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Film festivals have their quirky picks and every year, there are one or two films that often make their premiere at the Venice Film Festival early in the season, but fail to turn up later at TIFF, Telluride or NYFF. Last year, one of those pictures was Jennifer Kent’s sprawling colonialism and harrowing revenge film, “The Nightingale,” not an easy sell by any stretch given the material and length (2.5+ hours). It’s a sign of something, their absence at other festivals, but that something is particular to the kind of film it is. This year one of the curious pictures at Venice only is “Babyteeth,” the directorial debut of Australian filmmaker Shannon Murphy— one of only two female filmmakers in competition at the festival. It’s doubly controversial at the festival given that it’s a debut that has skipped over the sidebars and gone straight to competition. Then again, with the lack of female filmmakers, no one should be complaining.

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A “bittersweet comedy about how good it is not to be dead yet and how far we will go for love,” “Babyteeth,” has a great cast that features up and comer Eliza Scanlen (Who made a big splash last year in HBO’s “Sharp Objects”) as the least as well as the Toby Wallace, Essie Davis (“The Babadook“) and Ben Mendelsohn (“Bloodline,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”). Obviously, there’s a lot of Aussies in this one.

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The project was self-adapted from a stage play by Rita Kalnejais. Here’s the official synopsis:

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When seriously ill teenager Milla falls madly in love with smalltime drug dealer Moses, it’s her parents’ worst nightmare. But as Milla’s first brush with love brings her a new lust for life, things get messy and traditional morals go out the window. Milla soon shows everyone in her orbit – her parents, Moses, a sensitive music teacher, a budding child violinist, and a disarmingly honest, pregnant neighbor – how to live like you have nothing to lose. What might have been a disaster for the Finlay family instead leads to letting go and finding grace in the glorious chaos of life. Babyteeth joyously explores how good it is not to be dead yet and how far we will go for love.

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“Babyteeth” is set to have its world premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival, which runs Aug 28 – Sept 7. The film will screen on Sept 4. Look for our coverage that week and watch the first trailer for the film below via ScreenDaily.