A local screenwriter’s latest script is about to hit the big screen with his sci-fi thriller, Ascendant, coming to cinemas across Australia and New Zealand on April 8.
Screenwriter Kieron Holland has lived on the Central Coast for ten years and owns a chiropractic clinic in the Woy Woy area.
“I am a screenwriter and chiropractor, which is an interesting career combination,” Holland said.
“I have always loved writing and the film industry, so having a film made and featured in cinemas is incredibly cool, and I’m just extremely proud.”
Co-written with Antaine Furlong, Ascendant is a fantasy, sci-fi thriller involving a young environmentalist who is kidnapped and wakes up trapped in an elevator at the mercy of her captors.
The film features some renowned Australian actors, including Gosford local Charlotte Best, known for her roles in Seven Network’s Home and Away and Network Ten’s Puberty Blues.
“The heart of the story is all about family and coming to grips with the situation that they are in.
“The main character learns to accept who she really is along the way—that’s the film in a nutshell without giving too much away,” Holland said.
“Antaine has always wanted to do a sci-fi based film, so the attention to detail in the visual effects makes it feels like this huge action blockbuster, which is really cool.
“It will be in Hoyts and Event cinemas from April 8, and we have been fortunate to be picked up by a huge international distributor who will control the streaming overseas.”
Holland started writing novels for fun at university, and after graduating with a master’s degree, he took his skills overseas to England, where he lived and worked for many years.
He travelled throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South America, immersing himself in different countries’ history, allowing realism to inspire his writing.
“My wife told me once that I wrote visually and suggested I try scriptwriting; I converted one of my books into my first script and started to learn more about the craft—I really enjoyed it, and it suited my style more,” Holland said.
“Over the next few years, I delved into that, and I eventually wrote a script that won a major international comp over in America, which was very exciting.”
Holland has won and placed in worldwide competitions such as the Final Draft Big Break and the Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting.
Focusing mainly on action, adventure, fantasy and sci-fi, Holland has written 13 feature-length scripts and a television pilot, with Ascendant being his first thriller.
“I don’t normally write scary scripts; most of the stories I write are more light-hearted, adventure type stories, so this one was very different, but getting out of my comfort zone has definitely paid off,” Holland said.
“Antaine had the initial idea for the film after seeing a maintenance guy control an elevator and the whole building from a smart tablet in his hand.
“He thought it was an incredible concept and started to wonder about the what-if’s, which sparked our journey to write the script.”
Holland said he initially met his co-writer at his chiropractic clinic after starting up a conversation about the film industry.
“I was a chiropractor in the Northern Beaches at the time, and Antaine was a patient; I was working and writing part-time and trying to break into the industry, which he was also trying to do,” Holland said.
Holland is excited for the community to watch the movie and encourages people to support Australian film and creatives.
“Australian films seem to be having a bit of a resurgence at the moment, which is really cool, and the more the public support Australian films, the better,” Holland said.
Hayley McMahon