Sisters of War

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Sisters of War
Sisters of war cover.jpg
Written by John Misto
Directed by Brendan Maher
Starring Claire van der Boom
Sarah Snook
Susie Porter
Gerald Lepkowski
Paulini Curuenavuli
Khan Chittenden
Anna Volska
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerAndrew Wiseman
Running time95 minutes
Original release
Network ABC1
Release14 November 2010 (2010-11-14)

Sisters of War is a telemovie based on the true story of two Australian women, Lorna Whyte, an army nurse and Sister Berenice Twohill, a Catholic nun from New South Wales who survived as prisoners of war in Papua New Guinea during World War II. [1] Sisters of War was written by John Misto, produced by Andrew Wiseman and directed by Brendan Maher. [2] It made its debut at the Brisbane International Film Festival on 11 November 2010. [3] It premiered on television on 14 November 2010 on Australian channel ABC1. [3]

Contents

Background

Sisters of War was inspired by real events and based on Rod Miller's manuscript The Lost Women of Rabaul. At the heart of those events were the stories and experiences of Lorna Johnston and Sister Berenice Twohill. In the process of clearing possessions for an estate in 1991, Miller, who is a general auctioneer, came across an old diary. He was about to throw it out when he became intrigued by the contents of the modest book. On closer inspection he saw that it was written in cryptic prose and rhyme. The diary was written by Grace Kruger, one of four civilian nurses captured by the Japanese in Rabaul in 1942. Kruger had deliberately written the diary with cryptic prose so as to confuse any Japanese soldier or casual reader who might have discovered it. Miller became fascinated by this work and the history that motivated it. Discovering there was little information readily available about the Rabaul nurses, he started to research the events surrounding their internment in Rabaul. Miller first met Sister Berenice Twohill and Lorna Johnston in 1997 and through them was able to meet and interview most of the surviving nurses and officers of Lark Force. He was able to borrow and transcribe their diaries which added to the overall knowledge of what had occurred at the time. Miller and writer John Misto joined forces on the project and soon after ABC1 came on board and producer Andrew Wiseman joined the team. Wiseman has an interest in presenting history dramas for television and Sisters of War provided a natural progression from Curtin , the World War II telemovie he produced with Richard Keddie. [4]

The shooting of the film began in April 2010 and ended in June 2010. It was shot in Gold Coast, Queensland. [5] [6]

Plot

Vunapope, a small Catholic mission station on New Britain, is captured by Japanese forces in January 1942. [1]

Cast

Source Australian Broadcasting Corporation [7]

DVD release

Sisters of War is available on DVD in Australia. [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 David Knox (25 October 2010) Airdate: Sisters of War: TV Tonight www.tvtonight.com.au – Retrieved 2010-11-12.
  2. ↑ About – Sisters of War – ABC TV Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 2010-11-12.
  3. 1 2 Nun's POW story draws family to film festival Archived 21 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine www.cathnews.com – Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  4. ↑ Background – Sisters of War – ABC TV Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  5. ↑ Fiona Byrne (3 April 2010) Claire Van der Boom to play nun in Sisters of War Perth Now (The Sunday Times). Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  6. ↑ (4 May 2010) Former Australian Idol star Paulini Curuenavuli takes holy orders for TV role Courier Mail (Queensland Newspapers). Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  7. ↑ Characters – Sisters of War – ABC TV Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  8. ↑ Sisters of War – DVD – ABC Shop Archived 20 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine shop.abc.net.au – Retrieved 2010-11-18.
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