Award-Winning Filmmaker’s Debut Feature Begins Production

Award-Winning Filmmaker’s Debut Feature Begins Production

Production commences this month on writer/director Daniel Joseph Borgman’s debut feature film The Weight of Elephants, which will begin filming in Southland, New Zealand in March. The film is being produced by production companies Zentropa (Denmark) and Severe Features (New Zealand) and is the first unofficial feature film co-production between these two countries.

In 2010 Borgman’s short film Berik was awarded the Grand Prix at the Semaine de la Critique in Cannes; the previous year his film Lars and Peter screened in the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection, Short Film Competition. Last year, Borgman’s script for The Weight of Elephants was selected for residential script development at Cinéfondation in Paris, supported by the Cannes Film Festival. Created in 1988, this is the first New Zealand project to be selected by the Cinéfondation.

A co-venture between the New Zealand Film Commission and the Danish Film Institute and Film i Väst with support from the Invercargill City Council, Invercargill Licensing Trust and Southern Institute of Technology, The Weight of Elephants is being produced by New Zealand producer Leanne Saunders for Severe Features and Danish producer Katja Adomeit for Zentropa Entertainments5.

Of A Boy by critically acclaimed Australian novelist Sonya Hartnett, the film tells the story of sensitive 9 year old Adrian struggling with his fears and anxieties since the disappearance of three kids in his small town. Then one day he meets Nicole, a mysterious, crazy, frightening, wonderful girl who moves in next door with her little sister and brother. They might just be everything Adrian ever wanted. They might just be the missing children from the evening news.

All casting took place in New Zealand with child actors Demos Murphy and Angelina Cottrell cast in the lead roles of Adrian and Nicole respectively. The film will be a screen debut for both. They will be supported by award-winning actors Matthew Sunderland (Out of the Blue, The Devil’s Rock, Tracker) as Uncle Rory and Catherine Wilkin (Tangiwai, McLeods Daughters, The Saddle Club) as Gran.

The film will be distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Transmission Films. NZ Film, the sales arm of the New Zealand Film Commission is handling ROW sales for the film.

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