My last two features (BLACKTOWN and BOXING DAY) were micro-budget, digital dramas, both set in modern, urban Australia. I had been searching for a broader canvas to work on when John Maynard (executive producer) sent me the script for LUCKY COUNTRY. I was instantly captivated by the lean, muscular structure of Andy Cox’s script, its rich, vividly drawn characters and its wonderfully wide-reaching thematic scope. I was extremely excited by the bold ambition and scale of the story. After my first read, I could immediately see a way to make it into the kind of classically entertaining, exciting and gripping “thrillers” that I had grown up with. At the heart of the story were two children, brother and sister, thrust into a world in which they have to make a terrifying series of choices. It was finally this resonant aspect of Andy’s story that grabbed hold of me and simply wouldn’t let go.
LUCKY COUNTRY gave me the opportunity to apply all that I had learnt about working fast and intuitively to something that was a distinctive genre film – a psychological thriller. I wanted to shoot in the same visceral and immediate style that I had developed over my last two films, and use that freedom and energy to take the audience on a compelling and thrilling ride. We have such a rich, vibrant history and such a diverse and visually stunning landscape that I think we’ve only scratched the surface of the kinds of stories we can tell to audiences both here and overseas. Making LUCKY COUNTRY has been an incredible creative experience and has allowed me the opportunity to continue to develop a body of work and evolve as a director.
Australia is not the country of my birth, but I’ve come to regard it as my home. Having moved from country to country most of my life I’ve finally found myself able to say with conviction that this is where I belong. And yet how can anyone claim to really ‘belong’ in one of most inhospitable terrains on earth.
It was after the chance find of an old settlers’ cabin in the bush that I imagined a place where comforts had been stripped away, where ‘life was not an adventure’, and into that situation put a man for whom it was an adventure and a dream – an idealistic father and his young family facing the stark reality of the bush, out of place, trying to make it their own, staving off the fear that we’re little more than topsoil on a land that fundamentally doesn’t want us here.
Each of the characters in LUCKY COUNTRY is searching for a home. Henry, Carver and Jimmy, a surrogate family after fighting a war; Sarah, consumed by the certainty of the place she left behind and the future it promised; Nat, hoping for any sign of God in the landscape. Even Connolly, planting the flag of future prosperity and nation building, yet wrong-footed by the impenetrable certainty of a young boy. And all the while the land walks to its own tune. Somewhere in all of this I’ve tried to find something about the essence of this remarkable country and the ideals and dreams that have come to shape it as a nation – the place I now call home.
Toby Wallace was born in 1995 in London and moved to Australia at age 8. Toby makes his film debut playing Tom, one of the leading roles in LUCKY COUNTRY. Toby has since been cast by Opera Australia in CAPULETI, performed mid-2009.
Aden Young has acquired an impressive filmography since his debut in Bruce Beresford’s BLACK ROBE. His early credits include BROKEN HIGHWAY which screened in Official Competition at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. His 1995 performance in METAL SKIN earned him a Film Critics Circle Best Actor Award and an AFI Best Actor nomination, as did his performance the following year in RIVER STREET. Other notable performances include COUSIN BETTE, opposite Jessica Lange; MOLOKAI with Kris Kristofferson, IN THE SHADOWS with Joley Richardson, LOVE AND WAR with Brenda
Fricker, SERENADES, COSI, HOTEL DE LOVE, and Mark Lee’s THE BET. Behind the camera he has written and directed the award winning shorts, THE ORDER and THE ROSE OF BA ZIZ and has collaborated with Paul Cox, as editor of his most recent films, SALVATION and KALUAPAPA HEAVEN.
In 2006 he toured the Sydney Theatre Company’s acclaimed New York run of HEDDA GABLER with Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett. Most recently Aden completed Bruce Beresford’s MAO’S LAST DANCER, due for release in 2009.
Hanna Mangan-Lawrence already has an impressive list of credits to her name since starting her career in 2005 with the short films SIMULATION 1201 and GALORE. Hanna’s stand out performance was in the short film SEXY THING that was accepted into the Cannes Film Festival. She was then cast as the lead role CHASELY in the horror feature ACOLYTES directed by Jon Hewitt that premiered at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival.
Hanna starred in THE SQUARE alongside Joel Edgerton as well as a feature role in the ABC TV series BED OF ROSES for which she received a 2008 AFI Nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Hanna has this year been nominated for a Filmink award for her performance in THE SQUARE for Best Australian Newcomer and the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding Talent TV Week Logie Award for her performance in BED OF ROSES.
Eamon Farren graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 2007. In his final year at NIDA, Eamon was cast in the role of POWELL in the muchanticipated Stephen Spielberg/Tom Hanks mini-series THE PACIFIC, to be released internationally in 2010. Eamon also played the role of ROO in BLESSED, directed by Ana Kokkinos and produced by Al Clark, due for release mid 2009.
Since NIDA, in 2008, Eamon worked for the Griffin Theatre Company as DONALD in THE KID, directed by Tom Healy; for Sydney Theatre Company in their education program of Brecht, with director Tom Wright; and in various play readings for STC, Griffin and Company B, Belvoir. Eamon is shortly to appear on stage for B Sharp Belvoir in their production of LADYBIRD, directed by Lee Lewis.
Pip Miller has worked extensively in theatre, television and film with credits including SLIDING DOORS and STAR WARS EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI. In the UK, Pip performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the Young Vic. West End roles include Valmont in LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES, and the Inspector in AN INSPECTOR CALLS.
Pip’s television appearances in Australia and the UK include roles in TO CATCH A KILLER, HAMMER BAY, ALL SAINTS, SUPERNOVA, THE BILL, TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION IV, GRAFTERS and HEARTBEAT. Other theatre credits include THE VERTICAL HOUR and THE CHERRY ORCHARD for Sydney Theatre Company, THE CLEAN HOUSE for Melbourne Theatre Company, THE GOAT and STUFF HAPPENS for Company B, as well as OTHELLO, TWELFTH NIGHT, AS YOU LIKE IT and HAMLET for Bell Shakespeare.
Neil Pigot is an accomplished actor who has worked across all areas of performance. He has appeared regularly with the Melbourne Theatre Company; most notably in the one-man play THOM PAIN, FROST/NIXON, DINNER, and A SINGLE ACT. Other recent theatre appearances include WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING at the Adelaide Arts Festival and a national tour of WEARY.
Neil has appeared in many of Australia’s best-loved TV shows including NEIGHBOURS, STINGERS, THE SECRET LIFE OF US, and BLUE HEELERS in the ongoing role of Inspector Falcon-Price. His comic flair has been showcased on BACK BERNER, THE GAMES and THE ADVENTURES OF LANO AND WOODLEY. Neil is also the presenter on the soon to be released Australian documentary, FOR VALOUR. Nominated for AFI and Green Room awards on numerous occasions, Neil’s recent film credits include BLESSED, THE CONDEMNED and THE DISH.
Helmut has had a varied career as actor, writer and director. His acting credits are extensive including several productions at the Melbourne Theatre Company; the Sydney Theatre Company, the Old Tote Theatre, Jane Street Theatre and the Belvoir Street Theatre. On film and television he has appeared in STORK, SHIRLEY THOMPSON VERSUS THE ALIENS, OUTBREAK OF LOVE and ROMEO & JULIET (ABC), I CAN’T GET STARTED, HOME AND AWAY, HOMICIDE, DIVISION FOUR, MATLOCK and the mini-series MELBA.
Recent roles include the Architect in MATRIX RELOADED and MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, THE ILLUSTRATED FAMILY DOCTOR, the Academy Award nominated THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO, HAPPY FEET and regular appearances on ALL SAINTS. Helmut is also author of a number of successful plays, including SHADOWS OF BLOOD (Nimrod St.), THE INCREDIBLE MIND BLOWING TRIAL OF JACK SMITH and CARLOTTA AND MAXIMILLIAN.
Robert Menzies has performed in an impressive list of theatre productions with every major Australian theatre company including the Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Queensland Theatre Company, Playbox/ Malthouse Theatre, and of course Company B.
Some of his more recent memorable performances were in SENECA’S OEDIPUS (STC), THREEPENNY OPERA (Company B), THE JOURNAL OF THE PLAGUE YEAR (Malthouse Theatre), JULIUS CAESAR (STC), and the double-billing REUNION/ A KIND OF ALASKA directed by Andrew Upton/ Cate Blanchett (STC). He most recently completed a successful run of the critically acclaimed WAR OF THE ROSES with the STC.
Robert has been nominated for two Green Room Awards, three Helpmann Awards and an AFI Award for his role in the feature film, THREE DOLLARS. Last year he shot the lead role in Rowan Woods’ bush telemovie for the ABC, 3 ACTS OF MURDER.
| Director | Kriv Stenders |
|---|---|
| Producer | Kristian Moliere |
| Writer | Andy Cox |
| Executive Producers | John Maynard Robert Connolly |
| Director of Photography | Jules O’Loughlin, acs |
| Production Designer | Lisa Stonham |
| Costume Designer | Mariot Kerr |
| Editor | Gabriella Muir |
| Music | Tom Schutzinger |
| Casting | Jane Norris Mullinars Consultants |
