MONKEY PUZZLE opens October 22
October 7th 2008 06:32
After impressing film festival audiences around the world, MONKEY PUZZLE will be screening as a limited national release from 23rd October 08.Opening nights in Sydney, Melbourne and Katoomba will be a special eventnot to be missed with Writer / Director Mark Forstmann in attendance for a Q&A session.
This feature film debut from Mark Forstmann is a beautiful and dramatic journey into the unforgiving landscape of the New South Wales' Blue Mountains, following five friends on the search for one of the world's rarest trees, the Wollemi Pine, often referred to as a 'Monkey Puzzle' tree.
Forstmann is a proactive spokesman for environmental issues, and is one of the original 80 presenters that include Cate Blanchett, for Al Gore's climate change program, as organised through the Australian Conservation Foundation. Taking these credentials and an active relationship with the bush, Forstmann has created a haunting 'landscape film' that explores the effects on the human psyche from this sometimes inhospitable wilderness.
Five friends abseil down into a remote rainforest canyon, but a series of mishaps hamper their adventure. Tensions in the group quickly surface. As the friends become engulfed by the harsh terrain, they come
face-to-face with their most personal secrets and fears on a journey which will test their perceptions of friendship, intimacy and the nature of their pasts.
The best of guerrilla filmmaking, MONKEY PUZZLE was shot on location in the canyons of the Blue Mountains, the first Australian feature film to do so, with cinematographer Justine Kerrigan shooting on Super16mm film and capturing the action with available light only. The cast and crew found themselves abseiling into remote locations to shoot the film, immersing themselves in the heartland of the bush and 'living' the experience of their characters.
Featuring some of Australia's top young actors MONKEY PUZZLE stars Ryan Johnson (Out Of The Blue, Underbelly, All My Friends are Leaving Brisbane, Secret Life of Us), Ben Geurens (McLeod's Daughters, Home & Away, Neighbours, The Man from Snowy River), Ella Scott Lynch (Charlotte's Web, The Falls, All Saints), Billie Rose Prichard (Candy, The Silence) and Socratis Otto (Matrix Reloaded, The Rage in Placid
Lake).
The Wollemi Pine is a prehistoric tree recently discovered in the Blue Mountains, which according to scientists, should have died out with the dinosaurs. Its location is shrouded in secrecy as a preservation
measure, and has developed a reputation as a type of 'Holy Grail'. MONKEY PUZZLE taps into that mystery, exploring the theme "be careful what you search for".
But finding the tree, or not, is less important than the journey itself and the lessons learnt along the way.
Mark Forstmann has written and directed four short films Threaded, Eat Your Greens, Wanted and En Face, which have screened at international festivals (Chicago, Palm Springs, Manhattan Island, British and
Flickerfest) and broadcast in Europe and Australia. Threaded was released in cinema with the feature film Quills. Forstmann has also directed documentaries including Freestyle Man for National Geographic
and produced Bulls & Bears for ABC TV.
tamara popper and loiuse fox at flickerfest
documentaries:
* 1998 Help Me written and directed by Louise Fox (Telluride Film Festival 1999)
* 2003 Unit #52 written and directed by Tony Krawitz (Directors Fortnight Cannes International Film Festival)
* 2004 Sydney At War - The Untold Story written and directed by Claude Gonzalez for SBS
* 2006 A Natural Talent written and directed by Louise Fox (nominated for two AFI's, winner Jameson Award for Best Australian ShortFilm, Flickerfest).
Monkey Puzzle is Forstmann's first feature film as writer / director. He is currently in development on two feature films Bloke, with writer David Hely, and Desk Rage, with writer Stephen Davis.
The Australian distribution is through Madman Entertainment.
Film Festivals:
2008 Byron Bay International Film Festival, Australia
2008 Australian-London Film Festival, United Kingdom
2008 Dungog Film Festival, Australia
2008 Shanghai International Film Festival, China
* Winner of Best Environment Film Award
2008 Australian-Israel Film Festival, Israel
2008 Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Brazil
* Official Competition
RELEASE DATES
Blue Mountains
The Edge Cinema, Katoomba
Wednesday October 22
Sydney
Chauvel Cinema, Paddington
Thursday 23rd October
Melbourne
Palace George, St Kilda
Thursday 30th October
monkeypuzzle
madman
TOTEM FILMS website will be up and running soon
www.totemfilms.com.au
Source: PR Tsuki
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