''The Pretend One'' is an Australian independent realism drama film directed by Tony Prescott. It was filmed in April 2015 in central

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The screenplay was written by James Raue and Tony Prescott. ''The Pretend One'' had its world premiere at the

Gold Coast International Film Festival The Gold Coast International Film Festival launched in 2011, on the north shore of North Hempstead, New York. The festival, now held every November, completed its 7th year in 2017. The festival is produced by the Gold Coast Arts Center, a not-for- ...

in April 2018 closely followed by its international premiere at

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...

. The film was released theatrically for a limited season in March 2019 with various screenings in cities and regional centres concluding in July 2019.

Cast

Geraldine Hakewill Geraldine Hakewill (born 1987) is an Australian-raised actress, who as Geri is also a singer and songwriter. She acted as Chelsea Babbage in the Australian TV series '' Wanted'' for three seasons from 2016 to 2018 and Peregrine Fisher the titu ...

as Charlie * Michael Whalley as Hugo *

Benedict Wall Benedict Wall (born 17 June) is a New Zealand film, theatre and television actor. From 2011, Wall played Owen Sutherland in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. He has also appeared in '' Outrageous Fortune'', '' Underbelly: Badness'', ...

as Guy * David Field as Roger * Alice Roberts as Young Charlie * Elijah Perris as Young Hugo * Fiona Press as Therapist

Reception

''The Pretend One'' was met with positive reviews. Matthew Eeles of Cinema Australia gave the film five stars writing "Who would have thought one of the most beautiful, heartfelt, emotional and complex on-screen relationships in Australian film history would be between an adult woman and her imaginary friend". '' Filmink'' magazine rated the film 17.5/20 writing "''The Pretend One'' belies its skinny budget, working perfectly with what it’s got at hand, but never skimping on ambition of concept or vision. It’s a sweet but never sentimental film that will break your heart in the best possible way".

Accolades

In 2018, Cinema Australia went on to place ''The Pretend One'' at fourth position in its annual Top 5 Australian Films list.

References

External links

* * 2018 films 2018 drama films Australian drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s Australian films {{2010s-Australia-film-stub