Mirrah Foulkes’ self-proclaimed “bat-shit crazy origin story about the Punch and Judy puppet show” has found a home. Samuel Goldwyn Films snagged North American rights to “Judy & Punch,” a press release announced. The female-led revenge story made its world premiere at Sundance in January.
A live-action reinterpretation of the 16th-century puppet show, the dark comedy sees puppeteers Judy (Mia Wasikowska) and Punch (Damon Herriman) “trying to resurrect their marionette show. The show is a hit due to Judy’s superior puppeteering, but Punch’s driving ambition and penchant for whisky lead to an inevitable tragedy that Judy must avenge,” the film’s synopsis hints.
“Judy & Punch” marks Foulkes’ feature directorial debut. She also penned the script. “I was an actor before I started writing and directing and I felt pretty uninspired by a lot of the scripts I was reading,” she told us. “I found it disempowering not having any control over the work I was getting so I just started making shorts to see if I would like it.” She added, “I love the film industry and I want my career to have longevity — that can be hard as an actor.”
When we asked Foulkes what differences she’s noticed since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements launched, she said, “I get asked to talk about gender more than anything else. I don’t like talking about gender all the time: I would rather just talk about movies and be referred to as a filmmaker rather than a female filmmaker. But this is a long overdue conversation and it needs to happen,” she observed. “Until the gender disparity in film is addressed we will only be seeing the same stories on screen again and again and we will miss out on a whole world of interesting voices. There’s an incredible pendulum swing happening and I hope it settles in a place that means we don’t have to talk about gender so much.”
Best known for “Alice in Wonderland” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” Wasikowska’s other credits include “Jane Eyre,” “Stoker,” and “The Kids Are All Right.” Among her upcoming projects are “Bergman Island,” Mia Hansen-Løve’s English-language debut, and “Blackbird,” a drama about a mother with a terminal illness who brings her family together for one last weekend before she commits suicide.
No word on a release date for “Judy & Punch” just yet.
