poledriver
Bluelighter
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This low budget Aussie horror movie is taking the world by storm
AN Australian horror film shot in 11 days with no budget bigger than the director’s credit card is making waves in the US.
Observance — directed by Sydney filmmaker Joseph Sims-Dennett — has been a critical hit among Hollywood’s movers and shakers after premiering at “the Cannes of genre film festivals” — Fantasia in Montreal.
With industry bible The Hollywood Reporter calling it “one of the most chilling (movie) experiences” of the year, the film looks set to go the way of homegrown horror success stories The Babadook and Wyrmwood.
For 26-year-old Sims-Dennett, the response to the movie following the world debut at Fantasia has been “mind blowing” with all screenings of the film selling out and “lines around the block”.
“The audience was incredible and it’s certainly taken it to the next level,” he said.
“The reviews have caught the interest of some big players and we were flown to LA and now to New York City to meet with companies I could only have dreamt of meeting with.
“It’s crazy how this can happen, but these guys seem to be genuinely interesting in finding emerging filmmakers and they want to make director-driven projects, which is very reassuring.”
Currently in negotiations to secure a North American distribution deal, major players such as The Weinstein Company — run by Hollywood heavyweights Bob and Harvey Weinstein — have been circling the project along with Brandon Cronenberg, director and son of filmmaker David Cronenberg.
t’s not surprising, given Bloody Disgusting went as far to compare Sims-Dennett’s style to Roman Polanski and named Observance as “easily one of the best and most unique works of horror coming out this year”.
The movie — which stars Brendan Cowell and Lindsay Farris — follows a private investigator grieving the death of his young son who is forced to remain in a possibly haunted apartment on a stake out.
The plot was inspired by a time of unemployment in Sims-Dennett and his co-writer and co-producer Josh Zammit’s life where “it felt as if we weren’t in control of our lives”.
Observance is just the latest Australian genre film to find acclaim internationally while struggling to get a footing in the local market.
Outback zombie Apocalypse flick Wyrmwood received a warm — and bloody — welcome in markets such as the UK and Europe, but struggled to find a wide cinematic release in Australia until ‘one-night only’ screenings sold out nationwide on Friday the 13th.
Several cinema chains such as Dendy Newtown then extended the theatrical run for several weeks.
Cont -
http://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...e-world-by-storm/story-e6frfmw0-1227475701869
AN Australian horror film shot in 11 days with no budget bigger than the director’s credit card is making waves in the US.
Observance — directed by Sydney filmmaker Joseph Sims-Dennett — has been a critical hit among Hollywood’s movers and shakers after premiering at “the Cannes of genre film festivals” — Fantasia in Montreal.
With industry bible The Hollywood Reporter calling it “one of the most chilling (movie) experiences” of the year, the film looks set to go the way of homegrown horror success stories The Babadook and Wyrmwood.
For 26-year-old Sims-Dennett, the response to the movie following the world debut at Fantasia has been “mind blowing” with all screenings of the film selling out and “lines around the block”.
“The audience was incredible and it’s certainly taken it to the next level,” he said.
“The reviews have caught the interest of some big players and we were flown to LA and now to New York City to meet with companies I could only have dreamt of meeting with.
“It’s crazy how this can happen, but these guys seem to be genuinely interesting in finding emerging filmmakers and they want to make director-driven projects, which is very reassuring.”
Currently in negotiations to secure a North American distribution deal, major players such as The Weinstein Company — run by Hollywood heavyweights Bob and Harvey Weinstein — have been circling the project along with Brandon Cronenberg, director and son of filmmaker David Cronenberg.
t’s not surprising, given Bloody Disgusting went as far to compare Sims-Dennett’s style to Roman Polanski and named Observance as “easily one of the best and most unique works of horror coming out this year”.
The movie — which stars Brendan Cowell and Lindsay Farris — follows a private investigator grieving the death of his young son who is forced to remain in a possibly haunted apartment on a stake out.
The plot was inspired by a time of unemployment in Sims-Dennett and his co-writer and co-producer Josh Zammit’s life where “it felt as if we weren’t in control of our lives”.
Observance is just the latest Australian genre film to find acclaim internationally while struggling to get a footing in the local market.
Outback zombie Apocalypse flick Wyrmwood received a warm — and bloody — welcome in markets such as the UK and Europe, but struggled to find a wide cinematic release in Australia until ‘one-night only’ screenings sold out nationwide on Friday the 13th.
Several cinema chains such as Dendy Newtown then extended the theatrical run for several weeks.
Cont -
http://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...e-world-by-storm/story-e6frfmw0-1227475701869