After being shortlisted for the 2016 Victorian premier’s literary award this month, the Australian novelist Charlotte Wood’s latest book, The Natural Way of Things, has been optioned for a film by independent producers Katia Nizic and Emma Dockery.
Released last year, the novel explores themes of misogyny and corporate control through the story of 10 women who wake to find themselves captive in an unknown destination in the Australian outback. Kidnapped by a ragtag group of mercenaries, they are imprisoned in dire circumstances; starved, beaten, humiliated, forced to wear strange uniforms, shaven and stripped of their humanity.
Strangers to each other, the women are united by one thing: they have all been involved in a sensational sex scandal with a powerful man. A sense of foreboding builds in the bleak landscape, as Wood excavates hatreds, jealousies and a brutal sense of abandonment.
It’s a vivid and visual book, filled with unforgettable scenes and a blistering feminist anger. Wood’s mastery is in her restraint, as sheprovides the spare bare bones of a resonating and timely theme: if women dare to speak out against sexist abuse, they pay a heavy price. But when the power shifts, watch out.
“We knew instantly this was a story that needed to be told,” said Nizic and Dockery, who come from production and casting backgrounds respectively. “It feels personal and specific, but also speaks to women the world over. It is incredible to be given this opportunity to feature so many women in prominent, meaningful roles, in front of and behind the camera.”
For Wood, the pitch from the film-makers held a vital hook: they mentioned Picnic at Hanging Rock.
“One of the things they said in their pitch was that there hasn’t been an Australian film with an extensive young, female ensemble cast like this since Picnic at Hanging Rock – that stuck in my head and would not let go,” she told Guardian Australia. “I thought, imagine if this could be the next Picnic? I have total faith in these young women to make something astonishing.”
As part of their vision for the film, Nizic and Dockery – in collaboration with Goodship, a service that provides alternative distribution and micro-financing strategies for independent films – are on the lookout for partnerships with likeminded organisations which champion the female themes the book embraces.
The announcement comes amid an ongoing conversation about the role of female film-makers in Australia, where only 16% of directors, 23% of writers, and 32% of producers are women. In December Screen Australia launched its Gender Matters initiative in an attempt to bridge that gap, with an immediate $3m allocation to jump-start female-led projects that would be ready for production within two years, and another $2m of support for placements, distribution incentives, marketing and networking for women in film.
“Our focus is on female-led creative teams rather than individuals, the chief executive of Screen Australia, Graeme Mason, said at the time.
“We are aiming to ensure our production funding is targeted to creative teams – writer, producer, director and protagonist – that are at least 50% female by 2018 year end. While across all our funding programs we exceed this target, production funding in film, at 29%, is well off the pace.”
