CELIA

Celia (Rebecca Smart – Heartbreak High, The Coca Cola Kid, The Shiralee) is a fiercely independent and imaginative 9-year old who lives uncomfortably with her buttoned-down family in suburban Melbourne in the 1950s. Her church-going parents are troubled by sexual frustrations and irrational fears about the rise of communism. Celia's world falls apart after the death of her grandmother, howevere a friendship blossoms with new neighbour Alice (Victoria Longley in an AFI winning performance), a fun-loving, open-minded woman with young children. Celia's father (Nicholas Eadie) also becomes enamoured by Alice, but cruelly forces her out of the neighbourhood when he discovers her communist sympathies. A beloved pet rabbit is now Celia's only source of affection, but when it too is taken, the child's world veers ominously between fantasy and reality, violence and tragedy.  

THE TALE OF RUBY ROSE

During the 1930s in the remote highlands of Australian Tasmania, Ruby Rose (Melita Jurisic, Mad Max: Fury Road) lives with her husband, Henry (Chris Haywood, Muriel's Wedding), and stepson, Gem (Rod Zuanic, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome). Ruby is alone for much of the time and, afraid of night's darkness, she concocts elaborate mythical stories to survive, retreating into a private world. Eventually, she sets out to reconnect with her estranged father, and in the process transcends the fear that had gripped her so tightly. 

Critic Review: (Celia)

• " Deserves to be celebrated as one of the best features Australia has ever had to offer. " – Sarah Ward (Concrete Playground)