AUSTRALIAN PREMIERES FOR TOP END WEDDING, ANIMALS
AT ADL FILM FEST POP UP EVENT
MIRANDA TAPSELL, WAYNE BLAIR, HUW HIGGINSON TO ATTEND
Made with support of the internationally renowned Adelaide Film Fest FUND, the hotly anticipated Australian titles TOP END WEDDING and ANIMALS are set to have their Australian Premieres at a celebratory Adelaide Film Fest Pop Up Event across 5 – 7 April in what will be a weekend of weddings, parties…and Q&As.
Star and co-writer of Top End Wedding, Miranda Tapsell (The Sapphires), actor Huw Higginson (Janet King, The Bill) and director Wayne Blair (The Sapphires), are confirmed to walk the red carpet for their Australian Premiere event, with additional guests still to be announced.
Both films will premiere with a red carpet gala screening and after party, with a screening and Q&A the day following their premieres.
The films are arriving direct from their Sundance Film Festival World Premieres where they were received with great critical and audience acclaim. They screened as two of a record six Australian films in Sundance selection, four of which received local funding from both Adelaide Film Fest Fund and the SAFC, with The Nightingale and I Am Mother screened at the October 2018 ADL Film Fest.
The Pop Up event gets underway on the evening of Friday 5 April with the premiere and after party for Animals, an official Australian/Irish co-production between Closer Productions and Vico Films. Set in Dublin, Animals stars Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat as two deliciously wild flatmates, whose decade long friendship is strained when one falls in love and begins to question what is really hindering her aspirations.
ANIMALS
Directed by award-winning South Australian filmmaker Sophie Hyde (52 Tuesdays), Animals is adapted from the acclaimed novel by Emma Jane Unsworth. Produced by Sarah Brocklehurst, Rebecca Summerton, Cormac Fox and Sophie Hyde.
In its four star review out of Sundance, The Guardian called the film “a wonderful, utterly lived-in film about two women at a crossroads, one that attendees should be breathlessly, excitedly discussing around town, urging everyone else to see immediately…Echoes of Trainwreck, Bridesmaids and Fleabag only serve to remind us of how unconventional and defiant Animals is in comparison.
Saturday 6 April is time for a big screen wedding you will never forget as Adelaide couple Lauren (the film’s co-writer and star Miranda Tapsell) and Ned (Gwilym Lee, currently on screen as Brian May in Bohemian Rhapsody) have just ten days to find Lauren’s mother who has gone AWOL somewhere in the remote far north of Australia, reunite her parents and pull off their dream wedding.
TOP END WEDDING
On track to be the Australian feel-good film of the year, Top End Wedding is directed by Wayne Blair (The Sapphires) and features a stellar ensemble cast including AACTA Award nominee Kerry Fox (Bright Star, Cloudstreet), Ursula Yovich (The Code, Australia), Shari Sebbens (Thor: Ragnarok, The Sapphires), Huw Higginson, Elaine Crombie (Top of The Lake, Black Comedy) and Dalara Williams (Get Krak!n, Black Comedy). Top End Wedding is produced by Rosemary Blight and Kylie du Fresne for Goalpost Pictures and South Australian Kate Croser for KOJO.
The ADL Film Fest FUND was the first of its kind in Australia and remains one of the few in the world. The more than 100 projects funded to date have won major awards at all of the world’s leading film festivals. Most recently, the 2018 ADL Film Fest opened with international stars Armie Hammer, Dev Patel and Tilda Cobham-Hervey on the red carpet for the premiere screening of FUND title Hotel Mumbai. The festival then saw the Australian premieres of FUND titles including Jennifer Kent’s Venice Film Festival winner The Nightingale and Erica Glynn’s documentary She Who Must Be Loved, which had its International Premiere at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival. Other recent FUND titles include I Am Mother, Sweet Country, Charlie’s Country, Ali’s Wedding, 52 Tuesdays, Girl Asleep, Snowtown and Tracks.
The Adelaide Film Festival acknowledges the support of The Government of South Australia through The Department of Industry and Skills and the support of the Australian federal government through Screen Australia.
QUOTES ATTRIBUTABLE TO:
Minister for Industry and Skills – Hon. David Pisoni MP
“I’m very excited to be sharing the Australian premieres of two feature movies with local audiences at this special ‘pop up’ event. The Adelaide Film Festival Fund continues to invest in an incredible slate of films – four of which have just been hailed by critics at the influential Sundance Film Festival. This weekend will be a celebration of South Australian films in a global context with local investment playing a key role in helping support that success.”
Mat Kesting, CEO and Creative Director, Adelaide Film Festival:
“Adelaide Film Festival is thrilled to present the Australian premieres of Sophie Hyde’s Animals and Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, giving audiences the chance to be among the first in the world to see these fine works.
Diverse in their nature, both films are immensely compelling and entertaining films we encourage Adelaide audiences to embrace at the ADL Film Fest April POP UP.”
Animals Director, Sophie Hyde, Closer Productions:
“I’m so excited to show Animals at home. We had a wild time shooting the film in Dublin and a dedicated, focused time squirrelling away in post in SA. It was a huge pleasure to show the film at Sundance and now to be part of a pop up event for the Adelaide Film Festival who have supported all of our major projects and have been wonderful creative partners. We also love a home town crowd.”
Top End Wedding Producer, Kojo’s Kate Croser:
“After such a wonderful audience reaction to Top End Wedding at Sundance, it’s fantastic to have our Australian premiere in Adelaide where we shot the opening of the film. Most of our key crew are also from Adelaide.”
Top End Wedding Producer, Goalpost Pictures’ Rosemary Blight:
“Adelaide Film Festival have been a wonderful partner with us on Top End Wedding and we are very grateful for their continued support for the film.”
ADL FILM FEST POP UP EVENT – SCHEDULE
FRI 5 APRIL
6.30pm Animals – Australian Premiere + Gala After Party
SAT 6 APRIL
3.15pm Animals – Q&A screening
6.30pm TOP End Wedding – Australian Premiere + Gala After Party
SUN 7 APRIL
2.00pm TOP End Wedding – Q&A screening
All screenings will take place at GU FILM HOUSE, 128 Hindley St
Ticket Prices:
Gala Australia Premiere events – screening + after party $37 / $32
Q&A screenings $20/ $16
Pop Up Pass (both Gala events) $60
Top End Wedding will be released nationally through Universal Pictures on May 2.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Media Contact: Alicia Brescianini, ABCG Film. Ph: 0400 225 603 e: [email protected]
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ANIMALS – SYNOPSIS
After a decade of partying, Laura and Tyler’s friendship is strained when Laura falls in love. But what is really stopping her from fulfilling her dreams?
A fierce and unapologetic celebration of female friendship, ANIMALS is an intimate, funny and bittersweet examination of the challenges of turning talent into action, and being a modern woman, with faults, longings and competing desires.
Production credit: Animals is an Official Australian/Irish Co-production by Closer Productions and Vico Films. Principal production investment from Screen Australia and Screen Ireland. Financed with support from Adelaide Film Festival and South Australian Film Corporation.
TOP END WEDDING – SYNOPSIS
Engaged and in love, Lauren and Ned have just ten days to find Lauren’s mother who has gone AWOL somewhere in the Northern Territory, reunite her parents and pull off their dream Top End Wedding. As the couple travel through the wild beauty of Australia’s Northern Territory landscapes they meet unforgettable characters, find fulfilment and Lauren learns why her mother had to leave to find home.
Production Credit: Top End Wedding is a Goalpost Pictures Australia production in association with Tapsell, Tyler & Condie and Kojo Entertainment. Principal production investment from Screen Austra-lia. Financed with support from South Australian Film Corporation with Adelaide Film Festi-val. Supported by Tourism NT.
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