Lucky Miles
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Lucky Miles is an Australian feature film based on several true stories involving people entering Australia illegally along the continent's vast, remote coastline.
Set in Western Australia in 1990, Lucky Miles unfolds as a traditional Australian tale of men wandering lost into the desert (echoing the national story of Burke and Wills), but with a bold twist Lucky Miles updates this grand narrative to reflect the contemporary geo-political realities of Australia's region. Charting a delicate course between comedy and tragedy, all the while waltzing into one of Australia’s most contentious political issues, Lucky Miles Director Michael James Rowland and Producers Jo Dyer and Lesley Dyer go where angels fear to tread, and successfully it would seem, based on early festival reviews in Variety [1], The Age [2] and The Advertiser [3]. Lucky Miles premiered at the 2007 Adelaide Film Festival where it was chosen to be the opening night film. A few weeks later, competing against the best of global cinema Lucky Miles won the audience award for Best Film at the 2007 Sydney Film Festival, a feat not often achieved by an Australian film (the 2006 winner was independent American film Little Miss Sunshine). 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.
Out-of-competition Lucky Miles continues to screen 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 has been a notable release around the globe during 2007. It's World Sales agent is CineClick Asia and Lucky Miles is distributed on DVD (Region Four) by Madman, released on December 7, 2007.
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[edit] Synopsis
An Indonesian fishing boat abandons a group of Iraqi and Cambodian men on a remote part of the Western Australian coast. 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, our 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.
[edit] 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 [4] 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[5], edited by Henry Dangar[6], 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 07 Adelaide Film Festival. Languages; French, Bahasa Indonesian, Khmer, Arabic, Gumatj and English
[edit] Release
Lucky Miles is a 105 minute Drama/Comedy slated for commercial release in 2007-08 by Dendy (Australia)[7] and CineClick Asia (Worldwide)[8].
[edit] 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 Morrel - Peter Coode
