By Adam Ross
Set to commence shooting Monday 23 January in Perth’s south-eastern suburbs, the film is inspired by true events and follows a desperate sister who kidnaps her beloved brother to save him from addiction.
George and Scacchi will play the mother/daughter team of Bev and Jade, who team up to save Max (Sam Corlett, pictured centre), their troubled son/brother. Corlett was recently featured in The Dry, and George has just wrapped filming on Alfonso Cuarón’s upcoming limited series for Apple TV+, Disclaimer. Scacchi has long been a star of both the stage and screen, appearing in the films of James Ivory (Heat and Dust), Robert Altman (The Player), and Alan J. Pakula (Presumed Innocent).
He Ain’t Heavy marks the feature film directorial debut of award-winning Western Australian writer/director David Vincent Smith and is an extension of his proof of concept short I’m Not Hurting You [a scene from the film below], which premiered at the Sydney Film Festival and screened at numerous local and international film festivals including Flickerfest and Austin Film Festival.
Writer/director David Vincent Smith said of the production: “He Ain’t Heavy provides a canvas to interrogate a real-world dilemma many families wrestle with – the price we are prepared to pay for love; a question without a simple answer.”
The film is produced by Jess Parker, of Perth-based No Labels Films, a long-time collaborator with David Vincent Smith, previously producing his short films I’m Not Hurting You and Featherweight. Parker is excited by the familial pairing: “Having Leila perform alongside her mother is something very special to us. Leila, Greta and Sam bring such an honest and personal connection to our story, portraying a family whose desperation to hold onto each other has left visible claw marks.”
Jess Parker and David Vincent Smith were the 2021 recipients of Screenwest’s West Coast Visions Initiative, with He Ain’t Heavy receiving $750,000 in production funding.
Screenwest CEO Rikki Lea Bestall said of the production: “We’re thrilled to see He Ain’t Heavy enter principal photography next week, kicking off what looks to be a bumper year of production here in WA. David and Jess are an incredibly talented team and we’re pleased to be supporting them as they bring their debut feature to life.”
