''Teesh and Trude'' is a 2002 Australian drama film directed by New Zealander Melanie Rodriga, and was adapted from an original stage-play by Wilson McCaskill. The film was produced and shot entirely in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

with Production Investment Funding Support from

ScreenWest Screenwest is Western Australia's screen funding and development organisation, working in partnership with the screen industry to develop, support and promote film, television and digital media production in Western Australia. Screenwest receive ...

and

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. It was shot on video at

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

where Rodriga teaches. The film received three nominations at the

Australian Film Institute Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industr ...

in 2003 and one at the

Film Critics Circle of Australia The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

Awards.

Plot

Teesh (

Susie Porter Susie Porter (born 1970 or 1971) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She made her debut in the 1996 film '' Idiot Box'', before rising to prominence in films including '' Paradise Road'' (1997), '' Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997 ...

), an unemployed single mother in her twenties, shares a flat with an older, divorced friend, Trude (

Linda Cropper Linda Cropper (born 1 January 1958) is an Australian actress, primarily known for her role as Geraldine Proudman in the TV series ''Offspring'' and as Dame Nellie Melba in the television series '' Melba''. A shortened version of ''Melba'' was s ...

). Teesh is starting to crack under the strain of taking care of her son Kenny (Mason Richardson) and her problems only get worse when her abusive father (Bill McClusky), who's just been released from prison, visits. Trude is also having problems with her macho boyfriend Rod (

Peter Phelps Peter Phelps (born 20 September 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor, singer and writer. He is notable for his role as Trevor Cole in ''Baywatch''. Phelps is also known for his roles in the internationally successful Australian series '' Son ...

), who must complete a major paving contract at the shopping mall to save his ailing construction company. Meanwhile, Trude pines after her own children, who are apparently living with their father in a different state.

Cast

as Letitia (Teesh) *

as Trudy (Trude) * Jacob Allan as Les *

as Rod * Bill McClusky as Bob * Mason Richardson as Kenny * Igor Sas as Gary * Kazimir Sas as Craig * Francoise Sas as Lelia * Adam Crouch as Wes

Critical reception

''The Age'' wrote, "Not since ''Mallboy'' has there been a local drama as depressing as this." It added that, "It isn't

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

or Mike Leigh but it's in that ambit and the acting is very gritty." Urban Cinefile said that "This may not be the worst local film of the year, but at 93 minutes it still seems to last forever." David Stratton said "The film was obviously produced on the most minimal budget, and its theatrical origins are very obvious, but, despite these limitations, the film impresses because of the excellent acting."

References

External links

*
''Teesh and Trude''
@

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

(formerly

Australian Film Commission The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a product ...

) * 2002 films Australian drama films 2002 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s Australian films English-language drama films {{2000s-Australia-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Critical reception

See also

References

External links