by FilmInk Staff
The Gift That Gives, the fourth romantic comedy by Joy House Productions, is currently in consideration for the 2024 AACTA awards, starring Takaya Honda, Haiha Le, Lily Brown Griffiths, Damien Sato, Maria Tran, Susan Ling Young, Atharv Kolhatkar, Andy Trieu and the late Lex Marinos.
A story about an author, Callum Mori (Takaya Honda), who meets Kate (Lily Brown Griffiths) and her friend Linda (Haiha Le) while promoting his book. Kate falls for Callum, but he falls for Linda. Whilst at Linda’s bookshop, they discover anonymous love letters, propelling them on a quest to uncover the writers’ identities.
The film has won two awards, at New York International Women’s Festival and most recently at Universal International Film Festival for best actress to Lily Brown Griffiths.
The Gift That Gives, stars the late Lex Marinos (OAM), who was not only a great Australian actor but also film and television director, radio broadcaster, voice artist, writer and tireless advocate for diversity and multiculturalism in the arts. He was most notable for his role as Bruno, the Italian son-in-law of Ted Bullpitt, in the 1980s Australian comedy television series Kingswood Country, as well as his role as Manolis in the ABC TV series The Slap.
“Lex Marinos was a gift to us all. He was the gift that kept on giving, always thinking of us as an ensemble, despite having the most notable television credits and experience, he never thought of himself as better or higher or that he was doing us a favour. He saw himself as an equal and wanted what was best for the film. The set was always full of laughs thanks to his positive energy and great sense of humour,” says writer/director Joy Hopwood.
“Lex was amazing, such a down to earth, cool, super funny. It was tough keeping a straight face,” Takaya Honda said on ABC Breakfast earlier this year.
“He provided most of the comic relief moments in the film and so does Susan Ling Young,” says Haiha Le.
The Gift That Gives is currently available on 9Now catch-up and on AACTA TV.
