52 Tuesdays
| 52 Tuesdays | |
|---|---|
 North American theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sophie Hyde |
| Screenplay by | Matthew Cormack |
| Story by | Matthew Cormack Sophie Hyde |
| Produced by | Matthew Cormack Sophie Hyde Bryan Mason Rebecca Summerton |
| Starring | Tilda Cobham-Hervey Del Herbert-Jane Mario Späte Beau Travis Williams |
| Cinematography | Bryan Mason |
| Edited by | Bryan Mason |
| Music by | Benjamin Speed |
| Distributed by | Closer Productions |
Release date |
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Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
52 Tuesdays is a 2013 Australian coming of age drama film directed by Sophie Hyde. The film centres on a teenage girl dealing with her mother transitioning gender to become a trans man. The film showed at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.[1]
Plot
In Australia, 16-year-old Billie lives with her lesbian mother Jane, who is divorced from her father Tom, and with Jane's younger brother (Billie's uncle) Harry. One day Jane reveals plans to gender transition, now calling herself James. More importantly for Billie, Jane wants Billie to live with Tom for a year, with which Tom has agreed, restricting the time Billy is together with Jane/James to Tuesdays from 16:00 - 22:00, starting on the 23rd of August. The film is divided into the corresponding 52 segments, each covering one Tuesday, and starting with a title card showing the date.
Each Tuesday, after visiting James and before returning to Tom, Billie has secret encounters with two older students, Josh and Jasmine, in an apartment Harry allows them to use. Billie films sexual experiments of the threesome.
A setback for James is that he has to stop testosterone injections, because of a rare condition of his body not tolerating it.
After sending a nude photograph of herself to Jasmine, Billie gets into trouble as this is considered child pornography. The school principal, James, Tom and Jasmine strongly disapprove it. Billie is shocked that James destroys one of her tapes, and refuses further contact with him. Josh does not want physical contact with Billie anymore because of Tom's disapproval.
Later Billie is willing to destroy a remaining tape, but since it is in James' house who she no longer visits, she is dependent on Harry, who finally destroys it for her.
When the year is finished, Billie reconciles with James, and starts living with him again. Also Billie, Josh and Jasmine become friends again.
Cast
- Tilda Cobham-Hervey as Billie
- Del Herbert-Jane as James
- Mario Späte as Harry
- Beau Travis Williams as Tom
- Imogen Archer as Jasmine
- Sam Althuizen as Josh
- Danica Moors as Lisa
Production
52 Tuesdays was filmed in the Adelaide metropolitan area over the course of a year, every Tuesday, to fit in with the setting of the film.[2][3]
Release & Reception
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The film was released theatrically in Australia on 1 May 2014.
Critical response
52 Tuesdays was met with positive reviews from critics upon its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, earning a 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Geoff Berkshire, in his review for Variety, said that the film "Demonstrates a willingness to experiment that bodes well for future endeavors."[4] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter in his review said that "A thoughtful drama about a mother and daughter whose connection is tested as they both go through intense changes."[5] Tom Clift of Concrete Playground gave a positive review and said, "Honest, insightful and bravely against the grain, 52 Tuesdays is a magnificent debut for cast and filmmaker alike."[6]
Accolades
| Award | Category | Subject | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AACTA Awards[7] (4th) |
Best Original Screenplay | Matthew Cormack | Nominated |
| Sophie Hyde | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Bryan Mason | Nominated | |
| Asia Pacific Screen Award | Best Youth Feature Film | Nominated | |
| Sophie Hyde | Nominated | ||
| Rebecca Summerton | Nominated | ||
| Matthew Cormack | Nominated | ||
| ASE Award | Best Editing in a Feature Film | Bryan Mason | Won |
| AWGIE Award | Best Writing in a Feature Film - Original | Matthew Cormack | Won |
| Berlin International Film Festival | Crystal Bear[8] | Sophie Hyde | Won |
| Reader Jury of the "Siegessäule" | Won | ||
| Score Competition | Benjamin Speed | Nominated | |
| Best Feature Film | Bryan Mason | Nominated | |
| Rebecca Summerton | Nominated | ||
| Matthew Cormack | Nominated | ||
| Sophie Hyde | Nominated | ||
| Cleveland International Film Festival | ReelWomenDirect Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman | Nominated | |
| Melbourne Queer Film Festival | Best Feature Film | Won | |
| Sundance Film Festival | Directing Award[9] | Won | |
| Grand Jury Prize | Nominated | ||
| Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | Just Film Award - Special Mention | Won | |
| Just Film Award - Best Youth Film | Nominated | ||
| Toronto Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival | Bill Sherwood Award for Best First Feature | Won |
References
- ^ Caceda, Eden (9 December 2013). "Two Aussie Features Selected For Sundance". Filmink.
- ^ "52 Tuesdays". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ^ "Australian director Sophie Hyde wins prize at Sundance film festival". Theguardian.com. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ^ "Sundance Film Review: '52 Tuesdays'". Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- ^ "52 Tuesdays: Sundance Review". Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- ^ "52 TUESDAYS". Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- ^ "AACTA AWARDS 2014: All the nominees". SBS Movies. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "2014 Berlin Film Festival". berlinale.de. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- ^ "2014 Sundance Film Festival". Sundance.org. Retrieved 2 February 2014.