06 12 2013 - Media release

52 Tuesdays and The Babadook selected for Sundance

The prestigious Sundance Film Festival has selected two Australian feature films, 52 Tuesdays and The Babadook, to premiere at the 2014 festival. Widely regarded as the highest profile film festival in the United States, Sundance is renowned for showcasing some of the best independent cinema the world has to offer.

One of only 12 films chosen from around the world, Sophie Hyde’s directorial debut feature, 52 Tuesdays, will screen in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The program showcases emerging filmmakers offering fresh perspectives and inventive styles.

52 Tuesdays, written by Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack, was shot every Tuesday for 52 consecutive weeks and follows the story of a relationship between a mother who is undergoing a gender transition, and her daughter, whose time together becomes limited to Tuesday afternoons. Emerging actors Del Herbert-Jane and Tilda Cobham-Hervey play mother and daughter respectively, and their performances have already received rave reviews on the back of the film’s world premiere at the 2013 Adelaide Film Festival.

The film was produced by Bryan Mason, Matthew Cormack, Rebecca Summerton and Sophie Hyde of Closer Productions, a collective of award-winning filmmakers based in Adelaide. They are responsible for the internationally acclaimed Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure (which premiered at Sundance 2011), Life in Movement, I Want to Dance Better at Parties and Stunt Love.

Sophie Hyde said, “We are thrilled to be having our international premiere at Sundance.  With support from the South Australian Film Corporation’s (SAFC) innovative FilmLab program (supported by Screen Australia), it’s been remarkable that we have been able to make a film in such a unique way, and we can’t wait to show it to audiences around the world. Alongside the film, our companion project My 52 Tuesdays (a portable photo-booth and app for smart phones) has been invited to the New Frontier program, meaning we will be asking our audiences to be part of the work in a meaningful way. This was a risky and all-consuming film to make, and the Sundance selection is great recognition of the commitment and bravery of our wonderful team.”

Jennifer Kent’s debut feature The Babadook will also have its world premiere at Sundance, screening as part of Park City at Midnight, Sundance’s highly revered late night genre section. It is one of only nine films chosen from around the world to screen in this section.

The Babadook is a psychological thriller in the tradition of Polanski’s classic domestic horrors (Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant, Repulsion). Using her award-winning short Monster as a springboard, writer/director Jennifer Kent developed the feature script through Screen Australia. The film stars Essie Davis (The Matrix, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, The Slap).

The film was produced by Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere with executive producers Jan Chapman, Jonathan Page, Michael Tear and Jeff Harrison, and received production investment from Screen Australia and the SAFC.

Kristina Ceyton said, “We’re all so thrilled and honoured that The Babadook has been selected to have its world premiere at Sundance. And to see our film screen on the opening weekend as part of the prestigious Park City at Midnight section is incredibly exciting."

Kristina Ceyton was also recently announced as the recipient of a professional placement through Screen Australia’s Talent Escalator program, and after Sundance will be working in Los Angeles for six months at FilmNation Entertainment in the feature film production department.

Screen Australia’s Head of Marketing, Kathleen Drumm, said, “Sundance is a highly competitive festival with over 12,000 submissions last year and only 34 available spots for non-US productions. It is a real tribute to the filmmakers to have achieved such a coveted international premiere. Sophie Hyde and Jennifer Kent are talented Australian female filmmakers who, along with their respective production teams, have produced original and genre-bending films. We wish both films and their creative teams well on their international journey.”

The Sundance Film festival will take place 16–26 January 2014. www.sundance.org/festival/