Bright Star, the new film from Jane Campion starring Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw, has been selected for the Official Competition and is the first Australian film to be included in the Official Competition since since Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge in 2001.

From Simon de Bruyn at if Magazine -

“David Field’s controversial directorial debut, The Combination, has continued its strong box office performance, climbing to $420,000 on 34 screens over the weekend.

Distributed by the Australian Film Syndicate, The Combination took an average $4,483 on 34 screens, for a total second week taking of $152,406.

If the film had been released in 2008, its $420,724 total would already place it among the top 10 highest grossing Australian films of the year

“London 1818, a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet John Keats and the girl next door Fanny Brawne, an out-spoken student of high fashion. This unlikely pair began at odds, he thinking her a stylish minx, while she was unimpressed not only by his poetry but also by literature in general.
However, when Fanny heard that Keats was nursing his seriously ill younger brother, her efforts to help touched Keats and when she asked him to teach her about poetry he agreed. The poetry soon became a romantic remedy that worked not only to sort their differences but also to fuel an impassioned love affair.”

From Simon de Bruyn at IF Magazine -

“The second directorial effort by Matthew Newton, Three Blind Mice, has picked up the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at the London Film Festival.

The film screened at both the Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals earlier this year, and received a commendation from the Gillian Armstrong-lead jury in the latters inaugural competition.

Last week there were some mutters of surprise when the film received no recognition in the 2008 AFI Award nominations.

Three Blind Mice is a fast-paced comedy-drama about three naval officers on shore leave in Sydney, the night before they are due to ship out for Iraq. Newton wrote, directed and acted in the film, which is his second as writer-director after his little seen 2004 debut Right Here Right Now.

The film also screened in the discovery section at the Toronto International Film Festival, screens this week at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles, and will also screen to buyers at this years American Film Market. Odins Eye Entertainment is handling international sales.

Newton, who is currently playing one of the leads, Terry Clark, in the second series of Underbelly, has two more scripts in development, People People and The Dotted Line.”

From Simon de Bruyn – IF Magazine
“The second feature from criminal lawyer turned writer-director Chris Nyst opened in 36 cinemas across the country yesterday, following a nifty marketing campaign orchestrated by the producers’ own distribution company Pictureshow Distribution.
Nyst, who built a career as one of Queensland’s leading criminal lawyers before turning his hand to writing – first books, then films – made his screenwriting debut in 2004 with Gettin’ Square. He made his directorial debut with this second film, Crooked Business.

After deciding to self-distribute Crooked Business, he formed Pictureshow Distribution with the film’s executive producer Jason Murakami, and they worked closely with producer Scott Corfield and associate producer Cherie Orevich to devise a marketing campaign that resonated with their target audience.”