Ange & the Boss: Puskas in Australia

Our Puskas film is finally making it to the big screen! It’s taken us seven years since we shot the first interview, but ‘Ange & The Boss – Puskas in Australia’ will screen in Sydney and Melbourne next week as part of the Greek Film Festival. Both are special ‘one-off’ screenings, with Q & A afterwards. In Sydney, it’s with South Melbourne Hellas legend Paul Trimboli, commentator Simon Hill, and us. In Melbourne, it’s with Trimmers, Miki Petersen and most likely, Santo Cilauro . At the Melbourne screening, there will be a strong contingent of the 1991 Hellas championship team, as well as wider Greek and Hungarian communities. It will be a really special afternoon and evening – already 500 of the 1000 seats have been filled.

The dates of the Greek Film Festival screenings are:
Sydney, Palace Norton Street, Leichardt, Thursday 17th October, 6.30pm, Tickets https://buy.palacecinemas.com.au/?cinema=129&session=323644#_ga=2.31443775.1044848075.1728279428-1850908545.1724997081
Melbourne, Astor Theatre, St Kilda, Sunday 20th October, 4.30pm, Tickets https://buy.palacecinemas.com.au/?cinema=180&session=5448#_ga=2.31443775.1044848075.1728279428-1850908545.1724997081

If you do come to the screening, please come up to Cam and me and say hello.

We absolutely wouldn’t be having these events without you and the Documentary Australia Foundation (DAF). It’s such a thrill for us, after thousands of hours of work. You are all thanked by name in the credits (except anonymous donors) We haven’t received a dollar from corporates or government (although we have a Screen Australia application on foot – fingers crossed), nor have we received payment ourselves. Every dollar donated went into the film and your crowd funding accounted for over $80,000 or approximately 60% of the money we have spent. It should be noted that 6 individuals provided the vast majority of that total. To our super donors, an extra special note of thanks. As things stand, we have paid the license fees that allow us to show the film in film festivals, as well as the DocPlay streaming service here in Australia (https://www.docplay.com/ – released late December). We are $40,000 of license fees away from being able to properly commercially release the film in Australia, and $80,000 away a worldwide commercial release. We are hoping there will be good news on this front once distributors have seen it. Enthusiastic supporters can still donate through DAF. https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/puskas-and-the-south-melbourne-hellas/?fbclid=IwAR0J-Wo3afYnh_k27TIBUGe3vIl80LAzjjuA4Si-wHpxug-RWjDc3WRPe8A

The other really exciting news is that we’ve been picked as a finalist at the Paladino d’Oro in Palermo. The ceremony is on 15th December and films are screening in the 3-4 days before that. Cam and I are going over to Italy, and hopefully this funny, quirky, story about a footballing colossus in suburban Melbourne connects with the wider footballing world. As Puskas himself said, ‘three possibilities in the football. You win, you lose, or you make the draw’. Hopefully we have some wins from here!

There will be information on the film at https://angeandtheboss.com/ or you can email me at tony@tonywilson.com.au . I’ve also been leaving updates on my newsletter Good one, Wilson https://goodonewilson.substack.com/

We’d love to see you at the Greek Film Festival, or even Palermo!

Thanks again,

Tony Wilson
Sepia Tones, Producer, ‘Ange & the Boss – Puskas in Australia’

After seven years of work, it’s full steam ahead on Puskas in Australia as we push for the line. The film is CREATIVELY COMPLETE. That means that every shot has been selected, and every piece of archival material set in place. The only stumbling block now is money. We need to pay our very significant copyright clearance bills, and we need to do audio post production and colour grading. We estimate that we’re chasing $200,000. We applied for but didn’t get MIFF Premiere Fund money, and are now attempting to establish a pathway to audience by sending the secure link to broadcasters and streaming services. We have had acceptance from Paramount for a free licence but are holding off for a better offer. Once we have pathway to audience, and we are desperate for this by Christmas 2023, we will qualify for some completion funding from Screen Australia and VicScreen. This will bolster us by approximately $50,000. We then are seeking some significant donations from two private individuals, and maybe our own money to finally get the film to screens. Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou is on a hot streak in Europe, and NOW is the moment for this film. We are acutely aware of this, and consumed by the task of raising this money. We have proposed the idea of selecting a Puskas XI and a Hellas XI (Ange XI?) from the most generous donors to name in the film credits (or pre roll). We’re going to have a special night for these individuals, and roll out an offer of a night in a private theatrette with 16 friends watching the film for these super donors. We’re also collecting smaller donations from friends and football fans, and that’s all helping pay our copyright bills. Our project received a brilliant ‘pre release’ review in The Times UK which gave fundraising on this site a bit of a boost. https://goodonewilson.substack.com/p/our-film-reviewed-in-the-the-times