Christmess | |
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Directed by | Heath Davis |
Screenplay by | Heath Davis |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Chris Bland |
Edited by | Romain Mongin |
Music by | Matt Sladen |
Production companies |
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Release dates | 29 October 2023 (Austin) 30 November 2023 (Australia) |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Christmess is a 2023 Australian Christmas film written and directed by Heath Davis.
Three recovering addicts try to get through the festive season without relapsing, in Campbelltown, a suburb in western Sydney, Australia. [1]
An independent Australian film, Christmess is written and directed by Heath Davis. [2] Davis began writing an “authentic” Christmas film after Christmas 2020 when he spent time in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic without work or family, and watched a lot of “bad Christmas films”. [3]
It is produced by Daniel Fenech, Cindy Pritchard, and Matthew McCracken. Funding for the film partially came from crowd-funding. [4]
The film marks the feature film acting debut of Hannah Joy, the lead singer with rock band Middle Kids. Joy wrote several original songs for Christmess, including Empty Chair, Deadbeat Dads, and Boxing Day and performs all three songs in character during the film. [5]
Principal photography got underway in Sydney in June 2022 with a three-week filming schedule. [6]
The film had its world premiere at the Austin Film Festival on 29 October 2023. It was released in Australia on 30 November 2023. [7] [8]
Nadine Whitney in The Curb described the film as "painful, hopeful, gentle, and funny as hell". [9]
Luke Buckmaster in The Guardian described it as "a very absorbing film, tenderly written and directed". [10]
Heath Davis directed Book Week , released in 2018. [11] This film was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Indie Film in the 9th AACTA Awards in 2019. [12] [13]
Judith Davis is an Australian actress. In a career spanning over four decades of both screen and stage, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequent collaborator Woody Allen described her as "one of the most exciting actresses in the world". Davis has received numerous accolades, including nine AACTA Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards.
Luke Davies is an Australian writer of poetry, novels and screenplays. His best known works are Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction and the screenplay for the film Lion, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Davies also co-wrote the screenplay for the film News of the World.
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