Photos in the Attic is a really beautiful story with the potential to be a true classic. In the 1st World War, many young Australians not only volunteered to defend their motherland, Britain, but to see the world and embark on a big adventure. Of course, it was, an adventure, but not what they imagined. A virtual hell on earth with horrific injuries and death, they suffered mental illness and grief. But also, wonderful mateship and extraordinary romance. The story captures all of these elements.
Producer David Lightfoot, who sadly passed away recently, was very passionate about the story, having been a war veteran himself. He felt it accurately and sensitively represented post-traumatic stress syndrome or PTSD, something many more recent returned soldiers continue to suffer. And the film will be dedicated to him. In addition, the story doesn’t shy away from the role of indigenous Australians in fighting for their country, something frequently overlooked.
There is also the exquisite beauty and life affirming nature of Louis and Antoinette Thuillier's iconic photographs of Australian soldiers - the inspiration for the story. They have achieved a legendary, if not, sacred status after being purchased by Australian collector and billionaire businessman, Kerry Stokes who donated them to the Australian War Museum in Canberra where they’were curated and toured the country. These are the same photographs that come to life in the film.
Ultimately, Photos in the Attic is a love story with much complexity, exploring divided loyalties and the madness of war. It pulls at the heart strings and shows how youth sustains the weight of passion and unpreparedness, to face the most extreme challenges head on.
The budget is $7 million and will be financed through the Producer Offset, film funding agencies such as Screen Australia and Screen Queensland and the marketplace including local and international distribution guarantees and private investment.
Producer David Lightfoot, who sadly passed away recently, was very passionate about the story, having been a war veteran himself. He felt it accurately and sensitively represented post-traumatic stress syndrome or PTSD, something many more recent returned soldiers continue to suffer. And the film will be dedicated to him. In addition, the story doesn’t shy away from the role of indigenous Australians in fighting for their country, something frequently overlooked.
There is also the exquisite beauty and life affirming nature of Louis and Antoinette Thuillier's iconic photographs of Australian soldiers - the inspiration for the story. They have achieved a legendary, if not, sacred status after being purchased by Australian collector and billionaire businessman, Kerry Stokes who donated them to the Australian War Museum in Canberra where they’were curated and toured the country. These are the same photographs that come to life in the film.
Ultimately, Photos in the Attic is a love story with much complexity, exploring divided loyalties and the madness of war. It pulls at the heart strings and shows how youth sustains the weight of passion and unpreparedness, to face the most extreme challenges head on.
The budget is $7 million and will be financed through the Producer Offset, film funding agencies such as Screen Australia and Screen Queensland and the marketplace including local and international distribution guarantees and private investment.
Story Michael and Donna Fiechtner
Screenplay Donna Fiechtner
Screenplay Consultant Franco Di Chiera
Producer. Pita Productions
Director Franco Di Chiera
Screenplay Donna Fiechtner
Screenplay Consultant Franco Di Chiera
Producer. Pita Productions
Director Franco Di Chiera
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“Photos in the Attic”
“Photos in the Attic”
A love story set on two sides of the world and the backdrop of the Great War! The beauty of the Australian countryside and life on the cane fields of Childers. An Australian soldier enduring the horrors of war. A small French a refuge from the horrors and a special friendship. All captured by two photographers and locked away for 100 years and finally a mystery revealed.
This is Photos in the Attic.....
This is Photos in the Attic.....
After some very positive development time,Photos in the Attic is again moving forward. (finally)They were not kidding when they said the movie business is indeed “a box of chocolates!”
It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of David Lightfoot. He supported the project so well.
The screenplay has been improved and made so much more with the wonderful assistance of David Lightfoot and Franco Di Chiera. Both Donna and David and Franco have spent many hours rewriting our initial story to make it the best yet. Peer reviews have told us so. It is also with great excitement that we now have Franco Di Chiera with us in the capacity of Director and Screenplay Consultant.
Franco brings with him so much to add to our talented team of movie makers. He has already added so much to our screenplay.
Franco believes deeply that the project can be a truly wonderful piece of Australian Cinema.
Exciting times ahead..... stay tuned!
Franco Di Chiera
DIRECTOR/Screenplay Consultant
Franco’s early works Waiting ‘Round Wynyard, La Scala Lo Scalone (Stairs and Staircases) and Bad News Bachelors screened at film festivals in Sydney, San Francisco, London and Edinburgh and sold to SBS, TV1 Sweden and NOS in The Netherlands. His series A Change of Face was broadcast on SBS, generating one of the highest levels of publicity in the network’s history. His film The Joys of the Women (Le goie delle donne) was released theatrically in Australia, sold to ABC and was nominated in the Australian Film Critics Circle Awards.
Franco wrote and directed the Pipe Dreams episode of ABC-TV’s flagship series Constructing Australia, attracting one of the network’s highest ratings for the year. He also wrote and directed episodes of the first Australian season of Who do you think you are? including Ita Buttrose and Dennis Cometti - one of SBS’s highest-ever rating local productions. He was also post-director and co-writer of Shaun Micallef and writer of the John Newcombe episodes on subsequent series, the latter of which was for warner Bros. His film The Fabulous Flag Sisters won a Jury Prize at Rome Fiction Fest and sold to SBS and Fox Italy where it doubled the Cult Channel’s usual ratings. It was later picked up by Amazon. His animated and feature-length Death of the Megabeasts sold to the U.S., France and Australia and won a Gold Remi Award at Worldfest - Houston International Film Festival. He collaborated with producer Marco Visalberghi on Skin Deep which presold to SBS and Arte France and broadcast in over 20 territories. His film Jack the Ripper – Prime Suspect screened on Channel 7 in Australia and UK-TV. Distributed by BBC International, it sold to Netflix in the U.S. He also wrote and directed episodes of the ABC’s Who’s Been Sleeping in My House? including the Toowoomba and Roleystone episodes.
He produced Under the Skin winning an AFI/AACTA Award for Best Miniseries and ATOM Award for Best TV Drama Series. It also won two Australian Writers Guild Awards including Tony Ayres’ The Long Ride. Episode Best Wishes screened at the Venice International Film Festival. His directed the mini-series Three Forever (Tre per sempre), starring Bud Spencer with producers David Lightfoot, Rolf de Heer and Domenico Procacci. The drama screened on SBS and RAI Italy where it attracted over 7 million viewers. It sold to France and Germany. He was SBS Executive on Rolf de Heer’s feature, The Quiet Room which screened in Official Competition at the Cannes International Film Festival and on the landmark package of indigenous dramas, From Sand to Celluloid. Episode No Way to Forget screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. He was executive producer on the two-part series East Timor - Birth of a Nation narrated by Cate Blanchett and Uncle Chatzkel with producer Emile Sherman.
He directed the feature Big Mamma’s Boy, starring Holly Valance which screened at CinefestOZ and released theatrically in Australia by Madman Entertainment. It sold to Fox Movies. He was executive producer on Salvatore Zofrea – Master of Light and recently produced A Thousand Words Unspoken for the ABC. The American version, Forgiveness Day, streamed on The New York Times online and featured on its home page. He directed The New MoMA in New York for DAM - Design Arts Magazine online and is writer on the mini-series The Rocky Road and the feature Chasing Sophia (Seguendo Sophia) on which he’s collaborating with producers David Lightfoot and Sabella Sugar. He is also co-writer on the spy drama, Little Europe, currently in development. Franco has held senior industry positions including Drama Development Executive at Screenwest, Commissioning Editor at SBS, Executive Producer at Film Australia, Director of the W.A. Screen Academy at Edith Cowan University and Development and Investment Manager at Film Victoria. He is a Film Pioneer Member of the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts (AFI/AACTA).
It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of David Lightfoot. He supported the project so well.
The screenplay has been improved and made so much more with the wonderful assistance of David Lightfoot and Franco Di Chiera. Both Donna and David and Franco have spent many hours rewriting our initial story to make it the best yet. Peer reviews have told us so. It is also with great excitement that we now have Franco Di Chiera with us in the capacity of Director and Screenplay Consultant.
Franco brings with him so much to add to our talented team of movie makers. He has already added so much to our screenplay.
Franco believes deeply that the project can be a truly wonderful piece of Australian Cinema.
Exciting times ahead..... stay tuned!
Franco Di Chiera
DIRECTOR/Screenplay Consultant
Franco’s early works Waiting ‘Round Wynyard, La Scala Lo Scalone (Stairs and Staircases) and Bad News Bachelors screened at film festivals in Sydney, San Francisco, London and Edinburgh and sold to SBS, TV1 Sweden and NOS in The Netherlands. His series A Change of Face was broadcast on SBS, generating one of the highest levels of publicity in the network’s history. His film The Joys of the Women (Le goie delle donne) was released theatrically in Australia, sold to ABC and was nominated in the Australian Film Critics Circle Awards.
Franco wrote and directed the Pipe Dreams episode of ABC-TV’s flagship series Constructing Australia, attracting one of the network’s highest ratings for the year. He also wrote and directed episodes of the first Australian season of Who do you think you are? including Ita Buttrose and Dennis Cometti - one of SBS’s highest-ever rating local productions. He was also post-director and co-writer of Shaun Micallef and writer of the John Newcombe episodes on subsequent series, the latter of which was for warner Bros. His film The Fabulous Flag Sisters won a Jury Prize at Rome Fiction Fest and sold to SBS and Fox Italy where it doubled the Cult Channel’s usual ratings. It was later picked up by Amazon. His animated and feature-length Death of the Megabeasts sold to the U.S., France and Australia and won a Gold Remi Award at Worldfest - Houston International Film Festival. He collaborated with producer Marco Visalberghi on Skin Deep which presold to SBS and Arte France and broadcast in over 20 territories. His film Jack the Ripper – Prime Suspect screened on Channel 7 in Australia and UK-TV. Distributed by BBC International, it sold to Netflix in the U.S. He also wrote and directed episodes of the ABC’s Who’s Been Sleeping in My House? including the Toowoomba and Roleystone episodes.
He produced Under the Skin winning an AFI/AACTA Award for Best Miniseries and ATOM Award for Best TV Drama Series. It also won two Australian Writers Guild Awards including Tony Ayres’ The Long Ride. Episode Best Wishes screened at the Venice International Film Festival. His directed the mini-series Three Forever (Tre per sempre), starring Bud Spencer with producers David Lightfoot, Rolf de Heer and Domenico Procacci. The drama screened on SBS and RAI Italy where it attracted over 7 million viewers. It sold to France and Germany. He was SBS Executive on Rolf de Heer’s feature, The Quiet Room which screened in Official Competition at the Cannes International Film Festival and on the landmark package of indigenous dramas, From Sand to Celluloid. Episode No Way to Forget screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. He was executive producer on the two-part series East Timor - Birth of a Nation narrated by Cate Blanchett and Uncle Chatzkel with producer Emile Sherman.
He directed the feature Big Mamma’s Boy, starring Holly Valance which screened at CinefestOZ and released theatrically in Australia by Madman Entertainment. It sold to Fox Movies. He was executive producer on Salvatore Zofrea – Master of Light and recently produced A Thousand Words Unspoken for the ABC. The American version, Forgiveness Day, streamed on The New York Times online and featured on its home page. He directed The New MoMA in New York for DAM - Design Arts Magazine online and is writer on the mini-series The Rocky Road and the feature Chasing Sophia (Seguendo Sophia) on which he’s collaborating with producers David Lightfoot and Sabella Sugar. He is also co-writer on the spy drama, Little Europe, currently in development. Franco has held senior industry positions including Drama Development Executive at Screenwest, Commissioning Editor at SBS, Executive Producer at Film Australia, Director of the W.A. Screen Academy at Edith Cowan University and Development and Investment Manager at Film Victoria. He is a Film Pioneer Member of the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts (AFI/AACTA).
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Director and Script Consultant Franco Di Chiera Screenplay Donna Fiechtner Producer Pita Productions Associate Producer Michael Fiechtner
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.....follow the Photos in the Attic movie project on Facebook now....
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The Teaser Post Card collection.......
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The Sad Digger..... one of the images in the Thuillier collection.
George Gordon Gilbert
artwork Isobel Fiechtner
George Petrou Artwork
The Lost Diggers
