by FiImInk Staff
Dark comedy and festival favourite Yesterday Island is set to hit cinemas nationwide on Thursday, 10 December
“A very dark moral comedy … a sly, wry existential allegory of life’s disposable relationships.”
SciFiNow
“…wryly amusing and filled to the brim with great character work.”
Nadine Whitney, The Curb
“A gorgeously designed black comedy with a big brain and a loudly beating heart, Yesterday Island is the kind of movie you wouldn’t mind getting stuck with again and again.”
Erin Free, FilmInk
“The best Australian film of the year so far”. – Matthew Eeles, Cinema Australia
Written and developed in Ballarat, with filming across Victoria and Tasmania, Yesterday Island has strong local roots. Most of the film’s post-production was also completed in Ballarat, where director Sam Voutas and producer Melanie Ansley are based.
Shot in Tasmania on the striking King Island, and across Victoria, Yesterday Island features a great cast led by popular comedian and TV regular Ivan Aristeguieta, alongside Florence Noble, Francis Greenslade (Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell) and David Fane (Moana 2, Our Flag Means Death). Written and directed by Sam Voutas (King of Peking), this wonderfully offbeat Australian comedy defies expectations at every turn. Audiences can experience the film’s unique blend of dark humour and unexpected twists when Yesterday Islandarrives in cinemas nationwide from Thursday, 10 December.
A VICTORIAN FILM WITH REGIONAL ROOTS
Victoria played a significant role in bringing the film’s remote island setting to life, with production taking place across Port Melbourne, the Geelong region and Port Fairy, as well as Tasmania’s striking King Island.
The film’s interior scenes were shot in Port Melbourne, while the distinctive exterior igloo scenes were filmed across the Geelong region, where the landscape’s volcanic rock formations helped recreate the stark, otherworldly environment of the fictional island.
Further west, the rocky lava coastline of Port Fairy provided the backdrop for the film’s dramatic beach and boat scenes, adding another distinctly Victorian landscape to the production.
King Island in Tasmania also played an important role in creating the film’s remote island world, with its dramatic volcanic rock formations and treeless landscape providing the perfect backdrop for sweeping landscape and vehicle sequences. Adding to the film’s authentic Antarctic connection,,the movie production worked with Tasmanian Anthea Wallhead and her TAS company Icewall One to build an Igloo Satellite Cabin as the primary set piece for the film. These cabins, nicknamed by the Australian Antarctic Division as “Apple Huts”, are designed and made in Tasmania, and used by the Australian Antarctic Division at Macquarie Island and Antarctica.
Beyond filming, the film has deep roots in regional Victoria. Yesterday Island was written in Ballarat by director Sam Voutas, with both Sam and producer Melanie Ansley based in the city. Most of the film’s post-production was also completed in Ballarat, highlighting the important role regional Victoria played in bringing this Australian feature to life.
ABOUT YESTERDAY ISLAND
When failed novelist Amos (Ivan Aristeguieta) agrees to mind his friend’s research station on a remote island for just one day, he expects solitude and a chance to break his writer’s block. He soon realises, however, that he is not only stuck on the island, but seemingly doomed to live the same day again and again and again… with only one hilariously wicked way off.
A unique dark comedy about second chances, petty revenge, and the ultimate importance of forgiveness, Yesterday Island is a breath of fresh cinematic air.
Yesterday Island has been one of the most successful Australian films on the international film festival circuit this year, winning multiple audience and jury awards, including the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival, Honorable Mention at the Cleveland International Film Festival, amongst many others. It was also a hit at local film festivals, screening at the Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, and CinefestOz, where it was one of four films selected to compete for the CinefestOz Prize. The film was awarded the TAS/VIC Bronze Award For Features Under $3 Mil from the Australian Cinematographers’ Society.
Fresh from its festival successes, audiences across Australia will have a chance to take a trip to Yesterday Islandwhen the film releases in cinemas from Thursday, 10 December, preceded by special Q&A screenings in Sydney and Melbourne.
To find out more about Yesterday Island, visit: https://screeninc.com.au/screeninc-films/yesterday-island/
