SNATCHERS – Australian Comedy Feature Film to Have World Premiere at Raindance Film Festival (UK)
MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate distribution
SNATCHERS – Australian Comedy Feature Film to Have World Premiere at
Raindance Film Festival 2025 (UK)
FESTIVAL LINK | TRAILER | IMDB
MELBOURNE, Australia, Thursday 22 May, 2025: Raindance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the UK has officially selected the Australian dark comedy feature film SNATCHERS. This year’s festival will be the 33rdedition and the biggest since the COVID pandemic. The festival will open on June 18th with SNATCHERS having it’s world premiere on Saturday, the 21st of June at Vue Piccadilly. The film follows a pair of lifelong friends and hospital orderlies trying to make a quick buck in the organ-selling trade. They’re thrown a curveball when a corpse wakes up on the operating table, with comedic chaos the result.
“I think UK audiences will really respond to this film.” Said Shelly Higgs, Producer. “They’ll get the humor and understand the undercurrent of social commentary.”
Starring Craig Alexander (TOTAL CONTROL, THE CODE), Justin Hosking (CRIME & PUNISHMENT, THE BROKEN SHORE) with Hannah McKenzie (LOVE FOREVER), SNATCHERS is a dark comedy film with a deeper message. Co-Directed and produced by husband and wife duo Craig Alexander and Shelly Higgs the film intertwines irreverence, humour, and vibrant characters to deliver a thrilling experience with a distinct social conscience. At its core, the film confronts the issue of exploitation, shedding light on the harsh reality of a late-stage capitalist society where the working class bears the brunt of inequality, whilst examining the inherently toxic structures that perpetuate the class divide.
“It’s been a long journey and a lot of blind faith to get through to this point when pretty much everything says it’s not going to happen.” Said Craig Alexander, Writer, Director, Producer and Editor. “You really just have to see it through and hope for the best – this is a validation of that journey.”
Beyond the socio-political commentary, SNATCHERS is a profound, and often hilarious, examination of friendship, showcasing the secrets we protect, the sacrifices we make, and the fragile bonds that hold us together. Raindance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the UK based in the heart of London’s buzzing West End film district. The Festival is officially recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences USA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the British Independent Film Awards, making this a very special selection for this Indie Aussie feature.
The film has been shot with 90% Canberra crew and filmed entirely in the capital city with SNATCHERS delivering (ironically) a wickedly entertaining tale of greed, deception and the raw unpredictability of human. The film is a rollercoaster ride filled with unexpected twists, dark humour and a chilling game of survival. Produced by Canberra-based production company The Horse, SNATCHERS was made on a small budget but packs a big comedy punch and will have its world premiere in London. ScreenInc has recently been appointed as distributor and will release the film in Australia this coming Spring.
Ends.
Media enquiries and interviews to Bronny Lane, Publicist bronwen@littletrain.com.au | 0413 221 252
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: @snatchers_film
Film Freeway: Snatchers Film
PRODUCTION DETAILS & TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Year: 2024
Genre: Dark Comedy
Runtime: 82 minutes
Language: English
Country: Australia
Content Warning: Partial Nudity, Violence, Coarse Language
Director: Craig Alexander, Shelly Higgs
Screenwriter: Craig Alexander
Producer: Craig Alexander, Shelly Higgs, Sebastian Chan, Denai Gracie
Executive Producer: Craig Alexander, Shelly Higgs, Alexandros Ouzas
Cast: Hannah McKenzie, Craig Alexander, Justin Hosking
Cinematographer: Luke Patterson
Editor: Craig Alexander
Music: Jay Cameron
QUOTES FROM THE CREATIVE TEAM
“To get our first feature internationally recognised, and premiering in London at Raindance, a festival known to promote innovation and bold storytelling, is both rewarding and incredibly encouraging. It takes a huge amount of work to get a feature film off the ground, and the fact that a feature completely produced in Canberra, ACT, with a 90% local cast and crew (with more than 50% of those made up of women, I might add!) Is a great achievement and testament to the hard work of the whole team and the people who supported us.” – Shelly Higgs
“You get to a point where you realise that if you don’t back yourself, nobody else will.” – Craig Alexander
“It’s been a long journey and a lot of blind faith to get through to this point when pretty much everything says it’s not going to happen. You really just have to see it through and hope for the best – this is a validation of that journey.” – Craig Alexander
“I’m inspired by Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright and Robert Rodriguez and Rodriguez’s book Rebel Without a Crew was probably instrumental in me getting this made. There’s a time where you’ve been at this game for 20 years just scraping by, you get to point where you say – screw it, I want to make the sort of movie that I want to watch. I think with Snatchers, we’ve done that.” – Craig Alexander
“Horror comedy, especially that fine line between making someone laugh and making someone scared, is where I love playing around.This was the perfect vehicle for me to muck around in that space, a chamber piece almost, where there is less budget required to deliver a compelling story.” – Craig Alexander
