KHOA DO
Writer, Producer, Director
In response to increasing fear and hysteria surrounding the plight of refugees arriving on our shores, Khoa Do has for the past two years been working on THE REFUGEE TRILOGY – a trilogy of films exploring the plight of those who have had to flee their homeland at the end of a war. MOTHER FISH is the first of the trilogy, with Khoa and his team working with Vietnamese refugees and their descendants to craft a moving, visceral filmic experience.
Khoa is currently in post-production on FALLING FOR SAHARA, the second in the trilogy which was filmed in Melbourne in late 2009. In FALLING FOR SAHARA, Khoa and his team worked extensively with an amazing cast of African-Australian refugees who have recently arrived in Australia from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia. The film is a romantic drama, looking at modern-day life for African refugees living around Flemington, Victoria. FALLING FOR SAHARA is Australia’s first African feature and is scheduled for a 2011 release.
The third film in the trilogy is a highly confidential project currently in development.
In 2006, Khoa directed and co-wrote FOOTY LEGENDS, which received critical praise, including such comments as “a spirited, beautifully realised and highly entertaining sports family drama” (FILMINK magazine), “the feelgood movie of the year” (yourMovies) and “Footy Legends triumphs!” (IF Magazine). FOOTY LEGENDS was the Grand Jury Prize at the Vietnamese International Film Festival, California.
Khoa completed his feature film debut, THE FINISHED PEOPLE in 2003 – a gritty and realistic story of street kids on the edge of survival. Khoa directed, produced and co-wrote the film, working with real-life street-children and at-risk adolescents.
THE FINISHED PEOPLE was nominated for two AFI Awards (including Best Direction), three Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards (including Best Film and Best Director), and an AWGIE Award. At 25, Khoa was one of the youngest directors ever to be nominated for an AFI Award for Best Direction.
In 2001, Khoa wrote the half-hour television drama DELIVERY DAY (directed by Jane Manning). For this film, Khoa was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Screenplay in a Short Film. For the same script he won Best Achievement in an Original Screenplay at the St Kilda International Short Film Festival in Melbourne. DELIVERY DAY screened at many international festivals and has won numerous awards, including Best Short Film at the Locarno International Film Festival, Best Australian Film at the Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, and a Special Mention at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In 2003, Khoa was awarded a Centenary Medal and the IF Independent Spirit Award for THE FINISHED PEOPLE. In January 2005, Khoa was announced as YOUNG AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR, the first ever film-maker to have been awarded the accolade.
MATTHEW REILLY
Executive Producer
MATTHEW REILLY is the international bestselling author of nine novels, Ice Station, Temple, Contest, Area 7, Scarecrow, Hover Car Racer, Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones and The Five Greatest Warriors. After self-publishing his first novel, Contest, his books are now published in over 20 languages and he has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.
Walt Disney Pictures have bought the film rights to Hover Car Racer. In 2007, Matthew sold a television screenplay called Literary Superstars to Sony and the ABC network in the United States. In 2005, Matthew¹s novel Seven Ancient Wonders was the biggest-selling novel by an Australian in Australia. Matthew has three novels in the list of 100 favourite Australian novels for high school students of all time and five novels in Angus & Robertson’s list of the Top 100 books.
“This film has the ability to change the way Australians think about refugees and seekers of asylum.”
“It puts us right in the boat with some asylum seekers. We experience what they experience in the most immediate and harrowing way.”
“Mainstream Australia really only sees asylum seekers at the end of their journeys, when they arrive in Australia — and thus many Australians, not least our political leaders, wrongly associate refugees with the act of arriving, being captured and being taken away to detention centres. MOTHER FISH shows us what refugees must go through before they arrive. It makes them real people, real human beings doing a very dangerous thing to escape genuine oppression.”
- MATTHEW REILLY
PETER HOLLAND
Director of Photography
Peter started his career as a camera/lighting assistant working on major feature films including Babe 1 & 2, the Matrix trilogy, Birthday Girl and Moulin Rouge. In 2002 Peter graduated with a Masters Degree in cinematography from AFTRS, the national Australian film school.
Peter’s first feature film as D.P. was the highly acclaimed ‘Gabriel’ which earned him an ACS Gold Award. This film was shot on a miniscule budget of $200,000 and was purchased by Sony Pictures for International Theatrical distribution. Peter has been a leading proponent of digital cinematography and a pioneer of the Red 4K camera. His other credits have included THE NOTHING MEN and CEDAR BOYS.
ALAN JOHN
Composer
Alan’s film and television credits include THREE DOLLARS and THE BANK (both directed by Robert Connolly); LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI (director Kate Woods); TRAVELLING NORTH; the ABC mini series THE FARM (director Kate Woods); ABC TV’s telemovies THE SHARK NET and LOOT; EDENS LOST (producer Margaret Fink, director Neil Armfield); CORAL ISLAND (part 1 of Jan Chapman’s NAKED series) and for Film Australia’s animation series HUMAN CONTRAPTIONS. In 2005 Alan worked on the Foxtel award winning TV series LOVE MY WAY.
Alan has been awarded an APRA/Australian Guild of Screen Composers Award for THE BANK (Best Music in a Feature Film in 2002), HUMAN CONTRAPTIONS (Best Music for Short Film in 2003) and THE SHARK NET (Best Music for Mini Series or Telemovie, 2004).
ALISON MCSKIMMING CROFT
Editor
Alison McSkimming Croft has been editing drama and documentary since graduating from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in 1998 with a BA in Film and Television. In 2007 she won an AFI Award for her work on the documentary feature “Forbidden Lies”. Her film credits include: “Son of a Lion”, “The Finished People”, “Forbidden Lies”, “Making Venus”, “Chrissy”, and “Yellow Fella”, which screened at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
ELEANOR WINKLER
Line Producer
Eleanor Winkler is an award winning film and theatre producer who is committed to representing diversity on screen and stage. Her career in the Arts began in 2006 when she took the helm as General Manager of Western Sydney’s leading youth arts organisation Powerhouse Youth Theatre (PYT), and has worked fiercely since then to realise creative projects highlighting the diverse cultural landscape of Australia on all scales: from small street theatre performances to large scale site specific theatre pieces and feature films.
Eleanor has also produced the award-winning short film BE MY BROTHER, written and directed by Genevieve Clay, winner of the 2009 Movie Extra Tropfest Best Film. Currently, Eleanor is based at CuriousWorks producing a multimedia social enterprise project for young people in Western Sydney called Urban Stories.
JASON MCGOLDRICK
Production Designer/First A.D.
Jason McGoldrick was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2004 for co-writing THE FINISHED PEOPLE. He was also one of the main actors in the film. Jason is an actor and writer who has since appeared in three other feature films, including 2006’s FOOTY LEGENDS, acting opposite Claudia Karvan and Peter Phelps. Behind the scenes, Jason has worked as an Assistant Director in the original play for MOTHER FISH and has assisted in a variety of productions in different capacities. Jason’s versatility is very clear in MOTHER FISH, where he was both First Assistant Director and Production Designer. Jason’s previous experience working in the building industry stood him in perfect stead to overcome any challenges that the MOTHER FISH set brought forth.
SHANE MACDONALD
Production Designer/Continuity
Shane was an actor and a co-writer on THE FINISHED PEOPLE in 2003, and a leading actor in FOOTY LEGENDS (2006). He worked on the play for MOTHER FISH in set construction and has had extensive experience working in Australia’s construction industry. He has also worked in theatre, predominantly with Powerhouse Youth Theatre in sets and construction. Shane is currently working with CuriousWorks on a new project.
GUIDO GONZALEZ
Production Designer/Unit Manager
Guido Gonzalez was born in Chile, but came to Australia as a refugee when he was a young boy. He and his family spent 8 months at Villawood Migrant Hostel. In 2003, Guido worked on THE FINISHED PEOPLE as Camera Assistant, and in 2005 worked on FOOTY LEGENDS as EPK Director. In MOTHER FISH, Guido was working both in Production Design as well as being Unit Manager. Guido is currently working with CuriousWorks.