by Dov Kornits
“I’m really happy to be back shooting SHARKO here in my home state of Queensland,” said Luke Graham. “Getting the film to this point has been a long, challenging and deeply personal experience. I’ve learned a lot about my dad and the life he has led, and I’ve also learned a lot about myself. It is my hope that the film will continue to provide an important discussion around mental health and identity, and help others who might be experiencing their own challenges.”
Taking inspiration from documentaries The Imposter and Stories We Tell, SHARKO tells the story of Luke’s father Mark Graham, a legendary rugby league player, who captained New Zealand and most famously played for the North Sydney Bears in the Australian competition. He was hard as nails, but behind the facade was a damaged man, with generational trauma, which has been passed down to the filmmaker. “SHARKO is a universal story about a father, a son, generational patterns and family grief,” reads the press release. “It is also a very Australian story about how men were raised to be hyper-masculine, and the importance of sport, how it defines us as a nation.”
As per its cinematic influences, the film will feature interviews (with Mark, Luke and numerous legendary rugby league players such as Wally Lewis, Paul Vautin and Ray Price) along with filmed recreations.
Luke Graham first burst onto the scene as part of filmmaker collective Scope Red, which also included Matthew Chuang (DOP on Blue Bayou, Of An Age, You Won’t Be Alone) and Heath Davis (writer/director of Book Week, upcoming Christmess). Graham and Davis collaborated on Broke. More recently, Luke founded the Capricorn Film Festival in Central Queensland. SHARKO will be his first feature film as a director.
SHARKO is produced by Luke Graham, Jonathan Page and Kylie Pascoe, with Jonathan Shteinman exec producing. The film has been developed and produced with investment from Gladstone Regional Council, Regional Arts Australia, Regional Arts Fund, Capricorn Film Festival, Screen Queensland and principal production funding from Screen Australia.
