Windmill Theatre’s first feature film gets green light

WindmillSouth Australian Premier and Minister for the Arts Jay Weatherill, has announced that Windmill Theatre Company is to produce its first feature film in 2014.

The project received funding from the HIVE Production Fund, a unique initiative of the Adelaide Film Festival in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts, Screen Australia and ABC Arts.

The film will be adapted from the stage production of Girl Asleep, which will premiere at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in 2014. It will be directed by Rosemary Myers, with a screenplay by Matthew Whittet (Moulin Rouge; School Dance) and produced by Jo Dyer (Lucky Miles; Boy Castaways).

Girl Asleep tells of the chronically shy and privately falling apart, Greta Driscoll who is frozen in the spotlight of her fifteenth birthday party, when an uninvited guest arrives and steals her most treasured possession. Now she must step into the dark unknown to get it back.

Together with the company’s critically acclaimed teenage works Fugitive and School Dance, Girl Asleep forms the third work in a bold and hilarious trilogy of rites-­of-­passage stories that explore the teenage experience.

These productions were created by an acclaimed creative team comprising of writer Matthew Whittet, director Rosemary Myers, designer Jonathon Oxlade, lighting designer Richard Vabre and sound designer Luke Smiles.

“Initiatives such as the HIVE Fund provide the all-­?important springboard for creative artists to explore and engage in different forms of storytelling,” said Rosemary Myers.

“The team is incredibly excited and invigorated by this unique opportunity to translate this work from the stage to the screen.”

Pre-­production for the Girl Asleep commences in mid 2014 with the world premiere set for the 2015 Adelaide Film Festival. It will be broadcast shortly after on ABC1.

Windmill has had a remarkable 2013, marked by a string of accolades including two Helpmann Awards for Best Work for Children and Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role for a Play, a 2013 Ruby Award for Best New Work for Pinocchio and a nomination for the 2013 Business SA Export Arts and Entertainment Award for Grug.

For more information, visit: www.windmill.org.au for details.

Image: courtesy of Windmill Theatre Company