And Her Greatest Threat Starring Martin Freeman Anthony
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CARGO He is his daughter’s only hope… and her greatest threat Starring Martin Freeman Anthony Hayes, Susie Porter, Caren Pistorius, Kris McQuade Bruce R Carter, Natasha Wanganeen and introducing Simone Landers with David Gulpilil Directed by Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling Screenplay by Yolanda Ramke Produced by Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton Producers Russell Ackerman, John Schoenfelder, Mark Patterson Director of Photography: Geoffrey Simpson ACS Production Designer: Jo Ford Costume Designer: Heather Wallace Prosthetics Designer: Larry Van Duynhoven Makeup and Hair Designer: Beverley Freeman Editor: Dany Cooper ASE, Sean Lahiff Original Music Score: Daniel Rankine P.K.A. Trials with Dr G Yunupingu, Michael Hohnen, Johnathon Mangarri Yunupingu, featuring Additional Instrumentation by John Bartlett and Paul Bartlett Casting: Nikki Barrett CSA Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Umbrella Entertainment World Sales: Bankside Films (co-represented in the US with CAA and UTA) A Causeway Films Production INDEX Statement from the Directors……………………........... 3 Short synopsis……………………................................. 4 One page synopsis…………………….......................... 5 The Genesis of Cargo……………………...................... 6 A Universal Story……………………............................. 8 Father and Daughter – Dual Love Stories…………….. 9 Casting Martin Freeman……………………...................10 Portraying a Dystopian World……………………...........11 Viral Design……………………...................................... 12 A Unique Collaboration – Yolanda & Ben …………….. 13 Working with Martin Freeman……………………...........14 Introducing Simone Landers……………………........... 15 Weathering Storms……………………...........................16 Soundtrack……………………....................................... 16 Bios…………………….................................................. 17 CAST AND CHARACTER LIST Andy Martin Freeman Thoomi Simone Landers Rosie Marlee McPherson-Dobbins Lily McPherson-Dobbins Finlay Sjoberg Nova Sjoberg Vic Anthony Hayes Kay Susie Porter Lorraine Caren Pistorius Willie Bruce R Carter Etta Kris McQuade Josie Natasha Wanganeen Cleverman David Gulpilil 2 STATEMENT FROM DIRECTORS YOLANDA RAMKE AND BEN HOWLING At its core, CARGO is a dual father/daughter love story, which just so happens to unfold against the backdrop of a deadly outbreak. The film explores two parallel tales of familial devotion: an infected man’s mission to seek a new home for his infant daughter and conversely, a young Indigenous girl’s quest to save the soul of her infected father. Our approach in developing CARGO from short film to feature has hinged around two essential components: expanding on the emotional character elements of the original short that have resonated with audiences, whilst also searching for new ways to elevate and invigorate the post-apocalyptic genre. With this in mind, the overarching storyline remains anchored in the lengths to which our single father, Andy, must go to protect his baby daughter Rosie. At the same time, we have introduced an exciting new element that has yet to be explored in the undead arena: the presence of Indigenous survivors. As Australian filmmakers, we were very interested in delving into our collective national history in an effort to bring something fresh to the table. The addition of an Indigenous dimension, which includes a pivotal role for a young girl in the form of Thoomi, offered up some thrilling opportunities. The appeal was two-fold. Firstly, it struck us as an entirely credible notion that, in such a global catastrophe, a community of Indigenous people with strong ties to living off the land might be best equipped to endure and flourish. Secondly, it provided a rich allegory for the zombie virus itself and allowed us to question what it means to be a ‘zombie’ from a spiritual standpoint via the Indigenous belief of ‘soul stealing’. Through the prism of an elevated genre film, CARGO seeks to explore three universal themes; love and sacrifice, body and soul, modern society and traditional society. 3 SHORT SYNOPSIS In a desperate bid to outrun a violent pandemic, Andy and Kay have holed up on a houseboat with their one-year-old daughter Rosie. When their peaceful river existence is shattered by a violent attack, Andy takes his family ashore to seek help for his badly injured wife. But this decision ends in tragedy when Kay meets a grisly demise and Andy is not only infected himself but left with only 48 hours to find a new guardian for their child, before he transforms into one of the creatures they have fought so long to evade. As Andy travels further inland, it becomes apparent that Rosie’s best chance of survival may be with a flourishing Aboriginal community. But their merciless attitude toward the afflicted also poses a grave threat. Andy’s fate soon becomes entwined with that of a young Indigenous girl Thoomi, who could be his safe passage into this community. But unfortunately, the girl has no desire to return to her people – she is on a quest to cure her own infected father by returning his stolen soul. Each in their own way, Andy and Thoomi are both seeking salvation... but they will need to work together if they truly hope to achieve it. 4 ONE PAGE SYNOPSIS Unfolding against a rural Australian backdrop in the aftermath of a viral pandemic, CARGO centres around two desperate – and disparate – individuals as they struggle to defend their loved ones in a toxic new world. Andy fled the city with his wife Kay and baby Rosie, seeking sanctuary aboard a houseboat. The river has shielded them for months from the ravenous attacks of infected humans and the virus itself. But when Kay is bitten and undergoes a grisly transformation, Andy is suddenly faced with two impossible tasks: to execute the woman he loves; and, now infected himself, to find a new guardian for his child within 48 hours, before he succumbs to the same predatory mutation. Meanwhile Thoomi, a headstrong Indigenous girl, is on a quest of her own. Interpreting her father’s viral symptoms as a curse, she has abandoned her community to find the Cleverman she hopes will recover her father’s soul. The unlikely pair’s paths cross when Andy learns of the tribe’s mountain utopia, where a reliance on ancestral traditions allows them to flourish. Seeing this community as his daughter’s best chance of survival, Andy sets a new course toward them - until he realises they are dispatching hunting parties to eradicate the afflicted, and he won’t reach them alive without an escort. Mercifully, an alternative appears in the form of Vic and Lorraine, a salt-of-the-earth couple making their home amongst collected and abandoned debris. All is not what it seems however, and Andy’s willingness to leave Rosie in their care is challenged when he discovers Vic is using an innocent child as zombie bait to loot from the rotting hordes. When Andy tries to leave his infection is exposed and he wakes up imprisoned inside a cage with the child zombie bait - Thoomi. Forced to strike up a tenuous alliance, Andy and Thoomi help each other out of the cage but their attempted escape results in Lorraine’s death and Vic’s enraged pursuit. While Andy tries to persuade Thoomi to guide him back to the river where he spotted a family days earlier, she remains determined to save her own father. But when she returns to him, she finds his executed corpse. With only a few hours left, Thoomi decides to lead Andy back to the family, where instead he finds a father mustering the courage to end his own children’s lives. Finally acknowledging to herself that her people needed to execute her infected father, Thoomi agrees to take Andy to her community and he is deeply moved. A ravaged Vic appears, however, and Andy must summon every ounce of strength to overpower him. Beaten and broken, Andy, Thoomi and Rosie continue their perilous journey to safety. Racing against time Andy carries the two children toward the hunting fires until his body surrenders to its deadly transformation – but not before constructing an ingenious contraption to keep him on course and distract him from his precious cargo. His courageous journey ultimately leads not only to the safe deliverance of his baby daughter, but also to the reconnection of Thoomi with her own family, as it seems that her bid to recover her father’s soul may not have been in vain after all. 5 THE GENESIS OF CARGO CARGO was initially borne of the desire to explore the ‘zombie’ genre in a contained, short form project. To zero in on just one family’s fight for survival – a glimpse through the keyhole, rather than busting down the entire door. As lifelong fans of science fiction, horror and the paranormal, directors Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling had always been eager to unleash their imaginations in the ‘undead’ universe. But they were also keenly aware of the significant challenges this would present. In tackling a genre that has recently stamped such a claim on pop culture, the chances of unlocking a fresh point of attack felt pretty slim. Casting aside thoughts of the broader zombie pantheon, the two sought to investigate angles into this world that not only felt fresh, but also appealed to their sensibilities as filmmakers; a focus on the human element, rather than the creatures themselves. The answer came in the form of a single image: a zombie carrying a baby on its back. It was this visceral, evocative and emotionally charged image from the resulting 7- minute Tropfest short (of the same name) that struck a chord with its audience. In fact, since becoming a Tropfest finalist in 2013, CARGO has garnered over 13 million YouTube views. It was not long before Yolanda and Ben had signed with American powerhouse agents CAA who were interested in their next venture. But as Howling put it “we thought there was a lot of untapped terrain in CARGO” and after an intense 4-week period of brainstorming, the two had a treatment to shop around on a whirlwind trip to the US.