Standing Up for Sunny

Last updated

Standing Up for Sunny
Standing Up for Sunny Movie Poster.jpg
Theatrical movie poster
Directed by
Written by Steven Vidler
Produced byDrew Bailey
Jamie Hilton
Michael Pontin
Starring RJ Mitte
Sam Reid
Matt Nable
CinematographyMark Bliss
Edited byDany Cooper
Music byCaitlin Yeo
Production
companies
See Pictures
Spectrum Films
Ticket to Ride
Distributed by Madman Entertainment
Release date
Running time
105 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Standing Up for Sunny is a 2019 Australian film comedy written and directed by Steven Vidler, and starring RJ Mitte, Sam Reid and Matt Nable. It won the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Indie Film.

Contents

Synopsis

An isolated man with cerebral palsy is railroaded into helping an unassertive comedienne, and finds love and acceptance through stand-up comedy. [1]

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 2018.[ citation needed ]

Release

The film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2019. [2]

It was also shown at CinefestOZ to a packed audience in September 2019. [3]

The general release date was 5 December 2019. [4]

Reception

Standing Up for Sunny received favourable reviews from Australian critics.

Andrew F. Peirce of The Curb said, "It’s so rare to see a film that shines this brightly, and it’s so rare to see one that gives people with disabilities the chance to be funny". [3]

Matthew Eeles of Cinema Australia called the film, "Tender, clever and very, very funny". [5]

Julian Wood at Filmink said, "The film is certainly amiable, and the low budget gives it a sense of immediacy and authenticity". [4]

Isobel Sanby at Newsworthy gave the film four stars and stated, "What Standing Up for Sunny communicates is that it is not just representation on screen that needs to be addressed, it is accessibility holistically". [2]

Awards and nominations

Standing Up for Sunny won the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Indie Film in the 10th AACTA Awards. [6]

Related Research Articles

East West 101 is an Australian drama series airing on the SBS network. The series was produced and created by Steven Knapman and Kris Wyld, the team behind other drama series such as Wildside and White Collar Blue. It ran from 2007–2011, having three series.

Osamah Sami is an Australian stage and screen actor, writer, and stand-up comedian of Iraqi origin. He is known for his book Good Muslim Boy, and the film Ali's Wedding.

Funny Things Happen Down Under is a 1965 Australian-New Zealand musical film directed by Joe McCormick. It stars Olivia Newton-John, Ian Turpie and Howard Morrison, and is best remembered today for being Newton-John's first film.

<i>Son of a Gun</i> (film) 2014 film by Julius Avery

Son of a Gun is a 2014 crime thriller film written and directed by Julius Avery. It stars Ewan McGregor, Brenton Thwaites, Alicia Vikander, and Jacek Koman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Reid (actor)</span> Australian actor

Sam Reid is an Australian actor. He is best known for his work in Lambs of God (2019) and The Newsreader (2021–present), for which he was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama thrice, and his critically acclaimed performance as Lestat de Lioncourt in Interview with the Vampire (2022–present).

Mark Leonard Winter is an Australian actor, known for performances in film, television and on stage.

<i>Koko: A Red Dog Story</i> 2019 film directed by Aaron McCann and Dominic Pearce

Koko: A Red Dog Story is a 2019 Australian family documentary film directed by Aaron McCann and Dominic Pearce, written by Aaron McCann and Dominic Pearce, and starring Jason Isaacs, Felix Williamson and Sarah Woods. It is a spin-off to the 2011 film Red Dog, detailing the life of Koko, who was cast as Red Dog in the original film.

<i>Rams</i> (2020 film) 2020 Australian film directed by Jeremy Sims

Rams is a 2020 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Jeremy Sims, written by Jules Duncan, and starring Sam Neill, Michael Caton, and Miranda Richardson. It is based on the Icelandic drama film Rams (2015) by Grímur Hákonarson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CinefestOZ</span> Annual film festival in Western Australia

CinefestOZ is an annual film festival that takes place over five days in the South West region of Western Australia. IndigifestOZ is a section of the festival devoted to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers. The CinefestOZ Film Prize of A$100,000 is the richest film prize in the country.

Benjamin Gilmour is a German Australian author and filmmaker, best known for writing and directing the film Jirga (2018).

Aaron Wilson is an Australian filmmaker, known for the 2013 suspense war drama Canopy and the 2021 period drama Little Tornadoes.

The Curb is an Australian website focused on Australian films. It is based in Perth, Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquarius Films</span> Australian entertainment company

Aquarius Films is an independent Australian film and TV production company based in Sydney, founded in 2008 by producers Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford. TV credits include Love Me, The Unusual Suspects, The Other Guy and Savage River Film credits include Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated Lion starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman, produced by Aquarius in association with See-Saw Films and the psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome starring Teresa Palmer and Directed by Cate Shortland which premiered at Sundance Film Festival, Dirt Music, directed by Gregor Jordan and starring Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Macdonald and David Wenham and Wish You Were Here, starring Joel Edgerton and Teresa Palmer, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival and won two Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, including Best Screenplay, and five Film Critics Circle Awards, including Best Film.

<i>Monolith</i> (2022 film) 2022 Australian film

Monolith is a 2022 Australian sci-fi horror thriller film directed by Matt Vesely from a script written by Lucy Campbell, and produced by Bettina Hamilton. Described as high-concept science fiction, it stars Lily Sullivan, the only on-screen actor in the film, as a journalist uncovering a mystery.

<i>Moon Rock for Monday</i> 2020 Australian independent film

Moon Rock For Monday is a 2020 Australian independent film written and directed by Kurt Martin.

A Savage Christmas is a 2023 Australian comedy drama film directed by Madeleine Dyer, and starring Darren Gilshenan and Helen Thomson.

Christmess is a 2023 Australian Christmas film written and directed by Heath Davis.

The AACTA Award for Best Indie Film is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) since 2018.

<i>The Rooster</i> (film) 2023 Australian film

The Rooster is a 2023 Australian comedy drama film directed by Mark Leonard Winter and starring Hugo Weaving, Phoenix Raei, and John Waters.

References

  1. "Standing Up for Sunny". IMDb.
  2. 1 2 Sanby, Isobel (20 September 2019). "Breaking good: 'Sunny' is a gem you should find". Newsworthy.
  3. 1 2 Peirce, Andrew F. (26 September 2019). "Standing Up for Sunny Cinefest Oz Review - A Genuinely Hilarious Treat of a Film". The Curb. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. 1 2 Wood, Julian. "Standing Up for Sunny". Filmink.
  5. Eeles, Matthew (23 May 2019). "Review: Standing Up For Sunny". Cinema Australia.
  6. "Winners & Nominees". AACTA. Retrieved 26 February 2024.