The following press release nicely sums up the current accolades:
Minnie Loves Junior, co-written and directed by brothers Andy Mullins and Matt Mullins, has won Best Indigenous Film at the Shorts Film Festival in Adelaide.
The award is the second richest prize in Australian short film - $10,000 – and is sponsored by Beach Energy and presented by Bob Kennedy, a renowned South Australian businessman and philanthropist. Earlier this year, Minnie Loves Junior won the Jury Special Mention in the Generation Kplus section at the Berlin International Film Festival – Berlinale 2011.
The film also recently received the jury’s Honorable Mention at Los Angeles International Film Festival, the Special Jury Award at Honolulu Film Awards and has just been accepted its 30th film festival.
“We could not have expected more from our little film. What is amazing and wonderful for all of us involved, is the way the film has been embraced by audiences right across the world, as well as in Australia,” Andy Mullins said.
Minnie Loves Junior has previously screened at the Clermont Ferrand short film festival in France, the New York International Children’s Festival, the Byron Bay Film Festival and the Aguilar de Campo Film Festival in Spain, amongst others.
Minnie Loves Junior stars young actors Wyntah Shaw and Lartrell Stuart, both from Port Augusta in South Australia. The film was shot on location at Sorrento, in Victoria.
Andy and Matt Mullins, with producers Tom Birch and Doug Maskiell, are partners in Sand Hill Road Pictures. Previously the company presented the 2006 feature-length documentary Kanyini, about the life and philosophy of respected Aboriginal elder Uncle Bob Randall. Andy and Matt were assistant directors and Executive Producers on the film, and were closely involved in the script, as well as negotiations for national distribution with Hopscotch (2006). Kanyini played at festivals around the world, and won numerous awards.
Uncle Bob Randall remains a friend and inspiration and was cultural advisor on Minnie Loves Junior.
Minnie Loves Junior was shot by award-winning cinematographer Ian Jones ASC, whose credits include Ten Canoes and The Tracker, and was filmed on location in Sorrento, Victoria.
In 2010 MANTA created the score for the Australian film "Minnie Loves Junior", produced by Sand Hill Films of Melbourne.
The score, improvised by MANTA's three members, was recorded by the trio while watching the film projected above them in the recording studio.
Minnie Loves Junior, directed by MANTA colleague and fan Andy Mullins, has gone on to win prizes at film festivals around the world, including recently in Berlin and Hawaii.
MANTA are honoured and pleased to be chosen to help create this award-winning and beautiful film. Congratulations to Andy and Sand Hill on their recent accolades.
We have had a huge response to our tv appearance on the ABC series picks & Specks, so we've decided to put links to the clips up for you here. We'll try to get permission from the ABC to embed them asap.
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Manta Does “Doctor Who” Music Video | Cult Sci-Fi Theme Covered on Australian TV Show “Spicks and Specks” Posted in: Awesome Videos to Watch Now, Music Videos, News and Video On Demand by Lauren Katulka on August 2, 2010
Australian music quiz show Spicks and Specks has brought us some amazing quirky talent, from the beer drinking Christa Hughes to the mildly super-powered Dave O’Doherty.
This week it introduced us to Manta, a world music outfit with a love for cult science fiction.
It seems unlikely that a band featuring a cello, an acoustic guitar, and a didgeridoo could work. But this unusual blend delivers one of the best versions of the Doctor Who theme music that I’ve ever heard.
Rather than relying on laughs as so many other acts on Spicks and Specks do, Manta simply do their thing. Let’s face it; when you’re this good you don’t need gimmicks.
Regular readers will know how much we like the quirky Doctor Who stuff, not to mention variations on the theme tune – so what better than a world music trio performing the legendary theme tune?
This appeared on Australian music quiz show Spicks and Specks (think Never Mind the Buzzcocks) this week, and features a steel string acoustic guitar, a cello – and a didgeridoo! Get ready for Manta’s interpretation of the Doctor Who theme tune!
It’s certainly a memorable rendition of Ron Grainer’s classic tune, and while it is a million miles away from the Delia Derbyshire arrangement we all love, it’s also quite different from the current incarnation of the tune.
Now of course there is very little chance of the tune heralding a new adventure in this form – but wouldn’t it be great to feature this superb trio in the show somehow?
Manta are Russell Smith, Ashley Naylor and Theo Chen – and they’re a signed act! To find out more, check out Manta’s website at www.mantatrio.com.
The following press release nicely sums up the current accolades:
In 2010 MANTA created the score for the Australian film "Minnie Loves Junior", produced by Sand Hill Films of Melbourne.
We have had a huge response to our tv appearance on the ABC series picks & Specks, so we've decided to put links to the clips up for you here. We'll try to get permission from the ABC to embed them asap.
Dr Who fan pages have gone crazy over our rendition of the theme.
