IN May a group of nine Canberra filmmakers will head to the Marche du Cannes (the 10-day film market at the Cannes Film Festival) in what ScreenACT and Trade Connect are calling “a new era”. 

Director of ScreenACT, Monica Penders, says  “people don’t realise the talent we have here, and by the end of Cannes they will.” She says the trip will have  two focuses, selling new projects and existing films and bringing national and international film business to Canberra. “We’ll be meeting with international sales agents and distributors and potential production partners from all over the world, letting them know we are open for business.”

Among the  productions will be zombie thriller “Theatre of the Dead,” filmed at Erindale theatre in 2012, “The Competition,” a musical drama filmed in  Canberra and Gunning by SiJo Media and “Perfect,” a psychological thriller by Solar Pictures. Also included will be  the three finalists of ScreenACT’s low budget feature pod, “The Mission” a science factual produced by Andrew Marriot, “Me & My Mates vs the Zombie Apocalypse”, billed as  Australia’s first ZOM/ROM/BROM/COM produced by Daniel Sanguinetti and “Waiting for Robbo” produced by Ivan Slavich. All three have attached an Australian theatrical distributor and have letters of offer from the ACT Screen Investment Fund.

Producer Christian Doran enthuses, “The idea is to believe in your story and tell as many people as you can. Someone will see your passion and want to work with you to get it made, and we’ll make it right here in Canberra.”