Festivals - Gerardmer 2021 : Sweet river will be screened in official competition

By Mulder, 23 january 2021

Justin McMillan grew up in a small fishing village in the state of New South Wales, Australia. He first worked in advertising in Sydney, before turning to advertising filmmaking and cinema. In 2012, he co-wrote with Christopher Nelius the documentary Storm Surfers 3D, narrated by Toni Collette, and five years later the short film Buoy. Sweet River is his first feature film.

Synopsis :
Joey, Hanna's four-year-old son, was kidnapped by the serial killer Simpkins and was never found. Consumed by guilt, Hanna eventually fell into drugs and alcohol. Two months after her release from rehab, she learns that Simpkins is dead and decides to return to investigate the scene of the tragedy: Billins, a peaceful town surrounded by sugar cane fields irrigated by the Sweet River. There she discovers dark secrets and threatens to expose them in broad daylight... The living, like the dead, will do everything they can to prevent her from doing it.

Sweet river
Directed by Justin McMillan
Produced by Ashley McLeod
Written by Marc Furmie, Eddie Baroo
Starring Lisa Kay, Martin Sacks, Genevive Lemon, Rob Carlton, Sam Parsonson, Bryan Probets, Jeremy Waters, Jack Ellis, Chris Haywood
Music by Piers Burbrook de Vere
Cinematography: Tim Tregoning
Edited by Simon Njoo
Running time: 102 minutes

(Source: press release)