2026
Feature Film
99 Minutes
The Birthday Trip
To celebrate their joint thirtieth birthday, lapsed high-school besties Clare, Angie and Isabel organise a luxury weekend away at the six-star Lothian Gate farmstay with their partners in tow. While the women share a nostalgic bond, the men are strangers, and the simmering social machinations test the couples' loyalty. Meanwhile, across the perfectly manicured grounds, the fraught relationship between the farmstay's conflicted caretaker Felix and his partner Sapphire threatens to derail the weekend.
Written and Directed by
James Robert Woods
Produced by
Stephanie Jane Day
James Robert Woods
Costume Design
Olivia Simpson
Hair and Makeup Design
Amelia Fell
Production Design
Paula Santos
Lisa Twomey
Cinematography
James Robert Woods
Sound Recordist
Nathan Bell
Sound Designer
Stuart Melvey
VFX Supervisor
Scott Koppelhuber
Colourist
Brett Manson
Poster Artist
Matt Limmer
Starring, Alphabetically
Sapphire Blossom
Nicola Frew
Ben Gerrard
Annelise Hall
Luke Jacobz
Robert Preston
David Quirk
Josephine Starte
Also Featuring
Anette Aghazarian
Nic Borrott
Stephanie Di Giacomo
Grant Lyndon
Select Press
★ ★ ★ ★ THE GUARDIAN
★ ★ ★ ★ CANBERRA TIMES
★ ★ ★ ★ CINEMA AUSTRALIA
“Sharply drawn, agonising” IAN BARR
“A must-see Australian story” THE AUSTRALIAN
“Tense, Palpable, Provocative” THE CONVERSATION
“Excoriates the Australian Mid” PATRICK MARLBOROUGH
“Rare, intelligent… Pulses with energy and insight” FILMINK
"One of the best Australian films of the year" CINE AUS, THE CURB
Film Website
Distribution
Badlands
