The film is a Stan original and the feature directorial debut of Christiaan Van Vuuren, who honed his comedy skills on series such as Soul Mates and Squinters (directing several episodes of each) and is one of the ultra satirically woke Bondi Hipsters (whose amusing new half-hour spin-off on Stan, Dom and Adrian 2020, landed on the weekend). Written by Elliot Vella, Gretel Vella and Timothy Walke, A Sunburnt Christmas is wacky and sweet in a backhanded way, with a plot spearheaded by a costumed rascal bringing excitement to an otherwise uneventful, quintessentially Australian setting.
Daisy (Lena Nankivell) and Tom (Edan McGuinness) in A Sunburnt Christmas. Photograph: Ian Routledge/Stan
A Sunburnt Christmas is now available to stream on Stan, and to celebrate the cast were out in full force at the world premiere in Sydney on Thursday.
And the stars of the movie, including director Christiaan Van Vuuren and Sullivan Stapleton all agreed that the sun-drenched Aussie movie could pave the way for more festive films to be created Down Under in future.
Christian, who is known as one half of the riotous YouTube comedy duo Bondi Hipsters, told Daily Mail Australia: I ve always wanted to see the quintessential Australian Christmas movie, and I m hoping that we ve made that exist.
Advertisement
In a year of extremes such as 2020, the movies often served as our collective shorthand. We referenced the past 12 months via pandemic thrillers, political procedurals, black satires and uplifting dramas; real life definitely had a very imaginative screenwriter. Now we’ve got to December it’s time to make the most of the next five weeks by watching the summer movies that take us through Boxing Day and school holidays to the start of Hollywood’s award season in January. Cinemas are coming back to life and the streaming services have their exclusive titles cued up – just find the films that matter to you in our preview.
The new Stan comedy was directed by Christiaan Van Vuuren (known for
Bondi Hipsters and Stan s
The Other Guy) and tells the story of a single mum and her young kids who are living on an outback farm and going through a rough moment in their lives.
Everything is then turned upside down when Daryl (Daniel Henshall from Stan s
Bloom), a runaway criminal dressed as Santa Claus, crashes into their property in search of a secret he has hidden there, but is mistaken for the real Santa by the youngest of the kids, Daisy (Lena Nankivell).
Also in the mix are Daisy s older siblings Tom (Eaden McGuinness), a very anxious child, and her wily teenage sister Hazel (Tatiana Goode), who sees Daryl s unexpected arrival as an opportunity to get her troubled family back on track.