A Savage Christmas is the little Australian Christmas film that could – and it has.
When director, writer and co-producer Madeleine Dyer first conceptualised the movie, becoming critically acclaimed was not the goal, and neither was nabbing a nomination for Best Indie Film at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTAs). But both appear to present themselves in Madeleine’s path.
And there’s cause for a triple celebration with her sister, actress Harriet Dyer, and her actor husband Patrick Brammall, also nominated for prestigious acting awards at the 2024 ceremony for their roles in the BINGE original comedy Colin From Accounts.
“It’s all popping off, isn’t it? I missed the Logies with the Colin suite that happened there. They got three wins and I remember thinking, ‘Damn it, I really wanted to celebrate in that,’” Madeleine, who directed one episode of the hit comedy, tells news.com.au.
“And then lo and behold, the little Chrissy film that could got the nod [at the AACTAs]. Look, I didn’t ever make this to be an award-winning, critically acclaimed film. Not that I don’t respect it in that way, but Christmas and comedy, those genres are harder to fit into that realm, generally.
“I did not see it coming, to be honest. It was just such a shot in the arm just to have that recognition and that nomination. It makes all the hard work worth it.”
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A Savage Christmas – which premieres on BINGE December 15 – is a modern movie about family, identity and healing during the holiday period. Refreshing and real, it tackles topical subjects in today’s society as it follows a transgender woman named Davina (played by Thea Raveneau) who returns home for Christmas after three years of estrangement.
Davina, who brings along her boyfriend Kane (Max Jahufer) expects her transition to be the focus at Christmas lunch, but family secrets emerge and lies are uncovered among the other members during the chaotic gathering.
“In this particular social and political climate that we’re in, there’s just such discordance, and we don’t have enough of a meeting point often from a compassionate standpoint,” Madeleine said.
“That’s what’s so great about family dynamics is that you get put in the box and you do all this work on yourself and you change and you grow. And particularly for Davina, even transitioning again, it’s a great vehicle to show you can do all this work on yourself and still not be seen and heard for who you truly are.
“I think even though there’s quite an array of themes in this, they do service to say everyone’s got their sh*t and we’re just trying to got to find a meeting point to understand each other that little bit more to get along.”
The movie – filmed in Queensland earlier this year – also stars Darren Gilshenan, Helen Thomson and David Roberts, with a special guest appearance from Gary Sweet and Rachel Griffiths, who Madeleine worked with before on the movie Ride Like A Girl – a film Griffiths directed.
“It was a beautiful full circle moment really, because since we worked together, we realised we had similar sensibilities around stories we want to tell and tapping into more transgressive topics and really not being scared to push the boundaries where we can,” said Madeleine, who scored a director’s attachment on Ride Like A Girl, in which she shadowed and assisted Griffiths on set.
“From working together, we always kind of had each other’s backs and she was like, ‘Whenever you need me, I am there as a sounding board, but also if you need me, I can come up.’ And it just so happened, it was like, ‘Rach, are you free?’ This was in early January when we were shooting and she was just able to come up for a couple of days and have a good old time of it.
“She was just a dream to work with. She was just so I find it really hilarious and I was glad that we could really kind of go there with her and her character.”
Like many great filmmakers, Madeleine borrowed from her own childhood and personal experiences when it came to writing the script. And setting the film in regional Queensland, where she grew up, was no coincidence.
“We wanted to make it really sweaty, hot, suffocating, Queensland hot summer Christmas, so it was great to kind of get that ferocity and the feel and the landscape,” she said.
“And there’s a few similarities from my family. We just converged with a lot of our own stuff to kind of have this crazy melting pot of a family. But definitely there would be some similarities that I think even my family would look at and go, ‘Oh OK, she’s pulled from that, has she?’ But this is what happens when you’re a writer. You can’t help but do that. And it’s about finding that authenticity and that truth.
“But for me, I’m so passionate about always bringing stories back to the region and even though it’s not North Queensland, being able to shoot out in Samford, Mount Samson, just outside of Brissie, it was just really, really great and to support a lot of the emerging crew in that region as well.”
A Savage Christmas premieres on Friday, December 15 on BINGE