Starring #RyanCorr and #AnthonyLaPaglia, #BELOW is a pitch-black comedy with a uniquely provocative take on Australia’s asylum-seeker detention system. When darkweb con-artist Dougie lands in the bloody deep end of a scam gone wrong, his gruff stepdad, Terry, agrees to pay off his debts. In return, Dougie must take a job at the refugee detention centre where Terry works. Ever the grifter, Dougie discovers a way to make cash by live-streaming the underground fight club run by the centre’s morally bankrupt security staff. But when things inevitably go south, Dougie may be the only one willing to take a stand. Norwegian-born Iranian-Australian director Maziar Lahooti makes his feature debut with this devilishly dark comedy, adapted for the screen by Perth playwright Ian Wilding from his award-winning play of the same name. Joining Corr (Holding the Man) and LaPaglia (Balibo) in the ring are The Heights’ Phoenix Raei and The Kettering Incident’s Alison Whyte, as well as Morgana O’Reilly (Wentworth) and Zenia Star (The Merger). Below isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty as it tackles hard issues, resulting in a deliberately provocative dare of a film that’s bound to get audiences talking.
