A new movie featuring surf pop group Hockey Dad along with several rising Illawarra musicians has had its world premiere at the weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
6 Festivals will hit cinemas this August after premiering at the Sydney Film Festival, and will eventually move to streaming service Paramount+ as the first Australian film commissioned for the service.
The plot follows three best friends Maxie, Summer and James as they bucket-list six music festivals over six months, whilst coming to terms with a cancer diagnosis, and is written and directed by Macario de Souza (Bra Boys, Fighting Fear).
Actors and a film crew were staged at the Yours and Owls Festival at North Dalton Park in April 2021, with the fictional plot mixed in with a real and live backdrop.
In December 2021 the crew filmed more scenes in Wollongong and Berry's Linnaeus Farm, with real cameo appearances from Phil Jamieson of Grinspoon, Hockey Dad and local acts B Wise, BLESSED, Kid Pharaoh and Charbel.
"Friends of ours had been working on it for a while, and because we were local and they're shooting down here [in Berry] we got the call up," Zach Stephenson of Hockey Dad said.
"We've done one music video before with ... like five people and we thought that was very professional, but we've never done anything on this scale."
Other great Australian musicians to also feature in the film include G Flip, Dune Rats, Alison Wonderland, Bliss n Eso, Peking Duk, PNAU, Example, Hooligan Hefs, The Amity Affliction, JessB, B Wise and Running Touch.
"The journey here has been extremely challenging, but with a committed team behind me, and support from passionate funding partners who shared our vision, we were able to achieve what most thought was impossible," De Souza said.
"This film represents young and diverse Australian voices and celebrates Australian music and I can't wait to unveil it to the world."
Other major events to also appear include Lost Paradise in Glenworth Valley, the Big Pineapple at the Sunshine Coast and Lunar Electric on the Gold Coast.
6 Festivals will be released to selected Australian cinemas in August, as part of the Traveling Film Festival program, bringing the movie to regional audiences.
"The Australian live music industry has been hit hard during the pandemic so it's wonderful to see live music celebrated on the screen in 6 Festivals," said Grant Donges of Sony Music Australia.
"It's been incredible for our company to work with Australian talent across creative industries to bring to life authentic storytelling sound tracked by diverse musical voices from Peking Duk to Jerome Farah, Stace Cadet and B Wise - this coming-of-age story will resonate with the Australian audiences."
The movie has received major support from Screen Australia, Paramount+, Sony Music, Boom Smash, Screen Canberra and Screen Queensland.
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.