PRODUCED BY ARIELLE THOMAS NICHOLAS DENTON RYAN A. MURPHYWRITTEN & DIRECTED BY JAMES VINSON CINEMATOGRAPHY BY MATT WOOD PRODUCTION DESIGN BY ZOE LOFTS

ARIELLE THOMAS AS JEAN BATTEN TRAVIS McMAHON AS CHARLES KINGSFORD-SMITH NICHOLAS DENTON AS FRED TRUMAN

In 1937 Jean Batten, the legendary New Zealand pilot, touches down in Sydney after smashing a series of aviation records. But on the night of her reception, a chance encounter forces Jean to confront the lonesome consequences of her high‑flying lifestyle. Inspired by a true story.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR/WRITER NOTESJAMES VINSONJames is fledging writer director and a recent graduate from the University of Melbourne. After majoring in screenwriting and cultural cinema studies, James continues to advance his filmmaking skills by directing independent productions. He has since garnered a range of local and international festival accolades, and his most recent short film entitled Abraxas was officially selected for the Cannes Festival Short Film Corner and showcased at the American Online Film Awards. In the near future, James aspires to further his studies at the prestigious National Film and Television School in the United Kingdom.

When I first discovered Jean Batten’s story, I was in awe of her will to accomplish so much whilst defying the social expectations of her time. Of course, her success was not without personal tragedy, and distinct from the likes of Amelia Earhart, Jean was rarely shown charity. She fought hard for every opportunity she could afford. Her resolve was impressive, but intimidating to those who wished to be close with her, and there’s sadness to that. It’s a sobering reality that I feel many can relate to, especially for those of us who struggle to balance our professional ambitions against our personal friendships.

Jean had a calling to be a wanderer of the skies. I believe this calling gave her strength, and immense willpower, but it undeniably contributed to her eventual loneliness. Whilst this film does not seek to educate the audience on precise dates or events throughout her lifetime, I believe our film accurately renders a vivid portrayal of Jean’s private persona, a side of her that she consciously kept out of the limelight.

Ultimately I found this to be a very rewarding approach; paying tribute to a story that had never yet been told in cinema. Unlike various aviation biographical films that have come before, our film wants to deliver a far more grounded study of character, less interested in glorifying the period and lifestyle with excessive spectacle. Instead, our sole focus was to illustrate a woman’s intimate struggle with fame and isolation.

MATT WOOD: CINEMATOGRAPHER Matthew Wood has been working in the Film & TV industry for the past 13 years.

Having gained recognition for his early film projects, Matt’s career path was clearly destined for Cinematography.

A graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts, he gained the reputation amongst his peers as having a uniquely creative eye. It is this creativity that saw him win Gold at the Australian Cinematographers Society Awards in 2003.While studying Matt worked his way up through the ranks of the industry, working as a clapper loader through to becoming a cinematographer.

This allowed Matt to develop not only his creative eye, but to back it up with the technical skill. Matt has evolved overtime from short films, onto music clips, then developed further into TVC’s and features. Matt prides him self on aggressively pursuing the directors vision and not masking it with his own style.

His awards include Best Cinematography at Tropfest (2009), FIKE International Short Film Festival (2013), Evolution International Film Festival (2012), Tbilisi International Student Film Festival (2012). He is a 4 time ACS Gold Award Winner.

Establishing themselves as capable members of Australia’s bustling entertainment industry, Patch Adams Productions are joining the large collective of Australian youth who are looking to add an alternative flair to their countries film and theatre. Since training in New York, honing their craft as actors, co‑founders Arielle Thomas and Nicholas Denton have developed Patch Adams as an expressive outlet to banner each and all of their creative endeavors.

Since founding in mid‑2013, Patch Adams has expanded and now works as a creative collective of likeminded artists, striving to produce work of top‑tier standard.

PATCH ADAMS PRODUCTIONS

ARIELLE THOMAS playing JEAN BATTEN: CO-PRODUCER Co‑founder of Patch Adams Productions, Arielle Thomas has been working in the Australian film and television industry since she was 16. Arielle (22) recently graduated from the illustrious Atlantic Acting School, as part of New York University. Arielle’s theatre credits while in New York include Abby in Desire Under the Elms and Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dandereuses and since returning to Australia, Myst in Out of Gas on Lovers Leap. With equal focus, pursuing a career on stage and screen, Arielle played Susie in Patch Adams’ first short film Rabbit. Taking part in master class training with American acting coach Larry Moss in 2014, Arielle continues to push boundaries with characters and work on stage and screen. The opportunity to delve into Jean Batten’s character in Airgirl is the role of a lifetime and Arielle is so excited to bring her to the screen for the first time. Next up, Arielle can be seen in Deadline Gallipoli (Michael Rymer/NBC Universal, Foxtel, Full Clip) playing Nonie, airs April on Foxtel.

NICHOLAS DENTON playing FRED TRUMAN: SCRIPT SUPERVISION & CO-PRODUCERNicholas Denton is an actor/writer/producer from Melbourne, Australia. He has grown up around some of Australia’s entertainment industry elite, and has been working as an actor in and around Melbourne for the last few years. With training from New Yorks ‘Atlantic Theatre Company’, 16th Street Actors Studio as well as St Martins Youth Theatre, Nicholas has been privileged to work with some incredibly talented creatives throughout Australia and beyond. Since co‑founding Patch Adams Productions in late 2013 Nicholas found his drive for producing and writing. After having his latest film Rabbit screen nationally and internationally at over 10 festivals, he continues to work with the company to create great cinema that Australia can be proud of.

RYAN MURPHY playing FRANK THOMAS: CO-PRODUCER Ryan A. Murphy is an actor/director/producer and one third of Melbourne based Patch Adams Productions. He has studied with the National Theatre Drama School, 16th Street Actors Studio, Melbourne Playback Theatre and was recently selected to participate in the Elizabeth Kemp Character Dream Masterclass. He was also a participant in the Melbourne Theatre Companies Directors Masterclass in 2014. Ryan has appeared in over sixteen plays, fifteen short films and five feature films. His directing credits include the sold out season of Patch Adams Productions first play Out of Gas on Lovers Leap. His most recent directorial work was Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting for Four Letter Word Theatre. Ryan’s producing credits include his role as Associate Producer on Patch Adams Productions’ Rabbit and now Airgirl. He has also served as the producer on BlunderBus Productions’ web series Young Love due out in late 2015.

Ryan is excited for the challengers a head and can’t wait to dive head first into whatever 2015 might bring.

We at Patch Adams Productions thank you in advance for your time and we hope you’re as excited to bring Jean Batten’s story to the screen as we are.

https://vimeo.com/115783333

Patch Adams Productions arielle@patchadamsproductions.com+61 400 169 91416 Murphy Street, South Yarra,Victoria 3141 Australia.www.patchadamsproductions.com

TRAILER

Runtime: 14.59 minsFormat: 2K (Stereo) Released: February 2015