Foxtel and Dendy Direct have announced a new partnership that will see the highly anticipated movie, Australia Day released in cinemas on September 21 and then available to view at home via the Foxtel Store and Dendy Direct on September 27.
Australia Day stars Bryan Brown in his third collaboration with Director, Kriv Stenders, alongside a wealth of Australian talent including Matthew Le Nevez, Sean Keenan, Elias Anton, Jenny Wu, Isabelle Cornish, Phoenix Raei and Ernie Dingo.
“It’s a real thrill and honour to be a part of this exciting and hopefully precedent setting distribution platform. I believe the future of niche Australian film distribution has finally arrived, and truly hope that other local filmmakers, distributors, broadcasters and exhibitors will be able to continue to build and expand upon the innovative template that Foxtel and Dendy have now created,” said Stenders.
Shot entirely in Brisbane, Australia Day takes place over a 12-hour period on our most controversial national holiday, interweaving the stories of three Australians from diverse backgrounds – 14-year-old Indigenous girl, April; 17-year-old Iranian-Australian boy, Sami and 19-year-old Chinese teen, Lan.
Whilst the nation celebrates with beach/backyard barbeques and Hottest 100 / pool parties, these three individuals find themselves alone and facing issues of racism, oppression and violence – each terrified for their own life. When their respective paths cross with police officer Sonya; Australian teen Jason and failed farmer Terry, all must make choices and sacrifices. All will find there is a heavy price to pay, but heart and hope will help them to create meaningful change.
A fascinating take on the cultural tension that lurks beneath the surface of our country’s modern society, Australia Day has been called “provocative” (The Daily Telegraph) and “energetic” (Screendaily), with Variety likening it to 2006’s Oscar®-winner, Crash.
“Dendy is the only vertically integrated business in Australia offering both exhibition and on demand. It is therefore uniquely positioned to entertain a wider audience by combining the big screen experience of Dendy Cinemas and the national reach of our online movie platform Dendy Direct. This business model which we are branding Dendy Marquee will offer consumers more choice, accessibility, and immediacy in the consumption of quality specialty content,” said Greg Hughes, CEO, Dendy/Icon.
Foxtel’s Director of Content Ross Crowley said:
“Foxtel is excited to be part of this initiative to bring selected movies into Australian homes even sooner. We love going to the movies, and we love when the movies come to us. Australia Day is the perfect title to lead our expanded Foxtel Store offering, making a great Australian feature available to homes around the country one week after cinema. Australia Day joins thousands of movie titles available on Foxtel Store across IQ2+ and HD boxes.”
