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Wishes Do Come True
New Australian film off to Alaska and beyond.
While some don't believe wishes come true, they certainly are for writer and director J. Harkness (Shot Of Love) as his latest film, Birthday, has been Officially Selected In Competition for the Anchorage International Film Festival, and will be releasing in Australia in 2010.
J. Harkness' first wish was to adapt his stage play, Birthday, into an independent feature film. This wish came true when he found financial backing, a passionate and impressive cast, and the support of the sex industry, in which the film is set. All were inspired by Birthday's story of human intimacy and love within the conflicting and compelling world of sex workers, and the film was filmed in Harkness' home town of Adelaide in 2008, with a cast that includes Kestie Morassi (Wolf Creek), Richard Wilson (Clubland), Travis McMahon (Kokoda), Chantal Contouri and newcomer and co-producer Natalie Eleftheriadis in the lead role. Photographed by Denson Baker (The Black Balloon), with production design by Rolf De Heer regular Beverly Freeman, and most interestingly, music by Ollie Olsen (Dogs In Space), Birthday's credentials are highly promising.
Following an extended post-production process, which was interrupted by Harkness falling deeply ill, it seems as though the filmmaker's wish is finally coming true as he is now jetting off to Alaska, alongside producer and star of the film, Natalie Eleftheriadis, to compete alongside five other films for a jury prize and to present the Australian film to an international audience.
Based on research conducted with real sex workers, Birthday follows the story of M - a sex worker who spends her twenty fifth birthday at a brothel named ‘Scarlet's' with clients such as Father Philip (Travis McMahon), a Catholic priest who has lost faith in the religion, and Joey (Richard Wilson), a young and inexperienced man. M soon discovers that there is much to be learnt about life within and outside this world.
Sex industry workers have commented on how "honest and inspiring" Harkness' writing is in relation to their actual experiences, as does internationally acclaimed author of In My Skin: A Memoir, Kate Holmes, who stated: "It reminds me so much of my own 25th birthday and how conflicted I felt about my life at that point."
But Harkness believes that Birthday has the capacity to transcend its setting and find a wider audience. "I believe the story of Birthday so excited distributors, fellow artists (movie stars) and, of course, the audience because when all is said and done, human intimacy is what every one of us value most in movies," he explains. "If you close your eyes right now and think of your favourite film of your entire life, and, if you are totally honest with yourself, there will be a little bit of your heart; a little bit of who you really are in that film."
Birthday will have its Australian premiere at The Australian Film Festival to be held in Sydney in March 2010.
Picture Caption: Natalie Eleftheriadis and Richard Wilson in the new Australian film, Birthday.