MAGGIE NAOURI NOMINATED FOR BEST LEAD ACTRESS AWARD AT THE AACTA AWARDS 2016
THURSDAY OCTOBER 27 – Titan View and Consolation Films are pleased to announce the nomination of Maggie Naouri for the AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role for her role in JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION as Anu Singh.
Co-Written, Produced and Directed by Sotiris Dounoukos, JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION stars Maggie Naouri (TV’s Wentworth, Offspring), Jerome Meyer (TV’s Secrets and Lies), Gia Carides (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, TV’s Wonderland), Sacha Joseph (TV’s The Hollowmen, City Homicide) and Josh McConville (The Infinite Man, The Killing Field).
JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION was the top Australian production at the Australian Box Office in its opening week. Commenting on the nomination and opening week box office results, John L Simpson from Titan View said, “There is something very special about this film. Australian audiences all over the country are flocking to see it, and then talk about it. Maggie’s performance is stunning and at the heart of what makes this a haunting and powerful film.”
Of Maggie Naouri’s nomination, Dounoukos said, “Maggie’s AACTA nomination for Best Actress is recognition of her immense talent and courage as a performer, and the complexity, authenticity and honesty she brought to the role. This won’t be the last time that we’ll all see her work recognised or celebrated.”
MAGGIE NAOURI is best known for her role of Rose, on television’s Wentworth. She trained at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), completing a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts in 2012. During her time at VCA, Maggie appeared in numerous VCA theatre productions during her study including Tom Healy’s A Bright Room Called Day, Richard Murphet’s The Merchant of Venice, and Melanie Beddie’s Three Sisters. She also appeared in Lynton V. Harris’ Angoscia/The Freezer for Dreamworld. Maggie’s other television credits include Offspring and Neighbours.
Screening nationally around Australia, JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION’s had its World Premiere as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival, where it sold out its two sessions in a matter of hours. It had its International Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Richard Kuipers of Variety noted: “Driven by an impressive performance in her feature debut by Maggie Naouri as the damaged and dangerously manipulative Singh, Joe Cinque’s Consolation offers a moody and compelling study of the facts while leaving audiences to draw their own conclusions to the burning question of why people would act like this.”
On learning of Maggie Naouri’s nomination, Monica Penders from Screen ACT said, "Congratulations to the team on this nomination; it is a true Canberra project from content through to production. This is a fabulous result for all the stakeholders, and a wonderful showcase of what we can achieve here.”
JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION tells the true story of the death of Joe Cinque. In early 1997 Anu Singh, a law student at the Australian National University, confides in friends that she plans to kill herself to put an end to a mysterious illness. With doctors unable or unwilling to help, Anu’s boyfriend, Joe Cinque, attempts to get to the bottom of her condition. As Anu’s mental and emotional state begins to disintegrate, her plans grow more macabre and more public. Joe begins to understand the true nature of their relationship while Anu blames him for her illness and vows revenge against him. After an elaborate farewell dinner party attended by friends, Anu drugs Joe with Rohypnol. Now under Anu’s control, Joe’s fate depends on their friends and colleagues intervening to save his life. Instead they gradually withdraw, unwilling to help or immobilised by doubt or disbelief. More than a day later, on the 26th of October 1997, Anu injects Joe with a lethal dose of heroin.
JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION is the adaptation of Helen Garner’s best-selling account of these events: an examination of collective and individual responsibility, and a crime that shocked Australia.
For Media enquires contact:
Nicholas Cheetham Communications Manager
Tel: +61 2 8399 0626, Email: Nicholas@nixco.com.au
