Greta Scacchi, Leila George and Sam Corlett begin production on 'He Ain't Heavy' (EXCLUSIVE)

Greta Scacchi, her daughter Leila George and Sam Corlett will begin production on 'He Ain' next week t Heavy" a drama set in Western Australia by early feature director David Vincent Smith.

Based on true events, "He Ain't Heavy" follows a desperate sister who kidnaps her well-behaved brother. -liked to save him from addiction.

George is a rising star. With credits already including 'Animal Kingdom', 'The Kid' and 'Mortal Engines', she has now just come out of Patricia Arquette's upcoming debut film 'Gonzo Girl' and has recently starred alongside Cate Blanchett, Kevin Klein and Lesley. Manville in Alfonso Cuaron's new thriller "Disclaimer" for Apple TV. She is the central figure in "He Ain't Heavy" playing Scacchi's character's daughter and Corlett's sister.

Corlett ("The Dry", "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina") takes on the role of Max, a Troubled son and brother at the center of tense family drama. He can be seen in the second season of the global hit Netflix series "Vikings: Valhalla",which debuted in the top ten streaming titles on the platform for the second consecutive year. and is now broadcast worldwide.

Scacchi has a stellar career with credits such as "White Mischief", "The Browning Version" and "The Player."

The feature film grew out of Vincent Smith's proof-of-concept short "I'm Not Hurting You" which premiered at the Sydney Film Festival and screened at numerous local and international film festivals, including Flickerfest and the Austin Film Festival.

The feature is produced by Jess Parker of Perth-based No Labels Films, a long-time collaborator date with Vincent Smith and who previously produced his "I'm Not Hurting You" and another of his "Featherweight" shorts. The new film is the first of several long-running screen projects currently in development.

Filming will begin on January 23 in the southeastern suburbs of Perth, with a major production investment from Screenwest and Lotterywest. Parker and Vincent Smith were the 2021 recipients of Screenwest's West Coast Visions initiative, with the film project receiving A$750,000 ($524,000) in production funding.

Bonsai Films will distribute the completed film to selected cinemas across Australia. Bonsai's Jonathan Page is also taking on an executive producer role.

"He Ain't Heavy" provides a canvas to interrogate a real-world dilemma faced by many families struggle with – the price we are willing to pay for love; a question with no simple answer,” said writer-director Vincent Smith.

“Seeing Leila perform alongside her mother is something very special for us. Leila, Greta and Sam bring such an honest and personal connection to our story, portraying a family whose desperation to stick together has left visible claw marks,” Parker said.

"We're excited to see 'He Ain't Heavy' go into principal photography next week, kicking off what looks to be a bumper year for production in Western Australia,” said Rikki Lea Bestall, CEO of Screenwest.

(Photo, L-R: Leila George, Sam Corlett, Greta Scacchi)

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