American Film Market Dailies

Australian innovative film sales and distribution company, ScreenLaunch, today announced it is working with award-winning American indie filmmaker Christina Beck on financing a new US film Dig Me, a sex comedy and representing Beck’s first completed feature Perfection, a love story about society’s plastic surgery addiction.

The LA-set film Dig Me, in pre-production, is a retro-vibed modern-day romp about a woman and her younger magician husband who go to see a hillbilly sex therapist. The film plays with retro ideas about sex but in modern day, looking at people’s fascination with sexual experimentation – providing comedy about both the usual and the unusual antics. The film is written and directed by Christina Beck and will be produced by LA-based Australian Producer Diana Ward.

Beck also wrote and stars in Perfection, which has had recent success at film festivals in the US and further afield. It is a dark romantic comedy, an unlikely love story, about the absurd notion that people can only be loved if they are perfect. The film explores plastic surgery and self-injury along with the media’s idea of what beauty is – but with light humour. The short film version, SLICE was developed in Fox Searchlight’s New Director’s program and the script was nominated for the Best Screenplay by Independent Filmmakers Project (IFP). The short was also selected for IFP’s rough-cut lab and chosen to be IFP’s “Spotlight Screening”.

Beck said she is thrilled to be working with ScreenLaunch with the company’s fresh approach to selling and financing. “It's great to have the opportunity to work with an innovative team from Down Under,” she said. “ScreenLaunch really impressed us with their open and honest feedback and their new take on things. Not only are they going to be selling Perfection but they also offer financing support and are going to help us develop and pre-sell Dig Me.”

“Though two different worlds, both films offer funny and uplifting stories, which we hope will bring in strong audiences – and attention at AFM.”

ScreenLaunch CEO Ross Howden said he is expecting interest in the two films, which both should attract niche audiences.

“At ScreenLaunch we are attracted to films with universal niche audiences,” he said. “Dig Me plays to adults who appreciate the sexual humour and Perfection taps into the markets of addiction, surgery and self-harm – it’s a hopeful story which provides insight, along with comic relief, into what could otherwise be dark and untold stories.”

“It is clear from the AFM so far that we at ScreenLaunch will be building more relationships in the USA with filmmakers and the financiers.  We are really excited that this has happened organically,” he added.

Also amongst ScreenLaunch’s line-up for the AFM is Skin Deep – a drama about two young women discovering life in urban Sydney Australia, Safe Water – a new 3D surfing horror set in an Aussie coastal town, Survival Tactics – a hip hop urban drama which was recently selected for the 2013 Beijing International Film Festival, Johnny Ghost – a thriller about a musician whose attempt to suppress her wild past comes back to haunt her and The Tunnel – which is still selling internationally despite being given away on the internet.

To view the trailer and for more information about Perfection, head to: http://perfectionthemovie.wordpress.com

For more information on ScreenLaunch and the slate of films for the AFM visit www.screenlaunch.com