Australia Day (2017)

On Australia's most controversial national holiday, the lives of three Australians from diverse cultural backgrounds will collide, illuminating contemporary issues of racial tension and ... See full summary »

Director:

Kriv Stenders

Writer:

Stephen M. Irwin

Stars:

Miah Madden, Elias Anton, Jenny Wu

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miah Madden	...	April Tucker
Elias Anton	...	Sami Ghaznavi
Jenny Wu	...	Lan Chang
Daniel Webber	...	Jason Patterson
Luke Howell	...	Tony Agosti
Shari Sebbens	...	Sonya Mackenzie
Yasmin Honeychurch	...	Kaytee Tucker
Bryan Brown	...	Terry Friedman
Kee Chan	...	Zhou Chong
Burgess Abernethy	...	Traffic Investigator Sergeant
Roxanne Mcdonald	...	Indigenous Woman
Isabelle Cornish	...	Chloe Patterson
Sean Keenan	...	Dean Patterson
Neil Pigot	...	Inspector Michael Bester
Jacy Lewis	...	Senior Constable Liz Jamieson

Storyline

On Australia's most controversial national holiday, the lives of three Australians from diverse cultural backgrounds will collide, illuminating contemporary issues of racial tension and national identity that simmer beneath the surface of modern Australia.

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Plot Keywords:

anthropology | bankruptcy | australian aborigine | police officer | sub tropics | 

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Taglines:

Whilst the nation celebrates with beach and backyard barbeques, three young individuals find themselves alone and facing racism, oppression and violence.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

Australia

Language:

English Chinese Persian

Release Date:

12 June 2017 (Australia)

Filming Locations:

Brisbane, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

FOXTEL, Screen Australia, Screen Queensland

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Third of three feature film collaborations [to date, September 2017] of actor Bryan Brown and director Kriv Stenders after Kill Me Three Times (2014) and the previous year's Red Dog: True Blue (2016).

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Goofs

A white iPhone is used incorrectly, because the actor has a conversation with a caller whilst holding the iPhone the wrong way, with the microphone next to his ear and the loudspeaker next to his mouth.

User Reviews

Unsettling truths

Australia day kicks off with several broken stories not making much sense, but carrying the most uncomfortable and unsettling vibe, so much so that I spent the better part of this movie prepared to turn it off. I don't need reminding of the regressive mindsets that are still so prevalent because having spent 10yrs of my early adulthood 16-27yrs of age in Brisbane, I know the story all too well..

The overall premise of the film is of overcoming adversity and this wasn't clear for the better part of the movie where you're left gritting your teeth to bare it. For this one however, it was worth waiting out till the end to see what the film makers where trying to do. The messages/lessons they aim to bestow hold a very relative nature, relative to the times we live, the issues we face as humans in our current condition and the relativity we hold to each other.

Don't expect to leave your viewing session with a smile on your face, but you will leave with a handful of seeds planted in your mind that should see grow, I call whatever movie or piece capable of doing this, one of great merit across the board.. and this film is no exception to that. You may not have a smile on your face, but at least in my case, you will have a few tears welled up in the corners of your eyes and a bit to ponder about.

We have a lot to address here in Australia and some of the most important topics of which start at home where this movie has based itself. Our issues aren't in the demise of agriculture, or what color skins are dating ones sister etc, but only how we relate each other.. seemingly the most overlooked of all issues until something grave impacts us such as the atrocities that are able to go on whilst we only care about ourselves.