Nick Wright has taken out Best Lead Actor in a Short Film at the Sydney Women’s International Film Festival held last month (November 26 to 29) at United Cinemas, Opera Quays.
“I was utterly blown away to be nominated, let alone win this award,” said Nick, who also wrote and produced the nominated film, The Face. “It was my absolute honour to be surrounded by so many terrific actors, engaging films and trailblazing film makers to support and celebrate the stories of such incredible women around the world, all of which need to be seen to be believed.”
The Face was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Festival, with the shoot’em-up-style film shot in the Jenolan Forest outside of Sydney across three days in sub zero temperatures. It tells the story of a bounty hunter’s daughter who is hell bent on revenge, with writer/producer Nick playing the role of infamous outlaw, Frederick ‘The Face’ Cole and Sydney-based actor Jessica Di Costa as the vengeful heroine.
Despite its short length, it has all the features typical of the genre including the classic slow drawl, multiple fast draws, romance and even a surprise cameo from Tiriel Mora, (AKA Dennis enuto, the lawyer in Aussie classic, The Castle). The festival, which showcased excellence in female storytelling had over 50 films selected from over 300 entries across 41 countries.
Actress and Festival Director Clare McCann says it’s important to support local filmmakers taking bold leaps into genre films which always dominate the international market. “I was so excited to present a film like The Face, to think that they have been made in Australia by Australians. It really boasts what Australian film production companies can do with international stories.”
Like many Aussie-made films, The Face was bootstrapped via crowdfunding, donations and investment by the cast and crew.
www.SWIFF.org.au
@thefacefilm
