LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES

We love because it is the only true adventure. LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES is the feature film directorial debut of twenty-something year old director Emma-Kate Croghan and marks the cinematic debut of a fresh and exciting new film-making team. A brightly original comedy set firmly within the Nineties, LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES is a radical departure from the usual Australian film fare in both form and content. Inspired by the spirit of such independent films as "Clerks" and "El Mariachi," LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES introduces the exceptional Frances O'Connor ("A.I.: Artificial Intelligence") in the pivotal role of Mia, one of the principle cast of five young actors, a number of them in their first feature film roles and all turning in performances of great humor and integrity. The film is written and produced in a collaborative style by five young friends, none of whom had worked on a feature film before. Producer Stavros Andonis Efthymiou and director Emma-Kate Croghan gave themselves a deadline of six weeks before shooting began. They enlisted the assistance of friends Helen Bandis, Yael Bergman and cinematographer Justin Brickle. Helen and Yael had both studied film and were interested in getting into production. With Stavros as Producer, Helen and Yael took on the roles of co-producers. Yael and Emma-Kate wrote the script based on the story by Stavros with Helen acting as Script Editor and also writing some additional scenes. A shooting draft was completed in just two weeks. Although the storyline is not autobiographical, Emma-Kate, Helen, Yael and Stavros had all graduated in the past three years, so the university experience was still fresh in their minds. The script came out of all of their best stories of university life, with the characters created from amalgamations of people they knew. What they wound up with is a charming and entertaining look at college life and love in the nineties. The picture was nominated for five Australian Film