LOCAL FILM OFF TO CANNES
A HORROR film shot in Geelong, starting homegrown talent Georgia Chara, will air as part of the Cannes Film Festival this week.
Living Space, shot in and around Geelong in 2016, is set to take the industry by storm, having also secured a spot at the Las Vegas Comic Con later this year.
Writer-director Steven Spiel said the feature will be shown at the “market site” at Cannes where international distributors go to watch and buy new films.
“It’s a massive accomplishment for our sales agent to get it in there,” he said.
“And Comic Con sells out a year in advance, so hopefully that will be a packed house. There we will also be holding a panel interview and after that is done we will do a section on the floor where people can chat to us and get autographs.”
The film has already secured distributors in Japan and Scandinavia with offers on the table for North America and Asia.
“We’re looking at using Cannes as our springboard for our sales agent to sell all of our territories we have left and make a decision on which distributor we go with for the US,” he said.
“It’s gone above and beyond our expectation ... I’ve already got a sequel in play so there is a franchise opportunity there.”
Set in the German countryside, Living Space is the story of Ashley and Brad, played by Chara and Leigh Scully, who are forced to take refuge in an isolated farmhouse. Things quickly turn strange when they discover the house holds a dark past and there are supernatural forces at work.
Spiel said he knew he wanted Chara for the role after seeing her work on Wentworth.
The production team also included special effects guru Steven Boyle who’s worked on blockbusters such as The Matrix, King Kong and The Hobbit.
Chara said it was exciting to see the film “blow up” after being shot in 12 days on a relatively small budget.
“Everything should be filmed in Geelong. We’re so lucky with the different locations we have to film — city, then beach, then country,” she said.
“We shot up at Barrabool Hills and a place in Newtown for the house and the Karingal building on Barrabool Road, Highton.”