Zombucha! (Comedy)
Director: Claudia Dzienny
Producer: Danielle Redford,Claudia Dzienny,Emma Leonard
Screenwriter: Emma Leonard
Cinematographer: Calum Riddell
Composer: Lord Fascinator
Editor: Julien de Benedictis
Production Designer: Emily Jansz
Costume Designer: Bryn Newman,Alex Greenhalgh
Key Cast: Stephen Hunter,Brigid Zengeni,Michelle Langstone,Stephen Madsen,Duncan Fellows,Danny Adcock,Gary Sweet,Ryan O'Kane,Jo Turner,Harry Jun,Jackie van Beek,Shakira Clanton,Emma Leonard
Hoping to strike it rich with an organic beverage empire, a struggling couple inadvertently unleash a sentient killer kombucha.
After one particularly catastrophic day at their respective workplaces, busy professionals Maddie and Leo find themselves both unemployed. Dreaming of a fresh start but needing reliable income to support the family they hope to start together, the couple have a chance encounter with Kai, a smouldering kombucha artisan raking in the cash. Seeing dollar signs, Maddie and Leo swipe Kai’s kombucha culture to kickstart their own enterprise, but when they mix in some mysterious herbs from a neighbour’s garden, the culture gains sentience and proves deadly. With their relationship hanging by a thread, can Maddie and Leo unite to prevent a full-blown zombucha apocalypse?
This hilarious and big-hearted horror-comedy is written by Emma Leonard, who also stars as Maddie opposite Ryan O’Kane (The Justice of Bunny King, MIFF 2021) as Leo and a game ensemble cast including Jackie van Beek (Audrey, MIFF 2024), veteran Aussie actor Gary Sweet (The Tracker, MIFF 2002) and Duncan Fellows (Deadloch). Taking the common contemporary conundrum of choosing between pursuing a career and starting a family as its scoby starter, Zombucha! is as oddly relatable as it is uproarious.
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Director Claudia Dzienny is a guest of the festival and will be in attendance at both sessions of the film.