Production is underway on the psychological horror Sweet River, reports Cinema Australia who says it’s filming in the Byron Bay and Tweed Heads region.
“UK actor Lisa Kay (Heartbeat, Indian Summers) plays Hanna Montague, a woman whose search for her young son’s body leads her back to sleepy Billins, a sugar cane town with a dark history. Hanna’s investigations uncover more than she expected and threaten to expose the town’s secrets… secrets that both the living and the dead will fight to protect.
“In her search for answers, Hanna moves into a cottage on a sugar cane farm. Her neighbours John and Ellenor Drake (Martin Sacks; Blue Heelers, Underbelly and Genevieve Lemon; Top of the Lake, The Dressmaker), live in the neighbouring farmhouse and own all of the surrounding sugar cane fields. Sweet River is a film about two women from completely different worlds, who are learning to deal with the grief caused by the loss of their children. Hanna’s son Joey was abducted by a serial killer and is presumed dead, and Ellenor’s daughter lost her life in a tragic bus crash along with several other local children. As Hanna spends more time in the town investigating her son’s disappearance, and with some unexplained encounters with the supernatural after dark, it becomes clear that no one wants her here. The town is intent on protecting its secrets and a wound that will not heal.”
Sweet River is written by Marc Furmie and Eddie Baroo, and is based on an original story by Justin McMillan, who is directing. The cast is rounded out by Rob Carlton (Paper Giants, Chandon Pictures) and Eddie Baroo (Ghostrider, Australia).