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Miley Tunnecliffe.

Originally intent on becoming an actor, Miley Tunnecliffe studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York followed by a masterclass at the LAByrinth Theater Company, which was co-founded by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

She took up writing to supplement her income as an actor and soon discovered writing and directing were far more satisfying.

Since those acting classes in 2008 it’s been a long and sometimes arduous journey for the filmmaker – and it’s been paying off in the last couple of years.

In 2017 her career got a boost when Screenwest chose her and Aaron Moss to participate in the Bill Warnock Initiative for emerging writers, which included being in the writers room for The Secret Daughter, mentored by Stuart Page, and Mustangs Fc under co-creator Amanda Higgs.

The same year she won the Page Award prize for best TV comedy for Disorder, a pilot about...

A short look at how a simple smile can lead to danger and terror. Birdie is a short film made by filmmaker Shelly Lauman, the next film debuted as part of Fox Searchlight's new online initiative called "Searchlight Shorts". A woman walks alone to the train station. As she descends the stairs to the underground platform she smiles at a young man, and he smiles back. With the smallest of gestures, the woman becomes caught in a subtle and sinister game. Maeve Dermody stars, with Sam Parsonson, Joshua Brennan, Lynette Curran, and Eden Falk. This simple but powerful short film utilizes the Academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1, and plays without any real dialogue. It's an example of how bad it is out there for women, how aggressive men can be, and how the tiniest of kind gestures can be misconstrued as an invitation. Watch in full below. Birdie is...

Caitlin Yeo and Apra Amcos CEO Dean Ormston.

Caitlin Yeo and Matteo Zingales each won two awards at the annual annual Screen Music Awards staged by Apra Amcos and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (Agcs) at the City Recital Hall in Sydney on Monday night.

Yeo won feature film score of the year and best soundtrack album for The Butterfly Tree, Priscilla Cameron’s movie about an ex-burlesque queen (Melissa George) who puts a curse on single dad Al (Ewen Leslie) and his son Fin (Ed Oxenbould).

The president of the Agsc, Yeo previously won feature film score of the year for Kim Mordant’s The Rocket in 2013.

Matteo Zingales was rewarded for his work on Hoodlum Entertainment’s Harrow as best television theme and for his collaboration with Antony Partos on Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road, which was deemed best music for a miniseries or telemovie.

Nerida Tyson-Chew took...

Dop Anna Howard and Shelly Lauman (Photo: Nicholas Prokop).

Writer-director Shelly Lauman hopes to secure Us representation and support for her first feature after Fox Searchlight acquired worldwide rights to her short film Birdie.

After the deal was announced at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Birdie screened in the Short Cuts competition, Lauman is spending a week in Los Angeles meeting with producers, managers and other industry contacts.

Produced by Lizzie Cater, Birdie had its first international screening in Toronto following the world premiere at Miff.

Funded by the inaugural $20,000 Australian Directors Guild/Metro Screen Production Fellowship, the psychological thriller follows a young woman who meets a man as she descends the stairs to an underground platform, leading to a subtle and sinister game.

Starring Maeve Dermody, Sam Parsonson, Joshua Brennan, Eden Falk and Lynette Curran, Birdie was one of two shorts acquired by Fox Searchlight in Toronto; the...

Twelve years after their breakout mockumentary hit “Kenny,” which followed a big-hearted plumber described as “the Dalai-Lama of Waste Management” as he touched the lives of many, brothers Shane and Clayton Jacobson are back with a very different kind of vehicle that nevertheless continues to showcase their distinctive, blue-collar sibling interplay. Though brimming with pitch-black comedy, “Brothers’ Nest” actually plays like more of an absurdist tragedy as it pits good brother against good-brother-gone-bad in a cautionary tale of longing and desperation that packs a surprisingly affecting punch.

In chilliest rural Victoria, mastermind Jeff and his nervous little brother Terry (Shane Jacobson) arrive early at the house in which they were raised. Ominously, they have to break in, and as they prepare for some kind of intricate crime, it is soon revealed that their plan involves murder most foul.

The target of the mission is their stepfather Rodger (Kim Gyngell), whom...

Brothers’ Nest follows two siblings played by real-life brothers Clayton and Shane Jacobson.

Clayton Jacobson’s dark comedy Brothers’ Nest has been acquired by Australian sales outfit Odin’s Eye Entertainment (Oee) and La-based Guardian Entertainment International (Gei), who have teamed up to manage worldwide sales.

Brothers’ Nest follows two siblings — played by real-life brothers Clayton and Shane Jacobson — who return to their childhood home intending to murder their stepfather.

The film had its world premiere at this year’s SXSW and is slated for a theatrical release in Australia and New Zealand in late Q2 through executive producer Tait Brady’s Label Distribution.

Network: SundanceTV. Episodes: Ongoing (hour). Seasons: Ongoing. TV show dates (Us): June 1, 2016 — present. Series status: Has not been cancelled. Performers include: Hunter Page-Lochard, Rob Collins, Iain Glen, Frances O'Connor, Deborah Mailman, Tasma Walton, Rarriwuy Hick, Jada Alberts, Rachael Blake, Tony Briggs, Clarence Ryan, Taylor Ferguson, Rob Collins, Stef Dawson, Ryan Corr, Robyn Nevin, Lynette Curran, Tysan Towney, Andrew McFarlane, Marcus Graham, Leeanna Walsman, Jada Alberts, Tamala Shelton, Luke Ford, Alec Doomadgee, Lasarus Ratuere, Lisa Flanagan, and Jack Charles. TV show description: A supernatural drama the Cleverman TV show draws inspiration from Australian Aboriginal mythological traditions. Set in the near future -- when beings of Aboriginal legend live among humans -- the story moves between two worlds: The City and The Zone.

The National Film and Sound Archive's (Nfsa) crowdfunding campaign to restore Proof, Jocelyn Moorhouse.s 1991 film, is in its final days..

Written and directed by Moorhouse,.Proof.is the story of Martin (Hugo Weaving), a blind photographer. Andy, played by Russell Crowe, is the only friend Martin trusts to describe his photos to him.

The film launched both Weaving and Crowe.s careers onto the international stage, and was also Moorhouse.s breakout as a director. Proof premiered at Cannes, where it won the Golden Camera award, and has also won a host of AFI awards, including best film, director, screenplay, lead actor and supporting actor.

Since mid-May, the Nfsa has been asking Australians to pitch in $25,000 through a Pozible campaign to help restore the fim into a pristine digital format that can be shown in modern cinemas.

Funds raised by the campaign, now in its final days, will partially...

(l-r):.Kevin Bishop,.Xavier Samuel and.Kris Marshall.in A Few Less Men.

A Few Less Men, the sequel to Stephan Elliott's 2011 comedy A Few Best Men, was helmed by Mark Lamprell, the screenwriter of Babe: Pig in the City and director of 2000's My Mother Frank and 2013's Goddess.

Lamprell came on board after reading the script by Dean Craig (Death at a Funeral), who wrote the original film.

"It was lovely working on somebody else's screenplay because it was a really solid screenplay structurally," Lamprell said. "I could see that there was a really good movie in there. Dean's a very accomplished writer. The whole guts of it were laid out before me.".

Lamprell, who got his start at Kennedy Miller making Bts documentaries such as The Making of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), describes A Few Less Men as "a silly comedy.".

"It's not high-brow wit.

Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall and Kevin Bishop in A Few Less Men.

Arclight Films have released a first look at A Few Less Men, the sequel to 2011's A Few Best Men..

The new film sees Goddess' Mark Lamprell taking over directing duties from Priscilla's Stephan Elliot, and will be released by StudioCanal in Australia and Nz.

The film was produced by Laurence Malkin, Tania Chambers and Share Stallings and written by Dean Craig (Death at a Funeral), and footage is currently being screened to buyers in Cannes.

.From a talented group of filmmakers with a proven track record of delivering strong, entertaining stories with broad appeal, A Few Less Men is sure to satisfy audiences in Australia and abroad", said StudioCanal Australia and New Zealand Chief Executive Elizabeth Trotman..

"Here at StudioCanal we are so pleased to be on board and are looking forward to developing an exciting campaign.

Arclight Films has announced the start of principal Photography in Perth, Western Australia, on A Few Less Men and a slew of key pre-sales.

Rights to Mark Lamprell’s sequel to A Few Best Men have gone in Australia and New Zealand (StudioCanal), Italy (Lucky Red), Middle East (Italia Films), Eastern Europe (Modus Vivendi), Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Columbia (Eastwood Holdings) and Vietnam (Galaxy).

Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall and Kevin Bishop reprise their roles in the story of men who must take their friend’s coffin back to London after a crash landing leaves them stranded in the Australian bush. Dean Craig once again is the writer.

Laurence Malkin, Tania Chambers and Share Stallings and Gorean Films Limited are producing and Ingenious, Screen Australia, ScreenWest and Lotterywest, Arclight Films, New Oz and The Post Lounge are co-financiers.

Craig, Arclight chief Gary Hamilton, Mark Lazarus, James Vernon and Josh Kesselman served as executive producers.

Shane Jacobson, [link...

Arclight Films has announced the start of principal Photography in Perth, Western Australia, on A Few Less Men and a slew of key pre-sales.

Rights to Mark Lamprell’s sequel to A Few Best Men have gone in Australia and New Zealand (StudioCanal), Italy (Lucky Red), Middle East (Italia Films), Eastern Europe (Modus Vivendi), Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Columbia (Eastwood Holdings) and Vietnam (Galaxy).

Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall and Kevin Bishop reprise their roles in the story of men who must take their friend’s coffin back to London after a crash landing leaves them stranded in the Australian bush. Dean Craig once again is the writer.

Laurence Malkin, Tania Chambers and Share Stallings and Gorean Films Limited are producing and Ingenious, Screen Australia, ScreenWest and Lotterywest, Arclight Films, New Oz and The Post Lounge are co-financiers.

Craig, Arclight chief Gary Hamilton, Mark Lazarus, James Vernon and Josh Kesselman served as executive producers.

Shane Jacobson, [link...

Now filming in Perth,. the sequel to Stephan Elliott's 2011 hit A Few Best Men boasts a supporting cast headed by some top comedic names and a few who are better known for dramas. A Few Less Men sees Shane Jacobson, Ryan Corr, Deborah Mailman, Jeremy Sims, Darren Gilshenan, Lynette Curran, Pamela Shaw and Sacha Horler playing a motley array of characters whom the lead trio encounters on their way back to London. Directed by Mark Lamprell and scripted by Dean Craig, the sequel follows the lads played by Xavier Samuel, Kevin Bishop and Kris Marshall as they transport their mate Luke.s coffin across Australia after a forced plane landing strands them in the middle of the bush. Jacobson is Mungus, whom the lads bump into after he accidentally takes Luke.s coffin home with him. Corr is mad cousin Henry, Mailman is a cop, Sims is a pilot...

Stars: Nathan Phillips, Angourie Rice, Jessica de Gouw, Kathryn Beck, Daniel Henshall, Sarah Snook, Lynette Curran | Written and Directed by Zak Hilditch

Another “the end of the world is nigh” film – these things seem to crop up every few years or so – These Final Hours is literally that: a look at the final hours of the planet, as seen throught the eyes of people in Australia’s coastal city of Perth. You see the fiery effects of a crash-landed asteroid are making their way, tsunami-style, across the planet and heading for their last devastating stop – Australia. Of course that can only mean one of three things: People throw end of the world parties. Go horrendously crazy while waiting to die. Or, as in the case of this films protagonist, find redemption where they least expect it…

Horror cinema from down-under has had something of a resurgance in recent years – and...

Game of Thrones. Iain Glen, Frances O.Connor, Deborah Mailman, Hunter Page-Lochard, Rob Collins and Ryan Corr are shooting Cleverman, an innovative six-part futuristic action drama for ABC-tv.

Based on an original concept by Ryan Griffen, the plot follows a group of non-humans who are battling for survival in a world where humans feel increasingly inferior and want to silence, exploit and kill them.

The protagonists are two estranged Indigenous brothers (Page-Lochard and Collins), who are forced together to fight for their own survival. Otherworldly dreaming creatures also emerge into this .real world. dystopian landscape.

Commissioned by ABC-tv's Indigenous department, the series is an Australian/New Zealand co-production between Goalpost Pictures and Pukeko Pictures.

The Sapphires. Wayne Blair is lead director with Leah Purcell also directing. Blair recently completed Us thriller Septembers of Shiraz, which tells the true story of a secular Jewish family caught in the Islamic revolution in Iran,...

The Broken Bay Diocese of the Catholic Church has donated $20,000 towards the cost of producing a 30-minute drama which tackles sexual abuse in the Church.

A Priest in the Family stars Lynette Curran, Susie Porter, Gillian Jones and Lisa Hensley and is based on a short story by Irish writer Colm Tóibín about an elderly woman whose son, a parish priest, is accused of molesting his former students.

Co-directed by producer Anni Finsterer and Peter Humble, who wrote the screenplay, the film has finished shooting. Finsterer tells If that Humble is assembling footage so the producers can apply for funds to complete post production.

Curran plays Molly, a vigorous Irish woman in her late 70s who attempts to keep up with the changing times of her grandchildren by mastering the Internet. When Molly learns that her son Frank, a local parish priest, is about to go on trial for the sexual abuse of former students,...

Writer-director Zak Hilditch.s debut feature, Apocalyptic thriller These Final Hours, will be distributed by Roadshow.

The saga of a self-obsessed young man (Nathan Phillips) who makes his way to the party-to-end-all-parties on the last day on Earth, it was to have been released by Robert Connolly.s CinemaPlus.

Roadshow executives saw the film last week and sealed a deal with Connolly, who executive- produced the film which was produced by first-timer Liz Kearney.

.This is an exciting opportunity for such talented filmmakers to have their debut feature film released to an Australian audience and we have a hugely passionate distributor in Roadshow Films,. said Connolly.

No release date has yet been set but, given the crowded film calendar through the rest of this year, a 2014 launch is likely. Roadshow plans a wide release. The thriller won The Age Critics' award for best Australian feature at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival.

Lynette Curran, Susie Porter, Gillian Jones and Lisa Hensley are attached to star in a 30-minute drama which tackles sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

A Priest in the Family is based on a short story by Irish writer Colm Tóibín about an elderly woman whose son, a parish priest, is accused of molesting his former students.

The producers aim to raise $40,000 via crowd-funding site Indiegogo (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-priest-in-the-family/x/2213312) by August 5, with plans to start shooting in the hamlet of Portland, near Lithgow, on September 28. Peter Humble wrote the screenplay and will share the directing duties with the producer Anni Finsterer.

.We are making a film that tells the emotional tale of how clergy sexual abuse affects not just individuals but also families and communities,. Anni said. .We want to make people more informed and thereby give them a voice.

.It is a simply told tale...

Apocalyptic thriller These Final Hours is set to begin filming in Western Australia on October 15.

The film follows the self-obsessed James, a young man determined to make his way to the party to end all parties on the last day on Earth. He ends up saving the life of a little girl named Rose, who is searching for her father - an act which ultimately leads him on the path to redemption.

It is the first feature film from writer/director Zak Hilditch and producer Liz Kearney and is being overseen by executive producer Robert Connolly (Underground, Balibo).

It stars Nathan Phillips (Wolf Creek) in the lead role of James, Dan Henshall (Snowtown), Lynette Curran (The Boys, Somersault), Sarah Snook (Not Suitable for Children), Jess De Gouw and Kathryn Beck. Newcomer Angourie Rice has been cast as Rose.

Hilditch and Kearney's 13-minute short film Transmission was made as a companion...

SYDNEY -- There were no surprises at this year's Australian Film Institute Awards as Somersault cleaned up, taking home a record 13 nods from 15 nominations in an otherwise threadbare year. Now in their 46th year, the AFI Awards are Australia's longest-running and most prestigious awards and were set to be handed out in Melbourne tonight. Somersault, Cate Shortland's acclaimed coming-of-age drama about a girl trying to find her way to love through sex, won best film over Tom White, The Old Man Who Read Love Stories and Love's Brother. Somersault also picked up best original screenplay and direction for auteur Shortland as well as best actress for its star, Abbie Cornish, and best actor for leading man Sam Worthington. In other categories, Somersault nabbed best actress in a supporting role for Lynette Curran, best actor in a supporting role for Erik Thompson, best editing, cinematography, production design, costume design, sound and original music score.

"The Boys" is an intense, harrowing portrait of three white-trash brothers wallowing in a hopeless, joyless life consisting almost entirely of sitting around drinking beer and verbally abusing each other.

The film is well-done without being overdone, but at the same time it is so depressing that any potential for boxoffice returns seems nil.

Brett (David Wenham) gets out of prison and returns home to his squalid family -- his ineffectual mother (Lynette Curran) and his two directionless brothers. They stick together but constantly abuse each other.

One brother, Stevie (Anthony Hayes), berates his dim-witted, pregnant girlfriend. Brother Brett seems to be impotent after prison and is ridiculed by his girlfriend Michelle (Toni Collette of "Muriel's Wedding"). The third brother, Glenn (John Polson), has a good woman (Jeanette Cronin) who tries to keep him in a good job, but his brothers manage to ruin that too.

Finally, after months of this (for us, nearly 11Ú2 hours) they beat up their mother's Maori boyfriend (Pete Smith) and go cruising on drugs. They find a woman on the street and either rape or kill her or both. We don't know, exactly, because at that point the movie mercifully ends. It's not about violence or crime, it's about the squalid, absolutely hopeless life of this family.

Director Rowan Woods doesn't search for reasons, he doesn't blame society or their upbringing, he merely shows them as they are. Except for a few glitches, Woods' direction is accomplished and straightforward.

That's also true of the performances, which are all excellent and almost consistently convincing. The script, adapted from a stage play, could be the reason a few scenes seem stilted.

What this movie doesn't give the audience is a reason to like any of this. There is no reason to feel sorry for anyone or even to hope that they will turn their lives around. Perversely, it is almost relief when they finally get thrown in jail. They seem much better off than before.

THE BOYS

Arenafilm Prods.

in association with Axiom Films and Footprint Film

Director: Rowan Woods

Producers: Robert Connolly and John Maynard

Screenplay: Stephen Sewell

Based on play by: Gordon Graham

Executive producer: Douglas Cummins

Associate producer: David Wenham

Director of photography: Tristan Milani

Editor: Nick Meyers

Production designer: Luigi Pittorino

Casting: Lesley Burgess

Color

Cast:

Brett: David Wenham

Stevie: Anthony Hayes

Glenn: John Polson

Jackie: Jeanette Cronin

Nola: Anna Lise

Sandra: Lynette Curran

George "Abo": Pete Smith

Michelle: Toni Collette

Running time -- 86 minutes...