It's been a big couple of weeks for Canberra film.
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Just as Liam Neeson's film Blacklight opens in the cinema - with capital's streets substituting for those in Washington - another film with Canberra roots has been announced as part of the South by Southwest Film Festival line-up.
Sissy, a horror-satire movie filmed entirely in the capital, is one of five Australian feature films set to premiere at the film festival next month.
The South by Southwest Film Festival - also known as SXSW - celebrates raw innovation and emerging talent from behind and in front of the camera. It is one of the world's premier film festivals, on par with the likes of Cannes, Sundance and Toronto.
"This is a huge break for the film and a huge pat on the back to everybody involved. You can't put into words what that brings to a film," Screen Canberra chief executive Monica Penders said.
"South by Southwest has really picked up over the last few years in terms of popularity and to get this accolade is fantastic.
"What it actually does, is it's not about how nice it is to go to a film festival, it's actually about getting the film in front of buyers. So it actually does have a commercial component to it.
"It also gets Canberra in front of them as a location. And it will get them to ask, 'Where was that? Was that Canberra? Really? I thought Canberra was just Parliament House?"
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The film was principally financed by the Academy of Interactive Entertainment and received production funding from Screen Canberra through the CBR Screen Fund, with further funding from Screen Australia, Freedom Films, Mind the Gap, Grumpy Originals, Running Girl Pictures and Arcadia.
Starring The Bold Type's Aisha Dee, alongside Canberran Emily Margheriti and Hannah Barlow - who also co-wrote and co-directed with Kane Senes - Sissy was filmed in various locations across the capital in 2020.
The movie follows Cecilia (Dee), who is invited to her childhood friend Emma's (Barlow) bachelorette weekend. It's there that Cecilia finds herself stuck in a remote cabin with her high school bully and a taste for revenge.
"I don't want to give too much of the actual film away so you'll need a play spotto and work out where the locations are," Ms Pender said.
"For instance, they shot in our car park in Hobart Place and there were various locations around the city and a little bit further out as well.
"I particularly like it when a film is shot in Canberra, but it's not Canberra on screen, or not the Canberra that we know and it's a substitute for something else. Blacklight also did that, as Canberra was actually meant to be Washington.
"It talks to the fact that we can actually sub for lots of different places around the world. And of course, we like to be our city on the big screen as our city as well."
The South by Southwest Film Festival runs from March 11 to 19 in Austin, Texas. Sissy is set to premiere on March 11. It will be released in cinemas at a later date.
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