Emma Booth, photographed in Quindalup on a previous visit, will be in town this month for CinéfestOZ.
RISING film star, Emma Booth, is coming to Busselton this month to attend local film festival, CinéfestOZ.
The local girl will fly in from Los Angeles in time for the official opening night of the festival on August 22, and will get to spend time with her mum, who lives here.
Emma is pleased to be returning for the festival, not only to support the Australian film industry, but to escape the scorching LA weather.
“I’m really excited about CinéfestOZ this year,” Emma said, after her mother Kaye indicated to the Mail that her daughter may be available to be here for the film festival.
“It is very exciting to have a significant rising film star, such as Emma, coming to CinèfestOz,” festival director, Helen Shervington, said.
“It is particularly exciting because of her strong Busselton connection,” Helen said.
Emma is currently in Los Angeles, and has just finished work on a crime/thriller film, Parker, starring Jennifer Lopez.
In the film, which was directed by Taylor Hackford, Emma’s character is the love interest of lead actor Jason Statham, and the daughter of Nick Nolte.
But it was Emma’s Australian film, Swerve, which was the buzz of CinéfestOZ last year, and the catalyst for her visit to this year’s festival.
Swerve, a thriller about wrong turns and moral dilemmas, made waves at last year’s festival along with other Australian films Toomelah and Oranges and Sunshine.
Unable to make the festival last year due to other committments, Emma is happy to be coming home to support local films.
“I will always be back to support Australian film when I can and it’s a bonus that I can have my mum with me,” she said.
“I love coming home to Busselton because I get to spend much needed quality time with my family.
“I love to unwind, go camping and I love the beaches in WA.
“It’s my timeout place, without the stress of the crazy cities I’m usually in for work.
“It’s been a hot summer in LA, so I’m looking forward to some colder weather.”
Emma has been attending meetings and acquainting herself with Los Angeles and during her stay, preparing for her move to Tinseltown next year.
Her career started when she began modelling at just 15 years old, after signing with an agency in the east.
After making it to runways around the globe, Emma turned her focus to acting with small roles in televisions series All Saints and Bush Patrol.
She starred opposite Clive Owens in the 2009 English/Australian film The Boys are Back, and took on Brenda Blethyn in breakthrough Australian film Clubland, which screened at the Sundance film festival in 2007.
After receiving international acclaim for Clubland, Emma became a household name in Australia after playing Kim Hollingsworth in the 2010 hit series Underbelly: The Golden Mile.
She starred as Germaine Greer in British film Hippie Hippie Shake, and as Rose Pickles in the Tim Winton classic Cloudstreet last year.
Her most recent film, Parker, is currently in post-production and looks set for release early next year.
The CinéfestOZ calendar begins with an opening cocktail party and film preview on August 22, with a directors’ lunch at Aravina winery, and the gala party, with a final film screening, on August 25.
CinéfestOZ will officially unveil their film program this Saturday.
