The Tree to close Cannes
The French-Australian official co-production The Tree will screen – outside of competition – at the closing ceremony of this year’s Cannes Film Festival on May 23.
“Being at Cannes in any capacity is of course a great honour. The exposure of closing night clearly helps to focus directly on the film, and that’s really valuable,” producer Sue Taylor told Encore.
Promotional efforts for the film are already in place, with a subscription-based model. The official website is currently offering three subscription packages, one free (‘Seed’ membership) and two paid options:
– ‘Sapling’, $30, offering ‘members only’ access to the website, the DVD, the screenplay, and entry to the competition to attend the premiere in Australia.
-‘Tree’, $50, limited to 100 members and offering the same as ‘Sapling’, plus a double VIP pass to an advanced screening in an Australian capital city, and entry to the competition to attend the premiere in Paris.
Taylor said that the main aim of this membership strategy is to create a community and achieve “some sense of ongoing interest” in her production company (Taylor Media) in the long term.
“I wanted to find a way to personally engage with our potential audience and this seemed like an interesting approach. It’s an experiment really and too early to judge how well it will work.
“We give members a copy of the screenplay (in French and English) – and then have various prizes and competitions along the way for preview screenings and DVDs. People often value something more when they pay for it, but the amount is really just covering our costs and hopefully represents good value for the members. For me it’s about learning how to use online and social networking as a marketing tool,” she explained.
The Tree is an adaptation of Judy Pascoe’s novel Our Father Who Art in the Tree. It was shot in Boonah, Queensland, under the direction of Julie Bertuccelli, and it stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Marton Csokas and Aden Young.
It tells the story of eight-year-old Simone who, after the sudden death of her father, is convinced that he whispers to her through the leaves of her favourite tree and he’s come back to protect the family. But the new bond between mother and daughter is threatened when Dawn starts a relationship with George, the plumber called in to remove the tree’s troublesome roots.
The film was produced by Taylor Media and Les Films du Poisson, with investment from Screen Australia, Screen Queensland, Screen NSW, Canal Plus and Arte.
Kojo Pictures will release the film in Australia and, according to Taylor, the strategy is still being discussed and it is likely that the film will be released in France first. Le Pacte will distribute in that territory, and Cineart in Belgium. Additionally, The Tree was pre-sold to 11 territories at last February’s Berlinale.
“Of all our films, this one is particularly exciting and probably the biggest one we’ve been involved with. It’s got huge international potential,” Kojo Pictures MD Kent Smith told Encore recently.
