Sound Studio”, but those are both answers to questions nobody asked. The finest horror film of the new millennium is “Cabin in the Woods”, both a dissertation on the history of the American scary movie and a chilling piece of work in its own right. With a fiendishly clever narrative hook,...

The ratings for Hell on Wheels have dropped lower and lower so AMC decided to end the series with season five. Will the fifth season's ratings be the show's best numbers yet or, will they drop lower. Will the execs regret not cancelling the show instead of giving it a final season? Stay tuned.A gritty period drama that takes place in the 1860s, Hell on Wheels revolves around the institutionalized greed and corruption behind the building of America's Transcontinental Railroad as loyalties are abandoned and the race between the Central Pacific and Union Pacific lines intensifies. The cast includes Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Christopher Heyerdahl, Robin McLeavy, Jennifer Ferrin, Phil Burke, Tim Guinee, Dohn Norwood, Reg Rogers, Byron Mann, A. Zhou, Tzi Ma, and MacKenzie Porter.Read More…...

The final nail is almost in the ground. AMC has released new previews for the series finale of Hell on Wheels. The historical drama chronicles the building of the first Transcontinental Railroad in the United States. The cast includes Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Christopher Heyerdahl, Robin McLeavy, Jennifer Ferrin, Phil Burke, Tim Guinee, Dohn Norwood, Reg Rogers, Byron Mann, A. Zhou, Tzi Ma, and MacKenzie Porter.Read More…...

What can you expect from the final episodes of Hell on Wheels? During a recent Q&A, showrunner John Wirth discussed the last season of the AMC series.

Set in the 1860s American West, the historical drama tells the story behind the construction of the country's first transcontinental railroad. The cast includes Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Christopher Heyerdahl, Robin McLeavy, and Jennifer Ferrin.

Read More…...

[caption id="attachment_49199" align="aligncenter" width="422"] Hell on Wheels TV show on AMC. Anson Mount as Cullen Bohannon. Hell on Wheels, season 5, episode 8. Photo Credit: Michelle Faye/AMC./caption]

Check out these pictures from Hell on Wheels' end of the line. The second half of the fifth and final season of the Hell on Wheels TV show premieres on AMC Saturday, June 11, 2016 at 9:00pm Et/Pt. The series tells the story of Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) and his work on America’s first transcontinental railroad.

The cast of Hell On Wheels includes: Mount, Colm Meaney, Christopher Heyerdahl, Robin McLeavy, Jennifer Ferrin, Phil Burke, Tim Guinee, Dohn Norwood, Reg Rogers, Byron Mann, and A. Zhou.

Read More…...

[caption id="attachment_48145" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Hell On Wheels TV show on AMC. Anson Mount as Cullen Bohannan. Photo Credit: Michelle Faye/AMC./caption]

The devil's in the details. Season 5B of the Hell On Wheels TV series on AMC premieres Saturday, June 11, 2016 at 9:00pm Et. While not cancelled, Hell On Wheels is ending. AMC says it is the "end of the line for Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) and his work on America’s first transcontinental railroad."

The last seven episodes, including the Hell On Wheels TV series finale, are careening down the track. The cast of Hell On Wheels includes: Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Christopher Heyerdahl, Robin McLeavy, Jennifer Ferrin, Phil Burke, Tim Guinee, Dohn Norwood, Reg Rogers, Byron Mann, A. Zhou, and Tzi Ma.

Read More…...

Sam Neill and Adrien Brody in Backtrack.

Australian psychological thriller.Backtrack, starring Adrien Brody and Sam Niell, will screen exclusively for one-week at Palace Cinemas from June 16-22.

The limited cinema release will be followed by digital and disc releases on August 3, a non-traditional pattern designed to make the film available to a broader audience across all channels without delay..

Producer Jamie Hilton said he was excited to bring Backtrack to Australian audiences, after selling the film in more than 60 countries..

"Adrien Brody gives a nuanced performance as an Australian psychiatrist, a fresh spin after so many of our stars playing Americans," he said..

"Michael Petroni and his all Australian team have crafted a world class film that is both intelligent and thrilling..

"We hope audiences will enjoy it across all release platforms and are delighted to partner with Palace Cinemas on the theatrical release...

Written and directed by Michael Petroni...

Besides turning up in a Wes Anderson production every now and then, Adrien Brody has been something of a ghost to mainstream moviegoers. I promise he’s still acting, just in movies that have struggled to find wider audiences. You know, like Dragon Blade or American Heist? *crickets* The quasi blockbuster hunk of yesteryear seems to be toying with indie experimentation as of late, picking Michael Petroni’s Backtrack as his latest attempt at underground success. Will this be the Adrien Brody vessel that floats to the top instead of sinking to a dark, watery grave? No, it won’t – but that’s not necessarily the actor’s fault.

The once Predator huntin’ Brody stars as Peter Bower, a psychiatrist who’s struggling to cope with his daughter Evie’s (Emma O’Farrell) unexpected death. Clientele come and go, but all Bower can do is replay the same gruesome scene on repeat,...

Stars: Adrien Brody, Sam Neill, Robin McLeavy, Bruce Spence, Jenni Baird, Anna Lise Phillips, Chloe Bayliss, Olga Miller, Michael Whalley, Malcolm Kennard, Matthew Sunderland, Suzie Steen | Written and Directed by Michael Petroni

Don’t look now, but a man begins to experience strange visions following the death of his child. After realising that the majority of his patients are ghosts (like a reverse Sixth Sense) psychologist Peter Bower (Adrien Brody) heads to his spooky old hometown in the hope that he can uncover the mystery behind it all.

Moody, intense Brody is the main draw for this low-key supernatural thriller, its effective Gothic vibe making it stand out from the chaff like Nicolas Cage’s Pay the Ghost (I say that with love) or the litany of 101 Films releases just like it (said with less love, but there’s still some). The level of class extends to the presence of one Sam Neill,...

Backtrack Trailer. Michael Petroni‘s Backtrack (2015) movie trailer stars Adrien Brody, Sam Neill and Robin McLeavy. Backtrack‘s plot synopsis: “Psychologist Peter Bower’s life is thrown into turmoil when he discovers that the patients he has been seeing are ghosts. Risking his own sanity, Peter delves into his past to uncover a terrifying secret which only he can put right. Backtrack is […]...

Michael Petroni’s upcoming film Backtrack (review) immediately caught our interest because of the cast, which features Adrien Brody, Sam Neill, and Robin McLeavy (The Loved Ones). We’ve been waiting on a release date, and today brings the information we’ve been… Continue Reading →

The post Adrien Brody and Sam Neill Will Backtrack in March appeared first on Dread Central.

On tap right now we have a clip and trailer for Backtrack (review) featuring Adrien Brody looking as pensive as humanly possible. Backtrack stars Academy Award winner Brody along with Sam Neill and Robin McLeavy. It is written and directed… Continue Reading →

The post We Backtrack and Come Up With a New Clip and Trailer appeared first on Dread Central.

Special mention: Häxan

Directed by Benjamin Christensen

Denmark / Sweden, 1922

Genre: Documentary

Häxan (a.k.a The Witches or Witchcraft Through The Ages) is a 1922 silent documentary about the history of witchcraft, told in a variety of styles, from illustrated slideshows to dramatized reenactments of alleged real-life events. Written and directed by Benjamin Christensen, and based partly on Christensen’s study of the Malleus Maleficarum, Häxan is a fine examination of how superstition and the misunderstanding of mental illness could lead to the hysteria of the witch-hunts. At the time, it was the most expensive Scandinavian film ever made, costing nearly 2 million Swedish krona. Although it won acclaim in Denmark and Sweden, the film was banned in the United States and heavily censored in other countries for what were considered, at that time, graphic depictions of torture, nudity, and sexual perversion. Depending on which version you’re watching, the commentary is...

Australian films looks like maintaining their impressive momentum at cinemas after the premieres last weekend of Oddball and Blinky Bill: The Movie.

Stuart McDonald.s comedy inspired by the true story of chicken farmer Swampy Marsh, who deploys his sheepdog.to protect an endangered Fairy Penguin population, starring Shane Jacobson, Sarah Snook, Coco Gillies.and Alan Tudyk,.rang up $1.07 million in its first four days on 289 screens, including limited previews. . Deane Taylor.s animated movie which features the voices of.Ryan Kwanten, Toni Collette, Robin McLeavy, David Wenham, Rufus Sewell, Richard Roxburgh, Deborah Mailman, Barry Otto and Barry Humphries, took $335,000 on 266 screens, with previews. . Both are positioned to cash in on the two weeks school vacation with.Oddball appealing to families and Blinky Bill drawing young folk and their parents or carers, so their figures should lift during the week. . Steve Kearney, who produced Oddball with Richard Keddie and Sheila Hanahan Taylor,...

The feature-length documentary with no sales agent has won Australia’s richest film award, the $71,000 (A$100,000) CinefestOZ Film Prize for homegrown films.

“Putuparri seems to work with audiences because the story touches people’s hearts,” producer John Moore told Screendaily. “We have had many people come up to us after screenings with a tear in their eye saying it has helped them understand what Aboriginal culture is all about … We are hoping that winning the prize will help us find an international sales agent who can get the film into some big international festivals.”

The CinefestOZ Film Festival has been running in Western Australia’s (Wa) Margaret River region for eight years and – especially since the introduction of the prize last year – has become a significant gathering place for Australian filmmakers.

The festival also provided an opportunity for state government agency ScreenWest to stage several industry events, including a day-long series of discussions about the importance of the...

The feature-length documentary with no sales agent has won Australia’s richest film award, the $71,000 (A$100,000) CinefestOZ Film Prize for homegrown films.

“Putuparri seems to work with audiences because the story touches people’s hearts,” producer John Moore told ScreenDaily.

“We have had many people come up to us after screenings with a tear in their eye saying it has helped them understand what Aboriginal culture is all about.

“We hope that winning the prize will help us find an international sales agent who can get the film into some big international festivals.”

The CinefestOZ Film Festival has been running in Western Australia’s (Wa) Margaret River region for eight years and – especially since the introduction of the prize last year – has become a significant gathering place for Australian filmmakers.

The festival also provided an opportunity for state government agency ScreenWest to stage several industry events, including a day-long series of discussions about the importance of the...

Adrian Brody in Backtrack..

.

Five Aussie films will vie for the $100,000 CinéfestOZ Film Prize, with two of the entries to have their Australian premiere at the Festival in August.

Backtrack, Now Add Honey, Pawno, Putuparri and the Rainmakers and The Daughter have each been selected out of over 30 submissions to make up the shortlist for the prize, now in its second year.

The winner will be announced at the Festival on Saturday 29th August, 2015.

The Film Prize is awarded to the producer of an Australian feature film (including feature documentaries) and last year was taken out by Robert Connolly for his family feature Paper Planes.

The film, which Connolly also directed, went on to enjoy huge success at the Australian box office and will be released by distribution companies Lionsgate in the UK and in North America by Eone.

The finalists for this year.s prize were determined by five...

Uninhibitedly delving into your past to help you contend with your current intricate emotions and conflicts can be a frightening, but equally liberating, experience. Not only is the troubled protagonist in the new independent mystery thriller, ‘Backtrack,’ forced to confront how the mistakes of his mistakes are haunting his present and dictating his future, but the film’s writer-director-producer, Michael Petroni, also enthrallingly returned to his native Australia to make the genre film. The filmmaker powerfully embraced filming in his native country, as he set out to explore how the painful decisions people make earlier in their lives harrowingly influence their later actions and mindsets in his latest gripping drama. ‘Backtrack’ [ Read More ]

The post Tribeca 2015 Interview: Michael Petroni, Robin McLeavy and George Shevtsov Talk Backtrack (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

A new distributor owned by one of America.s richest men has bought Us rights to writer-director Michael Petroni.s Backtrack after its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Saban Films put up a seven-figure guarantee for the psychological thriller which stars Adrien Brody, Sam Neill, Robin McLeavy and Bruce Spence . "We're thrilled at the sale to Saban; they made an aggressive offer which is testament to their strong belief in the film,. said See Pictures. Jamie Hilton, who produced with Antonia Barnard and Petroni. .A deal this size coming out of Tribeca is a great result and we'll go to Cannes with confidence as we screen the film for the first time to European and other international buyers." Brody plays Peter, a troubled psychotherapist who suffers from nightmares and eerie visions, which prompt him to revisit his remote hometown where he becomes obsessed with the need to solve a decades-old mystery.

Backtrack (2015) Film Review from the 14th Annual Tribeca Film Festival, a movie written & directed by Michael Petroni, starring Adrien Brody, Sam Neill, Robin McLeavy, Chloe Bayliss, George Shevtsov, Anna Lise Phillips, Olga Miller, Jenni Baird, Bruce Spence, Matthew Sunderland, Malcolm Kennard, Jesse Hyde, Alexander McGuire, and Emma O’Farrell. When it became clear that haunting memories of his deceased daughter, Evie (Emma O’Farrell), […]...

Saban Films is in final negotiations on a seven-figure deal to acquire U.S. rights to the psychological thriller “Backtrack,” which stars Oscar winner Adrien Brody, Sam Neill and Robin McLeavy, the company announced Friday. Written and directed by Michael Petroni (“The Book Thief”), the movie had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 18. The deal includes a theatrical commitment for “Backtrack,” which marks Saban’s second acquisition out of Tribeca, having purchased the North American distribution rights to Ben Palmer’s romantic comedy “Man Up” starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg. Also Read: SXSW: Adrien Brody on How 'Stone Barn.

The distributor has made a seven-figure offer for Us rights on the Tribeca Film Festival world premiere.

Adrien Brody, Sam Neill and Robin McLeavy star in the tale of a troubled psychotherapist who returns to face an old mystery in his home town.

Michael Petroni wrote and directed. Jamie Hilton, Antonia Barnard and Petroni produced and the executive producers include Compton Ross, Phil Hunt and David Evans.

Screen Australia finance Backtrack with Head Gear Films and Metrol Technology in association with Screen Nsw and Deluxe Australia.

Saban brokered the deal with CAA and Bankside Films and previously purchased Tribeca entry Man Up starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg.

Day Three at the Deadline Studio at the Tribeca Film Festival got off to a cool, quick start when Backtrack thesp Robin McLeavy and her director Michael Petroni arrived an hour early, clearly pumped for the premiere of their film tonight. More energy ensued when the young cast of King Jack—Charlie Plummer, Cory Nichols, Christian Madsen—piled into our studio for a fab photo sesh. Photographer Drew Wiedemann kept things moving in the afternoon when he shot the star-studded…...

Adrien Brody stars in the spine-tingling supernatural thriller Backtrack. The movie will have its World Premiere in the Midnight Section at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 18.

In the film, trouble psychotherapist Peter Bowers (Adrien Brody) is suffering from nightmares and eerie visions. When he uncovers a horrifying secret that all of his patients share, he is put on a course that takes him back to the small hometown he fled years ago. There he confronts his demons and unravels a mystery 20 years in the making.

Check out the new clip.

Starring Adrien Brody, Sam Neill, Robin McLeavy, Jenni Baird, & Bruce Spence, Backtrack is written & directed by Michael Petroni.

Petroni is an AFI alumnus. After winning AFI Screenplay of the Year for Till Human Voices Wake Us, he made it into a feature starring Guy Pearce and Helena Bonham Carter. Fox 2000 is currently producing Petroni’s script Afterlife with Kevin Lima directing.

Hell on Wheels, Season 4, Episode 12, “Thirteen Steps”

Written by Thomas Brady

Directed by Roxann Dawson

Airs Saturdays at 9pm (Et) on AMC

“I murdered that man for no other reason than to end the life of the man who took my son’s”

Anson Mount said in a recent interview that he sees Cullen Bohannon’s story ending with either him losing his soul and winning the world or vice versa. Considering the journey viewers have been on with him for the past four seasons with him, either option seems possible. The show has seen him seek revenge, go on the run, kill because he was trapped, fall in love, lose love, and become a father. We’ve also seen just how ruthless he can be when the situation calls for it. In many ways the railroad has turned him into a completely different person but really that’s what...

Though it has never garnered the ratings or awards clout of dramas like Breaking Bad or Mad Men, AMC’s transcontinental railroad drama Hell on Wheels has proven a reliable performer for the network throughout its four-season run. Now, AMC has opted to give the Anson Mount-led series the same treatment as those aforementioned prestige dramas, renewing it for a fifth and final season of 14 episodes, which will be split across the summers of 2015 and 2016.

The first seven episodes of Hell on Wheels‘ final ride will arrive next summer, at which point the show will break until the summer of 2016.

Given that AMC moved Hell on Wheels to Saturday nights (considered by many to be a graveyard slot) for its third season, there were those who didn’t expect the series to live nearly as long as it has. However, the drama’s fans followed it to Saturday, establishing...

Hell on Wheels, Episode 11, Season 4, “Bleeding Kansas”

Written by Michael C. Martin and Jimmy Mero

Directed by Seith Mann

Airs Saturdays at 9pm (Et) on AMC

“Congratulations, you ain’t dead”

AMC recently announced that next year’s season five of Hell on Wheels will be its last. And after this uneven fourth season, maybe it’s time. Everything that needs to be said has, and Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) our fascinating lead who has grown from a revenge-hungry former soldier into a dangerously driven man with a new wife and child. We have seen him loose and win back so much of his life that the time has come for us to say goodbye to this richly complex man.

Season four has had some great episodes, like the premiere, “The Elusive Eden”, “Elam Ferguson”, and its midseason finale, “Return to Hell”. But for the most part, the season has...

AMC has renewed Saturday drama Hell on Wheels for a fifth and final season. Seven episodes will air next summer and the final seven will run on the summer of 2016. The final three episodes of season four start airing tomorrow evening.

A gritty period drama that takes place in the 1860s, Hell on Wheels revolves around the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad and the various people connected with the Union Pacific Railroad. The cast includes Anson Mount, Common, Colm Meaney, Phil Burke, Christopher Heyerdahl, Robin McLeavy, Kasha Kropinski, Dohn Norwood, Jennifer Ferrin, Chelah Horsdal, MacKenzie Porter, Tayden Marks, and Jake Weber.

Here are the fifth season renewal details:

AMC Will Be Working On The Railroad For A Fifth And Final Season Of "Hell On Wheels"

Western Drama Has Thrived on Saturday Night, Attracting an Average of 3.4...

An Australian movie featuring Ryan Kwanten, Toni Collette, Robin McLeavy, David Wenham, Rufus Sewell, Richard Roxburgh, Deborah Mailman, Barry Otto and Barry Humphries sounds like a casting director.s dream.

All are lending their voices to The Blinky Bill Movie, Flying Bark Productions. CGI feature now in production in Sydney.

The script is by Fin Edquist, whose Maya the Bee Movie opens here on November 1. The co-directors are Deane Taylor (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Maya.s Alexs Stadermann.

Kwanten voices the title character with McLeavy as the koala.s best friend Nutsy. The plot sees the duo racing across the outback to find Blinky.s missing father and save his hometown.

Collette will voice emus Beryl and Cheryl with Sewell as The Cat, Humphries as Wombo the wombat, Wenham as Jacko the frill-necked lizard, Mailman as Blinky.s mother and Otto as the mayor of Green Patch.

.The Blinky Bill...

An Australian movie featuring Ryan Kwanten, Toni Collette, Robin McLeavy, David Wenham, Rufus Sewell, Richard Roxburgh, Deborah Mailman, Barry Otto and Barry Humphries sounds like a casting director.s dream.

All are lending their voices to The Blinky Bill Movie, Flying Bark Productions. CGI feature now in production in Sydney.

The script is by Fin Edquist, whose Maya the Bee Movie opens here on November 1, The co-directors are Deane Taylor (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Maya.s Alexs Stadermann.

Kwanten voices the title character with McLeavy as the koala.s best friend Nutsy. The plot sees the duo racing across the outback to find Blinky.s missing father and save his hometown.

Collette will voice emus Beryl and Cheryl, with Sewell as The Cat, Humphries as Wombo the wombat, Wenham as Jacko the frill-necked lizard, Mailman as Blinky.s mother and Otto as the mayor of Green Patch.

.The Blinky Bill...