ANNOUNCEMENT FROM BRONTE PICTURES
Principal photography begins on highly anticipated shark thriller, Kiah Roache-Turner’s Beast Of War
Bronte Pictures and Pictures in Paradise, Screen NSW and Screen Queensland are pleased to announce that principal photography has officially commenced in Australia on Beast Of War, the eagerly awaited shark thriller helmed by acclaimed genre director Kiah Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead, Nekoronic, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, Sting). This gripping production is a collaboration between Bronte Pictures (The Fabulous Four,Streamline, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, Take My Hand) and Chris Brown of Pictures in Paradise (Sting, Daybreakers, The Railway Man).
Filming will take place between the lush sub-tropical region of New South Wales’ Northern Rivers and Screen Queensland Studios, Brisbane, where production has built Australia’s largest indoor water tank.
The film boasts a talented ensemble cast of award-winning and emerging Australian actors, including:
- Multi-award-winning Mark Coles Smith (Last Cab To Darwin, Mystery Road)
- Joel Nankervis (Dark Arcadia, Single Out)
- Sam Delich (Christmas Bloody Christmas, Spiderhead)
- Lee Tiger Halley (Boy Swallows Universe, Crazy Fun Park)
- Sam Parsonson (Irreverent, Hacksaw Ridge)
- Maximillian Johnson (High Ground, Fear Below)
- Tristan McKinnon (Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, Moon Rock For Monday)
- Steve Le Marquand (Population: 11, Christmess)
These actors are primed for action, ready to spend intense weeks in the tank portraying a band of soldiers stranded in the open ocean, hunted by the ultimate apex predator.
Penned by Roache-Turner, the screenplay is set in 1942 during World War II. A warship carrying hundreds of Australian soldiers across the Timor Sea is suddenly attacked by Japanese fighter jets, transforming the ocean into a hellscape of steel, fire, oil, and blood. With their vessel destroyed, a handful of soldiers construct a makeshift raft from floating debris, clinging to their lives amidst rising tensions. However, their greatest battle is yet to come as a great white shark, drawn to the scent of blood, hunts them in the wreckage below.
With major production funding from Screen NSW and Regional Filming Fund, the film will create over 100 jobs for regional crew. Post, digital and visual effects are also supported by Screen NSW.
With finance assisted by Screen QLD, Beast of War is building Australia’s largest indoor water tank at the Screen Queensland Studios, Brisbane, while also working with Brisbane based Model Farm whose team will use volume screens to bring open ocean to life. Beast Of War brings unprecedented, groundbreaking technology to the Queensland film industry.
The film promises to deliver a thrilling experience, with heroes emerging and personal conflicts boiling to the surface as the soldiers fight to survive against the monstrous shark. The creature effects are being crafted by multi-award winning studio Formation Effect’s director Steven Boyle, whose credits include The Matrix Trilogy and The Hobbit Trilogy. Director of Photography for the project is Mark Wareham ACS (Boy Swallows Universe, The Legend of Molly Johnson, La Brea). Production Designer Esther Rosenberg (Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, Fear Below, Take My Hand) is also on board.
Roache-Turner is celebrated as one of Australia’s premier genre directors. His debut film Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead premiered at Fantastic Fest in Austin, while his follow-up feature Nekrotonic, starring Monica Bellucci, premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. His subsequent film, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, won the Audience Award at the 2021 Sydney Film Festival. His current feature, the arachnophobia horror Sting, is set to be released by Studiocanal in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Benelux.
Beast Of War has generated significant international buzz, with sales and distribution company Cornerstone securing distribution deals in key markets, including Signature Entertainment in the UK and Well Go in North America. Other territories include Dea Planeta (Spain), Just Entertainment (Benelux), NOS (Portugal), Galaxy Pictures (Australia & New Zealand), GPI (Baltics), Capella (CIS), TVN (Poland), Karpat Media (Romania & Hungary), Italia Film (Middle East), Tanweer (Turkey), and Filmfinity (South Africa).
Find out more about Screen Queensland Studios, Brisbane.
