Moon Rock for Monday

Moon Rock For Monday is a 2020 Australian independent film written and directed by Kurt Martin.

Moon Rock For Monday
Directed by	Kurt Martin
Written by	Kurt Martin
Produced by	Jim Robison
Starring	Ashlyn Louden-Gamble George Pullar Nicholas Hope Aaron Jeffery Jessica Napier
Distributed by	Pinnacle Films (Australia) Cinedigm (North America)
Release dates	October 2020 (2020-10) (Adelaide Film Festival)[1] 22 April 2021 (2021-04-22)
Running time	1h 40m
Country	Australia

Plot

Moon Rock For Monday is a coming-of-age road movie. A terminally ill nine-year-old girl, Monday, who has little contact with the outside world, being home-schooled, becomes captivated by Uluru, which she dubs the "Moon Rock", believing that it will cure her.

Monday gets involved in a police chase involving teenage street kid Tyler, who starts off using her to evade the police, but they become friends and decide to go on the run, and set off on a road trip to the Northern Territory to find the Moon Rock.

Cast

• George Pullar as Tyler
• Ashlyn Louden-Gamble as Monday
• Nicholas Hope as The Bobbins
• Alan Dukes
• Aaron Jeffery as Bob
• Jessica Napier as Nurse Roz
• David Field as Detective Lionell
• Maha Wilson
• Rahel Romahn as Moose
• Bonnie Ferguson
• Karina Banno
• Kai Lewins
• Dean Kyrwood

^[2]

Production

Moon Rock For Monday was made in 2020,^[3] written and directed by Kurt Martin and produced by Jim Robison of Lunar Pictures.^[4][5]

Release

Moon Rock for Monday was screened in several international film festivals, including 2020 CinefestOZ, Adelaide Film Festival, Byron Bay Film Festival, Schlingel International Film Festival, Ale Kino Family Film Festival^[6] in Poland, Beijing International Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival, the Busan International Kids and Youth Film Festival, and others.^[7]

It was released in Australian cinemas on 22 April 2021 by Pinnacle Films.^[6] It was sold to US distributor Cinedigm, and to German-speaking Europe via Landfilm; South Korea and Japan with Youngjin Creative; Latin America with Encripta, and to Poland via Media4Fun.^[4]

It was released onto Foxtel Movies and Binge in Australia in March 2022.^[4]

Nominations and awards

Moon Rock for Monday won eight awards and received 25 nominations in several countries.^[8]

The film won the FIPRESCI Award at the Schlingel Film Fest in Germany.^[6]

It won Gold Award at the ACS (Australian Society of Cinematographers) Awards,^[8] as well as Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Lead Actor at the 2021 Australian Screen Industry Network Awards.^[7]

It was nominated for an AACTA Award^[9] in 2021 for Best Indie Film by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.^[10]