Screen Australia has announced major production funding for Babyteeth, a bittersweet comedy feature starring Ben Mendelsohn (Ready Player One, Animal Kingdom) and Essie Davis (Game of Thrones, The Babadook). Babyteeth is the first feature for Australian development and production company Whitefalk Films following the success of short films Trespass (Winner of Best Australian Short Film, MIFF 2017) and Florence Has Left the Building (Winner of Best Short Film at the Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts Awards 2015).
Shannon Murphy will make her feature film directorial debut, with a script based on the successful play by Rita Kalnejais. Babyteeth will be produced by Alex White and executive produced by Jan Chapman (Bright Star, The Piano). Create NSW are also investing in the title, with Australian distribution by Entertainment One (eOne) and international sales by Celluloid Dreams.
“I’m delighted to be working with such a strong and gifted female team in producer, Alex White and director Shannon Murphy interpreting Rita Kalnejais’ vivid, insightful and funny screenplay about how precious life is,” said executive producer Jan Chapman. “We so appreciate the support of Screen Australia, Create NSW, WeirAnderson.com and Spectrum Films along with our distributor Entertainment One for Australia and international sales agent Celluloid Dreams, whose imaginations Babyteeth captured and who were all essential in enabling Rita’s fresh and original voice to move to production. To have Ben and Essie illuminate that voice is perfect.”
Chapman explained that Babyteeth is a bittersweet comedy – what might have been a disaster for the Finlay family leads to letting go and finding grace in the glorious chaos of life, as Henry (Mendelsohn) and Anna (Davis) realise their seriously ill teenage daughter Milla has fallen madly in love with a drug dealer, Moses. This romance is Milla’s protective parents’ worst nightmare – but Milla doesn’t want to play it safe anymore. Things get messy and morals go out the window, as the lives of those around the family – their disarmingly honest pregnant neighbour, a brilliantly flawed music teacher, a child violin prodigy and Moses’ family – become intertwined.
“I first saw Rita Kalnejais’ humorous and profoundly moving play Babyteeth at Sydney’s Belvoir Street Theatre in 2012 with executive producer Jan Chapman,” producer Alex White commented “Rita’s exquisitely delicate examination of the life of a teenage girl and the people who constellate her was a life-affirming experience. It felt like the perfect work to be translated to screen.”
“The combination of distinguished experience, top cast and dynamic emerging talent bodes well for this distinctive, emotionally challenging, but darkly funny and affirming screenplay. This film will resonate with Australian and international audiences. We are excited to see Shannon Murphy make her feature film debut, having worked on some impressive and popular television dramas including Love Child and Offspring.” Sally Caplan, Screen Australia’s Head of Production.