Spike Up

Infobox Film
name = Spike Up

---

caption = Promotional poster for "Spike Up".
director = Anthony Maras
producer = Kent Smith
writer = Anthony Maras
starring = Marcus Graham
Roy Billing
Lisa Flanagan
music = Duncan Campbell, Jamie Messenger, Martyn Zub
cinematography = Nick Matthews
editing = Anthony Maras
country = Australia
language = English
imdb_id = 0995050|

"Spike Up" is a 2007 Australian short film, written and directed by award winning film-maker Anthony Maras, and produced in association with the Australian Film Commission, the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund and the South Australian Film Corporation.

In July 2007, "Spike Up" was nominated for “Best Short Fiction Film” in the AFI Awards [http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,22021618-5006343,00.html "Adelaide Advertiser - 5 July 2007"] ] [http://www.if.com.au/press/2007/07/04.html "Inside Film - 4 July 2006"] ] – Australia’s most prestigious film awards ceremony and widely recognised as the Australian equivalent to the American Academy Awards. This marks Maras' second nomination in the AFI Awards which are held annually in November/December.

In September 2007, Spike Up was one of four films nominated for Best Short Film in the 2007 Australian Director's Guild Awards.

Spike Up is being prepared for its international festival premiere in late 2007.

Taglines:
* A tale of family, friendship and international drug mules.

* WARNING: Vivid auditory hallucinations & paranoid delusions lie within.

Cast

ynopsis

Steve Barker is a veteran police officer struggling to find any respect in himself or connection with his young family.

Overlooked at home and ridiculed at work, Steve hinges his hopes on reuniting with Tolly Manditis (Marcus Graham -Mulholland Drive, Blue Murder), a former protégé who has risen to become a star undercover officer.

But things do not play out as expected and over the course of an agonizing night, Steve undergoes a crisis of conscience where his previously straight-edged moral code is warped completely out of shape.

In the tradition of Serpico and Blue Murder, SPIKE UP offers a sobering meditation on police ethics and responsibility; and examines the power of institutional evil to permeate the individual.

SPIKE UP is a searing, hardboiled Australian drama exploring themes of family, friendship, sin and redemption.

Awards and Nominations

*2007 Australian Film Institute Awards: Best Short Fiction Film [http://www.anthousefilms.com/AntHouse_Films/AntHouse_Films_-_News_%26_Press/Entries/2007/12/7_SAs_slice_of_film_awards_glory.html "SA's slice of film awards glory - news.com.au - 7 Dec 2007"] ]
* 2008 Worldfest Houston International Film Festival: Platinum Award - Best Dramatic Adaptation
*2008 South Australian Short Screen Awards: Best Direction
*2008 South Australian Short Screen Awards: Best Drama
*2008 South Australian Short Screen Awards: Best Sound
*2007 Australian Directors Guild Awards: Best Short Film - Nomination [http://www.asdafilm.org.au/ "Australian Screen Directors Association Homepage"] ]
* 2007 Austin Film Festival: Best Short Film - Nomination
*2008 St Kilda Film Festival: Best Achievement in Post Production Sound
*2007 ATOM Awards: Best Short Fiction Film - Nomination [http://www.if.com.au/press/2007/07/04.html "Inside Film - 4 July 2006"] ]

Official Selection

*2008 International Film Festival Rotterdam
*2008 Santa Barbara International Film Festival
*2008 Cesar Academie Des Arts Et Techniques Du Cinema - Golden Nights of Short Film
*2008 The London Australian Film Festival
*2008 St Kilda International Festival of Short Films
*2008 Flickerfest International Festival of Short Films
*2007 Bilbao International Short Film Festival
*2007 Austin Film Festival
*2007 Adelaide Film Festival

References

External links

*imdb title|title=Spike Up|id=0995050
* [http://afca.org.au/spikeup.php Australian Film Critics Association - Spike Up - Review]
* [http://www.anthousefilms.com/AntHouse_Films/Spike_Up_-_A_tale_of_family,_friendship_and_international_drug_mules.html Spike Up - Official Homepage]