Two Screen NSW-supported films selected for South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) 2021
Two ground-breaking Screen NSW-supported films selected for World Premieres at SXSW Festival
Director Leah Purcell’s hotly anticipated feature film The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson will have its world premiere in the Spotlight Narrative section and Director Gracie Otto’s feature documentary Under the Volcano will have its world premiere in the 24 Beats Per Second section at the SXSW Festival.
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, based on the Henry Lawson short story and re-imagined for a modern audience by Leah Purcell, tells the story of a woman and her stubborn determination to protect her family from the harshness of a life in 1893, Snowy Mountains.
Filmed on location in Adaminaby, Snowy Mountains, the Monaro Plains and in Western Sydney, The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson is the feature adaptation of Leah Purcell’s successful stage play of the same name. Leah Purcell directs and stars in the film and wrote the screenplay, and is joined in the cast by Rob Collins, Sam Reid, Jessica de Gouw, Malachi Dower-Roberts, Tony Cogin and Harry Greenwood.
The film is produced by Bain Stewart for Oombarra Productions and David Jowsey, Angela Littlejohn and Greer Simpkin for Bunya Productions. Roadshow Films will distribute the film in Australia and New Zealand. Memento Films International is handling international sales. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screen NSW.
Visually irresistible and underpinned by a thumping soundtrack, Gracie Otto’s Under the Volcano tells the story of Sir George Martin’s legendary custom-built recording space, Air Studios on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, from its inception in 1979 until its destruction by a volcanic eruption in 1989. Interwoven with revealing interviews, private footage and photographs, this is an epic and thrilling musical tale and reveals the truth behind monumental events in music history and mega-hits, including the break-up of The Police, the reunion of The Rolling Stones, and the reinvigoration of Paul McCartney after the tragic murder of John Lennon.
Under the Volcano was written by Ian Shadwell, Cody Greenwood, and Gracie Otto, with Greenwood’s Rush Films producing the documentary.
The Festival will be held online this year, and will stream out of the US from 16 – 20 March.
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View the SXSW program now.
Image 1: Leah Purcell. Still from The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson. Image 2: Sir George Martin at AIR Studios Montserrat. Still from Under the Volcano. Photo by Danny Quatrochi.