Girl Asleep (film)

Girl Asleep
Australian release poster
Directed by	Rosemary Myers
Produced by	Jo Dyer
Screenplay by	Matthew Whittet
Based on	Girl Asleep (play) by Matthew Whittet
Starring	Bethany Whitmore Harrison Feldman Imogen Archer Tilda Cobham-Hervey Eamon Farren Matthew Whittet Amber McMahon Maiah Stewardson
Music by	Luke Smiles Harry Covill
Cinematography	Andrew Commis ACS
Edited by	Karryn de Cinque
Distributed by	Kojo Group
Release date	20 October 2015 (2015-10-20) (Adelaide Film Festival)
Running time	77 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English

Girl Asleep is a 2015 Australian coming of age surreal drama film written by Matthew Whittet and directed by Rosemary Myers.^[1][2][3] The plot, set in the late 1970s, follows 14-year-old Greta Driscoll, a shy and awkward teenager holding on to adolescence, who is propelled into a weird parallel place during her 15th birthday party where she is challenged to find herself.^[4][5][6] The film has been described as an extroverted fantasy dreamscape of an introverted teenage girl.^[7] The film is an adaptation of the successful theatre production, also written by Matthew Whittet,^[8] by Windmill Theatre in 2014 of the same name, that premiered at the Adelaide Festival.^[9] The cast includes: Bethany Whitmore,^[10] Tilda Cobham-Hervey,^{[11][12][13][14][15]} Imogen Archer,^[9] Harrison Feldman, Amber McMahon, Eamon Farren, scriptwriter Matthew Whittet^[9] and Maiah Stewardson.

Girl Asleep showed at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival to critical acclaim.

Cast

• Bethany Whitmore as Greta^[9]
• Harrison Feldman as Elliott^[9]
• Imogen Archer as Genevieve^[9]
• Tilda Cobham-Hervey as The Huldra^[9]
• Eamon Farren^[1] as Adam / Benoit Tremet
• Matthew Whittet^[1] as Conrad / Abject Man
• Amber McMahon^[1] as Janet / Frozen Woman
• Maiah Stewardson as Jade
• Fiona Dawson^[1] as Saphire
• Grace Dawson^[1] as Amber
• Lucy Cowan as Little Greta
• Ellen Steele as Miss Shiswick
• Danielle Catanzariti^[1] as Denise Mackel

Filming

The film was primarily shot in Adelaide, South Australia, with most of the interior and forest shots filmed at Anomaly Studios.^[9] Other locations include Findon High School, Blackwood Forest, Bonython Park and a private house in the suburb of Panorama.^[3]

Reception

Critical response

Jane Howard of The Guardian praises the film giving it 4 out of 5 stars and said that "It’s remarkable how comfortable the oddities we might associate with theatre sit on the screen."^[16] and further stating "The rich colours popping from cinematographer Andrew Commis’s 4:3 aspect ratio draw us back into an Australia of the past. Production and costume designer Jonathon Oxlade also embraces the 70s in all of its oddities and excess. And yet Myers always grounds her characters and their stories in a recognisable reality, drawing out delicate and nuanced performances. Even when the fantasy and magic reaches a peak, we still feel passionately engaged with the humanity."^[16] Simon Foster of Screen-Space gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and said "As Greta embraces her blossoming self, so to does Australian cinema welcome another memorable movie heroine."^[17] Cat Kusmuk-Dodd of The Upside News states "Both Greta’s journey through her everyday life and into her imaginary world make for a visually pleasing experience, the latter enchanting us with the appearance of creatures similar to those in The Mighty Boosh. The excessive timber décor and brightly coloured wallpaper in the Driscoll’s family home would not seem out of place in Napoleon Dynamite."^[18]

Accolades

Funding

The film received funding from Windmill Theatre, South Australian Film Corporation, The Ian Potter Foundation and The Hive Production Fund, a unique initiative of the Adelaide Film Festival in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts, Screen Australia and ABC Arts.^[1]

References

External links

• Official website
• Girl Asleep on IMDb
• Girl Asleep at Windmill Theatre