Undertow, the debut feature written and directed by award-winning alumna Miranda Nation is being released nationally this March.
A MIFF Premiere Fund film, Undertow was produced by alumna and AFTRS Acting Head of Producing & Production, Lyn Norfor. The film – which was shot in the Geelong and Surf Coast region where Nation grew up – had its US Premiere at the Austin Film Festival and International Premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival this year.
Undertow is a female-driven story created by a female-strong crew including alumnae Sheila Jayadev (Executive Producer Graduate Certificate Producing, 2011), Prue Williams (Graduate Diploma: Screen Business, 2010) and DOP Bonnie Elliott (Master of Arts: Film, Television and Digital Media Cinematography, 2006).
“It’s a thrilling time to be a female filmmaker, to create and tell stories with strong, complex characters, and take these stories to the world. I am passionate about representing the lives of women; the relationship we have with our bodies, our sexuality and our role as the bearers of life.”
Marianda Nation, director
Undertow follows Claire, who while grieving the loss of her stillborn baby meets pregnant teenager Angie. Drawn into Angie’s world, Claire develops a dangerous obsession that risks both of their lives. Only when Claire is confronted with the terrible secret behind Angie’s pregnancy can both women begin to heal.
“I am fascinated by the inherent tension between our animal and civilised selves. Often, we try to suppress the primal parts of our natures, only for them to rise to the surface with redoubled force and terrible consequences. Undertow explores the female body as a landscape on which the scars of this age-old struggle are violently inscribed.”
Miranda Nation
Undertow stars Olivia DeJonge (Elvis, The Visit), Laura Gordon (The Reckoning), Rob Collins (Total Control) and Josh Helman (Mad Max: Fury Road).
Nation’s 2011 short film, Eli The Invincible premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, won the SBS Programming award at Flickerfest, and was selected for the Melbourne International Film Festival. Her 2013 follow up Perception won the Dendy Award for Best Short Film at the Sydney Film Festival, was nominated for an AACTA Award and had its international premiere at Clermont-Ferrand.
Find out more about Undertow here.
Undertow credits
Director/writer: Miranda Nation (Graduate Diploma: Directing (Fiction & Non-Fiction, 2010)
Producer: Lyn Norfor (Graduate Diploma: Screen Business
Executive Producer: Liz Watts, Prue Williams (Graduate Diploma: Screen Business, 2010), Sheila Jayadev (Executive Producer Graduate Certificate Producing, 2011), John Molloy, Mitu Bhowmick Lange
Cinematographer: Bonnie Elliott ACS (Master of Arts: Film, Television and Digital Media Cinematography, 2006)
Production Designer: Penelope Southgate
Editor: Julie-Anne De Ruvo (Master of Arts: Film & Television Editing, 2006), Nick Meyers ASE
Costume Designer: Stacey O’Connor
Original Music: Lisa Gerrard, James Orr, Raul Sanchez i Jorge
Casting Director: Marianne Jade, Maura Fay Casting
Line Producer: Antje Kulpe