Welcome to the jungle

Writer and director David Michôd’s gritty gangster drama, Animal Kingdom, has already cleaned up at Sundance and the AFI Awards – and he's even caught  Hollywood's attention.   

David Michôd could be forgiven for perpetually pinching himself. He, more than anyone, knows that Hollywood dreams rarely come true.

Before making his feature film debut with the critically-acclaimed crime-drama, Animal Kingdom, the 38-year-old Sydneysider was editor of Inside Film magazine.

“Given what I know about filmmaking, movies are so incredibly hard to make - and they’re even harder to get right,” says Michôd.

But get it right he did. The film, set in Melbourne's criminal underworld, has already bagged the top prize at last year’s prestigious Sundance Film Festival, and won ten gongs at the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards.

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Published in AustralianTimes.co.uk. Copyright Australian Times.  Photo: 2009 Screen Australia, Screen NSW, Film Victoria, The Premium Movie Partnership, Animal Kingdom Holdings Pty Limited and Porchlight Films Pty Limited.

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