Tom Rodgers as Cody, Sacha Horler as Steele, and Tim Pocock as Aiden.

Principal photography has today commenced in Sydney on Body Blow, an exciting new queer, neo-noir independent feature film by Dean Francis (Drown, Road Train) and from the producers of the homegrown international indie hits Lonesome (2022) and Birdeater (2023).

Featuring an all-star cast, including Tim Pocock (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Tom Rodgers (Joe vs. Carole), Sacha Horler (The Dressmaker), Paul Capsis (Head On), and Chris Haywood (Muriel’s Wedding), Body Blow is a compelling and wildly entertaining film that amplifies an exciting, new voice in Australian cinema. It is a co-production between JJ Splice (Timothy May, Dean Francis) and Breathless Films (Ben Ferris, Ulysses Oliver).

Writer and director Dean Francis says, “The film noir genre’s emphasis on transgression and desire makes it a fabulous lens through which to explore queer identity and culture. Body Blow is a bold, stylized, and sexy homage to some of my favourite noirs including Body Heat and Double Indemnity.”

“After seeing international audiences responding so enthusiastically to Lonesome, we were pretty excited to jump onto another queer film, this time directed by Lonesome’s director of photography, Dean Francis,” Breathless Films’ Ulysses Oliver says.

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“Body Blow celebrates Sydney’s recognisable queer culture,” adds Breathless Films’ Ben Ferris, “and in a genre that will be refreshingly entertaining for an international audience.”

Shot in and around inner city Darlinghurst by local cinematographer Franc Biffone, Body Blow will be a striking homage to colour noir, combining an 80s neon colour palette with the underworld atmosphere of Sydney’s gay district. Production Design is by Birdeater’s Chris Le Page.

Body Blow tells the story of Aiden (Pocock), a young cop who needs to overcome a sex addiction in order to hold down his job. Unfortunately Aiden’s new assignment brings him into the orbit of drag queen and crime boss, Fat Frankie (Capsis), whose entourage includes the enigmatic Cody (Rodgers). Cody exerts more than a casual pull on Aiden and inevitably throws a spanner in Aiden’s best laid nofap plans, threatening to blow it all, while also offering Aiden the potential to find love.

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