Sequin in a Blue Room, the graduate project of director Samuel Van Grinsven (Master of Arts Screen, 2018), has been released on Amazon Prime Video, and is now available to the Australian and New Zealand markets for the first time.
Sequin in a Blue Room’s highly anticipated VOD release follows a national theatrical release earlier this year, its premiere at the 2019 Sydney Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, and its selection at international film festivals including Palm Springs, TIFF Next Wave and BFI Flare. Van Grinsven has been nominated in this year’s Australian Directors Guild Awards and in 2019, Sequin in a Blue Room was nominated for an AACTA Award in the Best Indie Film category.
Responding to the news, Van Grinsven said, “It’s been an inspiring experience having the opportunity to work with a major streaming platform like Amazon in Australia. The team there have been real champions of the film and with their help we can share this story with a wider audience that we have not yet been able to on the festival circuit or in our cinema release.
“We often have people reach out to us on social media from regional areas, or cities we have not yet screened in. Releasing on a wide-reaching streaming service like Amazon helps us connect with people who are searching for content where they can see their own unique experience reflected in front of them, but struggle to find it in mainstream media.
“What’s personally so exciting for me is the opportunity to finally share the film with audiences from my home country New Zealand – where we have not yet had the opportunity to screen.”
A queer coming-of-age tale, Sequin in a Blue Room, was a Masters graduate project from 2018. The film was directed by Samuel Van Grinsven, produced by AFTRS Bachelor of Arts (Screen) graduate Sophie Hattch and made in collaboration with a talented crew of fellow AFTRS students, including Ellie-nominated editor Tim Guthrie and ACS-winning cinematographer Jay Grant. Alumnus Simon Croker (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017) also stars in the film.
Samuel Van Grinsven is currently working as writer/director on his next feature, Went Up The Hill, a psychological thriller being made with support from Screen Australia. Van Grinsven has reunited with Sequin In A Blue Room co-writer, Jory Anast to work on the project, which also sees him teaming up with producers Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton of Causeway Films (The Babadook, Cargo), and New Zealand producer Vicky Pope (Savage).
Find out more about Sequin in a Blue Room here and stream it on Amazon Prime Video now.
SEQUIN IN A BLUE ROOM CREDITS
Director/screenwriter: Samuel Van Grinsven (Master of Arts Screen, 2018)
Screenwriter: Jory Anast
Producer: Sophie Hattch (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Associate producer: Linus Gibson (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Cinematographer: Jay Grant (Graduate Certificate in Cinematography Fundamentals, 2014)
Editor: Tim Guthrie (Master of Arts Screen, 2018)
Composer: Brent Williams (Master of Arts Screen, 2016)
Production Designer: Anna Gardiner
Costume designer: William Tran (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Sound designer: Audrey Houssard (Graduate Diploma in Sound, 2014)
First assistant camera: Dan Abbot (Graduate Certificate in Cinematography, 2014), Carina Burke (Graduate Certificate Screen: Cinematography, 2017)
Second assistant camera: Lucca Barone-Peters (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Alyssa Montgomery (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018), Annabel Hennessey (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Zac Hardaker (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Emma Elias (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Mitch Loveday (Foundation Diploma, 2014), Sally Cattle (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
Steadicam focus puller: Dan Abbot (Graduate Certificate in Cinematography, 2014), Carina Burke (Graduate Certificate Screen: Cinematography, 2017)
H&M/makeup artist: Oliver Levi-Malouf (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Sound recordists: Gavin Davis (Graduate Certificate Screen: Editing, 2018; Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Nathan Codner (Graduate Diploma: Film, Television and Digital Media Location Sound Recording, 2004), Oliver Brighton (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Tahira Donohoe-Bales (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Boom operator: Adam Boys (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2018)
Props Buyer: Matilda Teernstra (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Art department assistants: Emily Jansz (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Juliette Beck (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Lily Ford (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019), Elizabeth Dingle (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017) Monique Terry (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Assistant editor: Gavin Davis (Graduate Certificate Screen: Editing, 2018; Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Timothy O’Connor (Master of Arts Screen, 2018)
Sound re-recording editor/additional sound editing: Stuart Melvey (Master of Arts Screen, 2018)
Colourist: Lucca Barone-Peters (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017)
Key art and stills photographer/gaffer: Nicholas Gascoine
Stills photographers: Louise Dietz-Henderson (Bachelor of Arts (Screen), 2017), Serena Siow (Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, 2019)
