Sun shines on co-prod
Auds may well be in tears just minutes into the film, a deeply moving study of emotionally scarred adults who were illegally deported as children to Australia from Britain in the 1940s and 50s […] will make a strong claim for arthouse berths everywhere.
Variety on the UK/Australia co-production Oranges and Sunshine.
The film just premiered at Pusan, and will be released by Icon in 2011.
Why just art-house berths? is there no way that film trade professionals can reach the general public with a powerful film? In the golden days, Warners could market social issues, Columbia could market Capra idealism, MGM could have a hit covering truly touchy topics with Blossoms in the Dust.
Today, are art house marketers unduly mired in their media studies backgrounds?
David, they COULD, but they WON’T. Unfortunately, that makes all the difference!
“Art House” berths huh? Well after years of trying, my team and I had two set-up features of a “commercial” material fall over due to circumstances beyond our control. So we decided to make a movie without any government help. Everybody worked on deferred and we got it done. It took us 6 years in waiting for down-time for sound mix’s etc, but it came out ok. But it’s a subject that is “uncomfortable”. The movie poses the question “What do you say to your spouse when they ask you why arn’t you bonking any more?”
Like, here’s the logline: “A happily married middle aged couple who live with their kids discover the passion has gone. Rather than split up, they agree to date others – not friends or relatives while still living together as best friends. So the story tracks the hubby as he sets out on a mission to find a girlfriend – without lying!” No, not relaxed entertainment that helps audiences escape is it.
This is a subject that affects the world, and yet all the 16 local distributors & film fests who screened it said they would not stay in business if they took it on. In summary, what came out is the fact that audiences everywhere have had their expectancies raised by obvious adrenalyn-charging scenarios that cost huge budgets. So to have distributors screen “art house” fare, they’d need to be subsidised like opera is. Audiences want what I call “Brain Candy”.
So the lesson for our stoic cast and crew is, before you climb the art house mountain, in spite of the intention to explore a thought-provoking subject, think twice.
So we are trying o’seas distribs who will probably say “well, if you guys can’t get your local crowd to support you, why should we?” Tough times. John Meagher
One problem I have with the British kids complaining about being shipped to Oz during WWII is that many of the kids left behind were sent off to country areas away from the localized bombing targets. These kids did not create a stink about it years later. It was a way of saving lives. Those sent to Australia did not work any harder than Australian kids of that day and age. Sure they left family behind, but it was a safety factor for all. Not nice, but then war is not nice.