Berlin-based outfit M-Appeal has acquired world sales rights to “Lonesome,” from Australian director Craig Boreham, who was nominated for the Berlinale Teddy Award for his short film “Transient.” Sales on the film will commence at the upcoming European Film Market, which was moved online due to the ongoing pandemic.
The feature follows Casey, a young man from the countryside running from a small-town scandal, finding himself down and out in Sydney. When he meets Tib, a young city lad, struggling with his own isolation, both men find something they have been missing, but neither of them knows quite how to navigate their feelings.
According to a statement, “‘Lonesome’ explores the adventures and sexuality of young gay men in a world that has never been more connected. It takes audiences on a thrilling, hedonistic, erotic journey, depicting two characters, who not only seek sexual fulfillment but also acceptance and a meaningful bond. The complexities of modern gay dating culture are delicately investigated in an illuminating, sensual manner.”
Cinematographer Dean Francis shot with a golden color palette, using sunlight as a means of distinguishing between Casey’s natural rural environment and the urban world into which he travels, creating a “visually arresting aesthetic to complement the story’s themes.”
Boreham directed and produced the film alongside producers Ben Ferris and Ulysses Oliver of Breathless Films, and Dean Francis of JJ Splice Films, with executive producer Paul Struthers and associate producer David Libter.
Ferris stated: “‘Lonesome’ is a poignant and timely queer love story, and one that emerges unexpectedly amid the transactional world of casual hook-up culture. Craig’s talent as a director allows him a lightness of touch to find the comic in the tragic, while losing none of the authenticity and tenderness at the film’s heart. Dean Francis’ photography lends a cinematic grace to the basements and rooftops of a Sydney less frequently depicted on screen.”
Boreham’s debut feature film “Teenage Kicks” premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in 2016 to critical acclaim with the Guardian describing Boreham as “a strong new voice in Australian Queer cinema.”
Boreham’s awards include best film at My Queer Career, Mardi Gras Film Festival, the City of Melbourne Best Short Film Award, Melbourne Queer Film Festival and National Film Sound Archive Orlando Award. In 2008, a retrospective of Boreham’s work, Cinema of True Poison, was presented by Fundacion Triangulo in Madrid.
