| The Fear of Darkness, a psychological thriller by Queensland filmmakers Mark Overett and Chris Fitchett, and proudly supported by Screen Queensland, has opened theatrically on 252 screens across Russia, with 30 of these in Moscow, and ranked number 18 on the box office charts after its first weekend.
This follows the film’s theatrical release in Vietnam last year and international sales to-date to 11 other territories, including North America, the United Kingdom, Latin America, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. ‘We are thrilled to see The Fear of Darkness performing so well in another foreign territory and congratulate Mark (Overett) and Chris (Fitchett) and everyone behind the production,’ said Screen Queensland Chair, Linda Apelt. ‘Screen Queensland supported Chris and Mark from development through to production, and we were fully behind them bringing together a team of both experienced and early career screen practitioners to make the film. They have provided these early career filmmakers with vital skills and experience, as well as a credit, to get their careers underway and be a valuable member of Queensland’s screen community.’ The Fear of Darkness was shot entirely on location in South East Queensland and Village Roadshow Studios with an all-Queensland crew. It was post-produced in Queensland. Producer Mark Overett said: ‘This is an amazing outcome for a relatively low budget film which we completed two years ago. Our international sales agent, Arclight Films, is still making sales and it’s particularly pleasing the Russian distributor, Paradise Films, has supported the film with such a wide release.’ Writer / Director Chris Fitchett said: ‘I’m very proud of the work that our wonderful cast and crew did on the film, and it’s great that it’s steadily reaching the audience we hoped it would.’ In Australia, The Fear of Darkness premiered at the Screen Queensland supported Gold Coast Film Festival in 2015, followed by a number of Q&A and festival screenings before being released by Transmission Films on DVD, Google Play, iTunes and Amazon. The film stars Maeve Dermody, Penelope Mitchell, Aaron Pedersen, Damien Garvey, Mark Leonard Winter and Christopher Sommers. The Fear of Darkness was supported financially by Screen Queensland, Cutting Edge, Digital Sound & Vision, and Head Gear Films in the U.K. – ENDS – For all media enquiries, please contact Mark Overett | mark@nhp2.com.au For all SQ media enquiries, please contact: media@screenqld.com.au | 07 3248 0500 |
