Synopsis

Emily is trying to find her father. In the words of her mother Susan, he was a “tom cat”; a tourist who came through the town one summer and never returned. Susan is trying to forget the past. She hasn’t spoken to her fervently religious parents for years, not since she fell pregnant at fifteen and refused to name the father. Stephen is haunted by the past. His wife and baby daughter, no longer in his life, are always on his mind. Carl the town policeman has plenty to hide. His wife Elizabeth is afraid of her suspicions while son Joel has a secret love of his own. When a bible turns up with an intriguing inscription, Emily is the first to realise that wishing for change is not enough. A coastal township full of secrets. A woman with a past. A young girls longing to know who she really is. A family torn apart by a husbands affair. A man, too afraid to love. This winter, one wish will change everything.

What The Critics Say

"The Caterpillar Wish" explores what people do when they're burdened by the past and struggling to find a future. Victoria Thaine is a revelation as Emily.. This is director Sandra Sciberras' second collaboration with producer Kate Whitbread and I can only hope for a third. I left the cinema feeling truly moved and uplifted. I can't ask for much more than that from a film. 4 1/2 STARS" Mark Beirne OUR BRISBANE "Crafted with impeccable care by all concerned, The Caterpillar Wish is arthouse cinema, full of visually striking interstitials - close ups of water and objects or elements that surround the characters. The film sets a mood and a pace that is drawn from the narrative about secrets of the past that collide with realities of the present." Andrew Urban URBAN CINEFILE "An achingly beautiful Australian drama about mothers and daughters, husbands and lovers, loss and forgiveness. RAW, TENDER AND INSPIRING." Vicky Roach, Daily Telegraph "Thaine is excellent, at times cheerfully upbeat and at others frustrated, angry, hurt and disappointed. Her skill in displaying the conflicting emotions Emily experiences is matched by that of the adult stars who surround her: Susie Porter, Philip Quast, Robert Mammone and Wendy Hughes are all excellent. Porter shines in a difficult role. 4 STARS" Mark Lavercombe HOOPLA REVIEWS

"Caterpillar Wish is beautifully photographed with many strong performances. The chemistry between Susie Porter and Victoria Thaine is right on the money whilst veterans like Wendy Hughes and Elspeth Ballantyne show much intensity in their roles." Jaimie Leonarder SBS THE MOVIE SHOW "Writer/director Sandra Sciberras charts Emily’s journey economically but emotionally. The supporting cast is really solid with Khan Chittenden very impressive as Joel. This is yet another Australian film this year that is adding to the credibility of our industry. 3 1/2 STARS" Margaret Pomeranz ABC AT THE MOVIES "There's so much that's good about this film, the small town setting, and the characters, and the actors who play them, are all very, very good indeed.." David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES "Writer /director Sandra Sciberras has gathered a wonderful cast to portray the characters in the sleepy seaside town, shot in beautiful South Australia. Susie Porter and Robert Mammone are superb, and the teens Victoria Thaine as Emily and Khan Chittenden as Joel are excellent." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

The Inside Story "The Caterpillar Wish is so moving because it’s the story of ordinary people who have given up on the hope that their life could change for the better. They’ve given up on love, on marriage, on starting again. But one young girl still believes that life can be better, and she drags all these adults, kicking and screaming, to the point where their lives have to change, for better or for worse. And in the end they all grow, and begin new relationships, or get out of destructive old ones, and I think that’s a story that people want to hear," says the Director of the IndiVision Project Lab at the Australian Film Commission, Megan Simpson Huberman. It's a trend that is helping to rebirth the Australian film industry. I don't know how many times I've read, heard or been asked the question, "Will this film kick start the Australian film industry?" or, "When are they going to start making films like they used to!" Well let me answer those questions this way. I think the days when our home grown films challenged the big Hollywood productions dollar for dollar at the box-office are long gone. My persoanl opinion was always that the local film industry needed to get back to making films that people wanted to see, rather than films they wanted to make. In recent times we have seen some fine examples of what I am alluding to. Films as "Walk On Water", "Peaches", "Look Both Ways", "Tom White", "Oyster Farmer", "The Proposition", "Little Fish", "Kokoda", "The Caterpillar Wish" and the exceptional "Candy" are every bit as good as the 'indie' films produced overseas. True our films of late may not be in the same league as the big 'blockbusters' but they are certainly big on providing value for money and quality entertainment. There's a formula within these films that is working well. They are films which breathe life through characters that have genuine appeal. Why? Because in all the films I've previously mentioned, they are character who are reflections of life; pretty, ugly, passionate, funny, ignorant and poignant as life itself. These are films audiences can get their teeth into. No checking the brain in at the cloak-room when seeing this new brigade of Australian films. With time and careful consideration as to what is financed for production, the Australian film industry can build itself a substantial niche market while still throwing in the odd 'wider release' film. The style of film that raises the bar a little and by doing so finds a place for itself in the mainstream cinema market. And adds a bit of 'icing on the cake' for the local industry. This country has a rich pool of talented actors and creative production team members who must not be lost to the industry. The only way for the industry to go forward is to keep them all employed doing what they do best; making quality locally produced films. "The Caterpillar Wish is a good example of film-making that falls into the category of what I have just outlined. "I wanted to create a story about a mother/daughter relationship that was gentle in pace and played out in a beautiful setting. But I wanted, as the story progressed, for the pretty images to be shadowed by an eerie quality to give the impression that things weren’t quite right. This would be a film that started slowly and gathered momentum, taking the audience with them," says director and writer of "The Caterpillar Wish" Sandra Sciberras. Sciberras recalls that when it came to writing the screenplay, she gained visual inspiration from "You Can Count On Me", "My Life Without Me" and "Latana". The strenght of her story lies with the main character, a teenager named Emily. Emily is a determined, strong young lady. "In a lot of films teenagers are often shown falling apart, but so often in life, it’s the teenage kids who are the rock," Sciberras notes. "I wanted to show the power of innocence to transform lives." Her vision must have been very strong for it took just three months for her to finish the first draft. Not bad for someone who had just given birth to their second child. "The Caterpillar Wish" is the second teaming for producer Kate Whitbread and director Sandra Sciberras. The first occassion was on the character drama film, , which starred Colin Friels. "Sandra and I had worked so beautifully together on "Deeper Than Blue", the film," Whitbread said, "we cut our teeth on. We wanted our second collaborative project to be a drama, with elements of a thriller. While we were working on "Deeper Than Blue", we envisaged the story unravelling in a small town shrouded in secrets." Accepting an invitation to attend an AFI IndiVision workshop worked well for the two. Here Kate and Sandra received guidance from Australian director Rolf de Heer, US producer Joshua Zeman as well as script advisors Joan Sauers and Nick Parson. "The experience was invigorating, intense, frustrating and vital in getting the best out of me. I loved the challenge of sifting through the criticisms to find the right path," says Sciberras. "The enclosure of a lot of creative people for an intense period of time meant that you were subject to very close scrutiny and this helped me to concentrate on the development of my story and I actually changed direction. From being a story about secrets it became a story about trust." As a result of attending that IndiVision AFC workshop, "The Caterpillar Wish" became the first film born out of Indivision. "From its first draft, "The Caterpillar Wish" was a very moving script and it was recommended for script funding with the possibility of production funding later," Megan Simpson Huberman said. 'Croweaters' or South Aussies will be pleased to know that the location for the film is the South East coastal town of Robe. Originally it was intended the film would be shot in either Victoria or New South Wales. The change to an S.A. location came about after the film received funding from the South Australian Film Corporation (which also helped develope "Look Both Ways"). But Robe, on South Australia's famous wine coast, wasn't first choice when Kate and Sandra went scouting for a location. "We were committed to filming in South Australia, so Sandra and I set off in search of an appropriate location," Whitbread remembers. "While the Flinders Ranges are stunning visually, we couldn’t find a small town that felt right. On our way back to Victoria, we decided to go through Robe. It is a unique town and a beautiful place to set our story. The nineteenth century sandstone buildings and fierce ocean views are quite remarkable. I had not seen an Australian film located anywhere quite like this before and we wanted the film to show part of Australia not often seen. Also, Sandra wanted the film to have a grey and wintry feel to reflect the mood of the film. So Robe in July was perfect. It was freezing with grey skies and occasional bursts of sunshine, and the ocean was sometimes quiet, sometimes tumultuous. The tall, stately dark green Norfolk Pines created an ominous look to the landscape." Production Designer, Robert Webb ("Wolf Creek") was pleased a seaside location was chosen. "I loved the script and wanted to set the film in a pretty coastal town with an established fishing industry. Robe fitted the bill exactly. Using real locations gave authenticity to the story." Filming in Robe provided added benefits for Webb who explained, "We were fortunate in being able to choose from a variety of both old and new buildings which were not difficult to manipulate for set creation. The interiors had wonderful colours and wallpapers." And the people of Robe chipped in too. "Most of the dressings were supplied by the local antique and opportunity shops whose owners were extremely generous." With a tight budget I wondered if Webb was restrained when it came to costings. "Although the budget was tight I never felt I had to compromise the overall feel and look of the film," he said. And he says there was a bonus shooting in Robe. "The lighting is very natural. The grey skies, dark sea, the boat harbour, beautiful pines and the old fashioned nuances created the mood." The Verdict "Continues the run of 'small' local productions that aren't going to make a heck of a lot of money at the box-office but will give audiences a lot of viewing pleasure. While there may not be a 'a whole lot new' in the storyline of "The Caterpillar Wish", it's all in the telling of the tale. This well constructed film might start out feeling a touch pedestrian paced, but the pace quicly picksup as the story unfolds. The characters are, thanks to a solid ensemble cast headed by 2001 St Tropez Best Actress award winner Susie Porter, more than interesting. Overall "The Caterpillar Wish" is another Australian effort that should be applauded. It's one I suspect has been targeted at those cinemagoers who love small, personal films with an 'art house' appeal. On that score it should do well. Recommended. THREE 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "THE CATERPILLAR WISH" stars .......
1999 FCCA Best Supporting Actress Awards winner Susie Porter ["Better Than Sex", "Two Hands", "Bootmen" and "Mullet"]; AFI Award winner Wendy Hughes ["Careful He Might Hear You", "My Brilliant Career", "Indecent Obsession" and "Paradise Road"]; Philip Quast [TV'S "The Brides Of Christ" and "Flight Into Hell"]; Robert Mammone ["The Crossing", "Heaven's Burning", "The Pact" and "The Matrix I, II & III"], Khan Chittenden ["Wobbegong" and "West"] and Victoria Thaine ["The Night We Called It A Day" and "Floodhouse"] as Emily.
"THE CATERPILLAR WISH" was .......
directed by Sandra Sciberras ["Deeper Than Blue"]; screenplay by Sandra Sciberras ["Deeper Than Blue"]; costume design by Jodie Fried ["Little Fish" and "Candy"]; cinematography by 2003 AFI Award nominee Greig Fraser ["Crackerbag" and the short films "Fuel", "Love This Time", "The Water Diary"]; edited by Jason Ballantine ["Wolf Creek"]; production design by Robert Webb ["The 13th House" and "Wolf Creek"] and produced by Kate Whitbread ["Deeper Than Blue"]. Run Time 90 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - Palace Films - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved