Lucky Miles
| Lucky Miles | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michael James Rowland |
| Produced by | Jo Dyer Lesley Dyer |
| Starring | Kenneth Moraleda Rodney Afif |
Release date | 2007 |
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
Lucky Miles is a 2007 Australian drama feature film based on several true stories involving people entering Western Australia by boat in order to seek asylum (please note that seeking asylum is not and never has been illegal in Australia). Its director was Michael James Rowland and its producers were Jo Dyer and Lesley Dyer.
Synopsis
An Indonesian fishing boat abandons a group of Iraqi and Cambodian men on a remote part of the Western Australian coast in 1990. Told there is a bus over the dunes, the men are abandoned to a desert the size of Poland. While most are quickly rounded up, three men with little in common but their history of misfortune elude capture and begin an epic but confused journey drawn on by their hopes amplified by the empty desert. Pursued by an army reservist unit more concerned with playing ball sports and music, the three protagonists wander deeper into trouble, searching desperately among the harsh beauty of the Pilbara for evidence of a Western, liberal democracy or the promised bus, which only one of them finds.
Cast
- Kenneth Moraleda - Arun
- Rodney Afif - Youssif
- Sri Sacdpreseuth - Ramelan
- Don Hany - Plank
- Glenn Shea - O'Shane
- Sean Mununggurr - Tom
- Sawung Jabo - Muluk
- Arif Hidayat - Abdu
- Deborah Mailman - Lisa
- Majid Shokor - Salah
- Osamah Sami - Fiark
- Edwin Hodgeman - Coote
- Gillian Jones - Chris
- Gerard Kennedy - Shooter
- Geoff Morrell - Peter Coode
Production
Shot on location in South Australia and Cambodia Lucky Miles is the feature debut from Adelaide-born Michael James Rowland, who has been a filmmaker to watch since his Russian space film, Flying Over Mother[1] marked his graduation from the Australian Film Television and Radio School. With a script developed by Rowland's company Puncture, Lucky Miles is produced by Jo Dyer and Lesley Dyer, co-written by Helen Barnes, shot by veteran Cinematographer Geoff Burton, edited by Henry Dangar, music supervision by WOMAD's Artistic Director Thomas Brooman, scored by percussionist Trilok Gurtu and executive produced by Michael Bourchier. Lucky Miles is presented by Film Finance Corporation Australia, Short of Easy, The South Australian Film Corporation and the 2007 Adelaide Film Festival. Languages; French, Indonesian, Khmer, Arabic, Gumatj and English
Release
Lucky Miles premiered on opening night of the 2007 Adelaide Film Festival. A few weeks later, Lucky Miles won the audience award for Best Film at the 2007 Sydney Film Festival. Other awards won by Lucky Miles include the Special Jury Prize at the 2007 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, Best Screenplay at the Vladivostok International Film Festival (an award that carries with it a Russian publishing deal), the Black Pearl for Best New Director at the Middle East International Film Festival (an award that carries with it an AED300,000 cash prize), the Grand Prix at the 9th Rencontres Internationales du Cinéma des Antipodes in Saint-Tropez and Best Film at the 3rd Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore. It was also nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Lucky Miles also screened at world cinema festivals including Jerusalem, Womad, Pusan, Chicago, AFI (USA) and the Amazonas Film Festival in Manaus. Lucky Miles opened in Australia mid-July and was released internationally during 2007. CineClick Asia is the film's global releasing company and Lucky Miles is distributed on DVD (Region Four) by Madman, released on 7 December 2007. Lucky Miles was shown in the 10th 2008 Philippines Cinemanila International Film Festival at Malacañan Palace's Kalayaan Hall. Its "Arun," Kenneth Moraleda won the Vic Silayan Award for best actor.[2][3][4]
The film was scheduled to be released in 2007-2008 by Dendy (Australia) and CineClick Asia (Worldwide).
Reception
Reviews of the film were featured in Variety,[5] The Age[6] and The Advertiser.[7]
Box office
Lucky Miles grossed $678,110 at the box office in Australia.[8]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0225763/
- ^ www.screendaily.com, The Band's Visit takes top prize at Cinemanila fest
- ^ abs-cbnnews.com, Cinema One Originals movies dominate 10th Cinemanila award rites
- ^ bworldonline.com, Arroyo awards winners in 10th Cinemanila festival
- ^ Kuipers, Richard (1 March 2007). "Lucky Miles". Variety. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Hawker, Philippa (27 February 2007). "Voices out of silence head first weekend". The Age. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ James, Stan (21 February 2007). "A treasure of screen gems". The Advertiser.
- ^ Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office
External links
- Lucky Miles at IMDb