Published on Friday, 4 November 2022 at 12:57:00 PM
The Port Hedland Premiere of the Award-Winning Australian film Sweet As, has been held at the Matt Dann Theatre and Cinema on Thursday, 3 November.
Sweet As was filmed in the Pilbara and is inspired by Director Jub Clerc’s own life experience. The film is co-written by Steve Rodgers, produced by Arenamedia’s Liz Kearney (Paper Planes) and executive produced by Robert Connolly (The Dry, The Slap, Paper Planes).
The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2022, where director Jub Clerc won the inaugural Black Magic Innovation Award for Outstanding Australian Creative.
Sweet As became the first Australian film to win the Toronto International Film Festival’s NETPAC award (Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema), has been nominated for an APSA Award (Asia Pacific Screen Awards) in the Best Youth Film category, and will be released in cinemas across Australia by Roadshow Films on 13 April 2023.
Terry Hill, CEO of the Pilbara Development Commission, congratulated all the people who worked on the project.
“The Pilbara is a special place, and I’m thrilled that it is showcased as a backdrop for this project,” he said.
“I’d especially like to acknowledge and congratulate Ms Clerc. Sweet As is the first Western Australian feature film to be written and directed by a female Indigenous person.
“To have such a powerful and talented Aboriginal woman tell her story through a feature film will have a significant impact on other Australian Indigenous filmmakers.
Sweet As is an Arenamedia production, with major investment from Screen Australia’s First Nations Department, Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund, Vicscreen, Soundfirm, Screenwest, Lotterywest and the Western Australian Screen Fund, administered by Screenwest in partnership with the Regional Development Commissions.
“The WA Government is proud to have supported the production. In August this year, the WA Government announced the $20m WA Production Attraction Incentive, which will build on a range of financial incentives in place to attract world-class productions to Western Australia.
“This fund will enable more production companies to take advantage of what the state offers - both in terms of locations and the skills and experience of local professionals in the WA film and TV industry.
SWEET AS
Described as The Breakfast Club meets the Outback, SWEET AS follows 16-year-old Murra who is on the verge of lashing out due to problems on the home front. That is, until her policeman uncle curbs her self-destructive behaviour with a lifeline: a “photo-safari for at-risk kids”. Murra isn’t entirely convinced, but she soon joins cantankerous Kylie, happy-go-lucky Elvis, uptight Sean and team leaders Fernando and Mitch on a transformative bus trip through the Pilbara. On the trail, the teens learn about fun, friendship and first crushes, as well as the forces of ‘reality’ that puncture the bubble of youth.
Trailer
https://youtu.be/nhebCb1rVqk
Cast & Crew
Cast: Shantae Barnes-Cowan, Mark Coles Smith, Ngaire Pigram, Carlos Sanson Jr, Pedrea Jackson, Mikayla Levy, Andrew Wallace and Tasma Walton
Director: Jub Clerc
Writers: Jub Clerc and Steve Rodgers
Producer: Liz Kearney
Executive Producers: Robert Connolly, Robert Patterson
Australian theatrical release in cinemas on 13 April 2023.
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