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“’Tis the night, the night of the grave’s delight.” So begins Nicholas Verso’s latest feature film, a phantasmal, surreal poem set during one youth’s Halloween night. Viewers who recall his remarkable short film The Last Time I Saw Richard will anticipate the dreamlike atmosphere and dark fantasy at play here, but this story goes beyond fable. Verso evokes an immersive spirit realm through which emerges a tale of lost youth, lost hope, and a boy seeking to reclaim his soul.

The film begins with Corey celebrating a final Halloween with his reckless high school companions. When their crude antics become too much for him, he wanders the night alone, eventually running into Jonah, his long-lost childhood friend. Jonah convinces him to enter the imaginary world that they created in their youth, and leads him on a journey through their old haunts—a creepy mansion, night-shrouded school halls—but the farther they go,...

John Molloy is the head of production at Mushroom Pictures, working out of the company's Melbourne office. After boffo success with 'Molly' earlier in the year, he's now gearing up for the release of his latest project as producer: Nicholas Verso's fantasy-tinged teen drama 'Boys in the Trees'.

When did you meet the director, Nicholas Verso? I know you produced his short..

That was the first time we worked together, on The Last Time I Saw Richard (2014), but I'd seen some of Nicholas's short films before that. Nic and I started working on Boys in the Trees and then decided to make The Last Time I Saw Richard as a way of helping us put the feature together. A proof of our relationship and also showing Nicholas' style, so that when we were out talking about the feature we had something very concrete that people could hold on to.

Boys in the Trees.

Tiff's Discovery program is where first and second time feature directors from around the world can strut their stuff.

.Toronto audiences first found Christopher Nolan, Lynne Ramsay and Steve McQueen in our Discovery section,. said the Artistic Director of Tiff, Cameron Bailey. .We can't wait to introduce a new generation of vibrant, original voices in cinema..

This year the Discovery line-up includes two Aussie titles: Joe Cinque.s Consolation, directed by Sotiris Dounoukos, and Boys in the Trees, directed by Nicholas Verso.

Joe Cinque.s Consolation, which.Titan View will release in cinemas across Australia on October 13, comes to Tiff after premiering at this month's Melbourne International Film Festival.

Based on Helen Garner's book about the headline-grabbing 1997 murder case, the drama chronicles how the romantic relationship between two Australian law students turns deadly.

The film's selection marks Dounoukos. return to the festival. In 2014, he was...

After starring in Martin Scorsese.s Hugo, Steven Spielberg.s Lincoln and Tim Burton.s Dark Shadows, Gulliver McGrath is playing his first co-lead role in an Australian feature.

Not bad for the Aussie actor who turned 17 last month.

In Boys in the Trees McGrath and Toby Wallace (Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of Inxs, Parer.s War) are playing teenagers who embark on a surreal journey on Halloween night in 1997.

The feature debut of writer-director Nicholas Verso, it starts a five-week shoot in Adelaide on Monday, funded by the South Australian Film Corp., Mushroom Pictures and private investors.

The producer is Mushroom Pictures. John Molloy with Hedone Productions. Kate Croser and Sandy Cameron as co-producers.

Verso wrote the feature in 2011 and then went through the Afc.s Springboard, which funded his short The Last Time I Saw Richard, which was named best short fiction film at the Aacta Awards.

Rising young actors who.ve appeared in Unbroken, The Water Diviner, Deadline Gallipoli, Anzac Girls and The Code are among the finalists for the 7th annual Heath Ledger Scholarship.

In all 20 are in contention for the prize which includes two round-trip flights to L.A., a two-year scholarship at the Stella Adler Academy, $5,000 worth of visa and immigration services and $10,000 cash.

Presented by Australians in Film, the winner will be announced in Los Angeles on June 1. Two runners up will each receive a round-trip ticket to La and a scholarship to attend masterclasses at Screenwise Film & TV School for actors in Sydney.

Previous recipients were Cody Fern (The Last Time I Saw Richard), James Mackay (The Dressmaker, The Tomorrow People), Anna McGahan (Anzac Girls, House Husbands), Ryan Corr (The Water Diviner, Wolf Creek 2), Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows, The Rewrite) and Oliver Ackland (Party Tricks, Blinder).

The finalists were selected...

Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Kieran Darcy-Smith and Vince Vaughn are among the judges for this year.s Heath Ledger Scholarship.

The winner, who will be named in early June, will get $US10,000 in cash and a two-year scholarship at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre in Los Angeles, among other prizes.

Previous recipients were Cody Fern (The Last Time I Saw Richard), James Mackay (The Dressmaker, The Tomorrow People), Anna McGahan (Anzac Girls, House Husbands), Ryan Corr (The Water Diviner, Wolf Creek 2), Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows, The Rewrite) and Oliver Ackland (Party Tricks, Blinder).

Presented by Australians in Film (AiF) , the award was created in 2008 to foster the education and career development of Australian actors in the Us.

The judging panel includes Byrne (Damages, The Internship, Neighbors), Mendelsohn (Bloodline, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Dark Knight Rises), director Darcy-Smith (Wish You Were Here, By Way of Helena) and Vaughn (True Detective,...

If it were meant as a calling card project - as short films most often are these days - then you can consider Nicholas Verso's The Last Time I Saw Richard a resounding success. Winner of an Australian Academy Award the film has launched Verso onwards towards his debut feature - scheduled to shoot later this year - and, now freshly available online, has been selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick and is currently featured on Short Of The Week. And now that it's online you can see that whatever it did or did not do to push Verso's career forward it's just a damn good film.In 1995, Jonah is proud to be the loner at the teen mental health clinic. But when a new...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Screen Australia today announced nearly $535,000 in development funding for 18 features including projects set in Canada, inner-city Berlin, Mexico City, Vietnam, the Middle East and medieval England.

The genres range from family and musical to comedy, drama, thriller, sci-fi and action. The funding will support eight new projects as well as further assistance for 10 titles.

Through its Talent Escalator programs, the agency is placing three producers in professional posts to improve their direct industry experience and supporting short film director Nicholas Verso in the next stage of his professional development.

Screen Australia.s Head of Production Sally Caplan said, .In this round it is encouraging to see such a great range of Australian stories receive support from filmmakers at different levels, some with international creative partners and several with international focus.

"We are also pleased to be able to support emerging local talent with international placements that will increase our industry...

Australians in Film has announced Cody Fern as the winner of the 6th Annual Heath Ledger Scholarship. He was named at an invitation-only fundraising dinner on Thursday, June 12 in Los Angeles. Also read: Heath Ledger Scholarship Finalists Showcase the Best of Young Australian Talent Fern is from the small Australian mining town of Southern Cross, becoming the first of his family to attend University, where he achieved honors status. He has appeared in numerous plays, including National Theatre of Great Britain's “War Horse,” and took the lead role in the multiple-award-winning short film, “The Last Time I Saw Richard.” See photos: 18 Comedians.

James Mackay with Kim Ledger

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The pool of talented young Australian actors is so vast the judges of the Heath Ledger Scholarship presented by Australians in Film have named 20 finalists this year, up from the usual 15.

That.s a real stamp of approval considering the calibre of the judges: Collin Farrell, Miranda Otto, directors Gregor Jordan and Robert Luketic, casting director Ann Fay (Anzac Girls, Packed to the Rafters) and Randi Hiller, VP of feature casting at Walt Disney Studios.

The winner of the sixth annual scholarship, which fosters the education and career development of young Australian actors in the Us, will be announced in Los Angeles on June 12.

The prizes include $10,000 cash, a two year scholarship at Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre in Los Angeles, two return flights to La. including attendance at the announcement ceremony and a second flight when he or she is ready to break into the market,...

Morrissey Molloy Entertainment, Garry Charny.s Spotted Turquoise Films and Michael Gudinski.s Mushroom Pictures have unveiled a joint venture which aims to produce at least six films.

The first two projects are Boys in the Trees, a drama starring Harrison Gilbertson and Alice Englert, and Wake Up Dead, which has Alex Russell and Luke Ford attached.

.We each bring different skills and strong national and international contacts to the joint venture,. Charny tells If. The .matchmaker. was Maura Fay casting agent Marianne Jade, who is casting both films.

"She suggested we get together for a cup of coffee and we realised we were each producing a film we liked and respected,. said Molloy, who is developing Boys in the Trees for the co-venture between Mushroom and Morrissey Molloy.

Wake Up Dead is the first Australian film from Spotted Turquoise. Charny produced Ray Lawrence.s Jindabyne in his former role as head of April Films.

Arclight Films has taken international sales rights to Australian drama Violet Town and will launch the project at the European Film Market in Berlin.

Australian films are usually tough to pre-sell but the lead cast of Guy Pearce, Rosamund Pike and German actor Sebastian Koch will give the film a solid profile internationally.

Mark Joffe is set to direct the drama adapted from Steven Carroll's novel The Art Of The Engine Driver, a 1957-set tale about a couple who attend a neighbour.s New Year.s Eve party where buried secrets are revealed.

Shooting is due to start in Melbourne and regional Victoria in the last quarter of this year. Studiocanal has the Australian rights. The producers are Morrissey Molloy Entertainment.s John Molloy, Essential Media and Entertainment.s Ian Collie and Joffe.

Koch played the villain in A Good Day to Die Hard and his other credits include The Weekend,...

The Great Gatsby dominated. Aacta.s technical and short films awards today, collecting gongs in all six craft categories for which it was nominated, plus the Aacta award for outstanding achievement in visual effects.

The co-production Top of the Lake bagged two TV trophies while Matchbox Pictures. Nowhere Boys, created by Tony Ayres, was named best children.s TV series.

The TV documentary prize went to Redesign My Brain, which explores the revolutionary new science of brain plasticity, written and directed by Paul Scott and produced by Isabel Perez and Scott for ABC TV.

Writer-director Nick Verso's The Last Time I Saw Richard, produced by John Molloy, was honoured as best short fiction film. Developed and funded through Screen Australia.s Springboard program, the short is a prequel to the upcoming feature film Boys In The Trees, tracing the friendship between two teenagers in a mental health clinic in...

Tickets are selling fast for the 46th Annual Awgie Awards, to be held in Melbourne on October 4.

To be hosted by writer, comedian and singer Sammy J, the ceremony will honour the achievements made by Australian writers for performance. The Awgie Awards are the only Australian awards judged solely by writers on the basis of the script . the writer's intention . rather than the finished production.

"The Awgies are the highlight of the year for us and a unique chance to celebrate the oft-unsung but stellar work created by Australian writers of the script," says Awg.s President and Academy Award nominee Jan Sardi..

.It.s a night that really just celebrates the importance of story and storytelling. And that.s what sets us apart from other animals in the end, the ability to tell stories..

Sardi says the slate of nominated work is once again a strong one.

.It.s...

The Aacta Awards Screenings will be held in Sydney at Event Cinemas Bondi Junction and in Melbourne at The Backlot Studios Southbank from October 9-30.

In contention are 14 feature films, four animated shorts and four fiction shorts. Nominees for the feature film, television and documentary categories will be announced later this year. The 3rd Aacta Awards will be staged in Sydney in January.

The 14 features are 100 Bloody Acres, Adoration, Blinder, Dead Europe, Drift, Goddess, The Great Gatsby, Mystery Road, Patrick, Return to Nim's Island, The Rocket, Satellite Boy, Save Your Legs! and Tim Winton.s The Turning.

The nominees for animated short are A Cautionary Tail (Pauline Piper, Simon Rippingale), Butterflies (Warwick Burton, Isabel Peppard), The Dukes of Bröxstônia- Mojo (Stu Connolly) and Woody (Stuart Bowen, Jodi Matterson).

Nominees for best fiction short are The Last Time I Saw Richard ( John Molloy, Nicholas Verso), Perception (Lyn Norfor, Miranda Nation), Record (David Lyons,...

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) today announced the nominees for Best Short Animation and Best Short Fiction Film at the 3rd Aacta Awards.

The Academy also revealed 15 feature films that are eligible for the awards, which will be presented in Sydney next January.

The nominees for Best Short Animation are:

Cautionary Tail. Pauline Piper, Simon Rippingale Butterflies. Warwick Burton, Isabel Peppard The Dukes of Bröxstônia . Mojo. Stu Connolly Woody. Stuart Bowen, Jodi Matterson

In contention for Best Short Fiction Film are:

The Last Time I Saw Richard. John Molloy, Nicholas Verso Perception. Lyn Norfor, Miranda Nation Record. David Lyons, Dave Szamet Tau Seru (Small Yellow Field). Rodd Rathjen Juries of industry professionals will decide the nominees in these categories. Members of the AFI and Aacta will vote to decide the winners after the Aacta Awards Screenings. The 15 feature films are:

100 Bloody Acres Adoration Around The Block...