It has been on the verge ofgoing ahead several times but now cameras are definitely going to roll on Ten Empty, the feature film directorialdebut of actor Anthony Hayes, who played the estranged father of two childrenin Look Both Ways.

The film got the go-aheadfrom the Australian Film Commission's IndiVision scheme, which is specificallyfor the production of low-budget features. The New South Wales Film andTelevision Office and the South Australian Film Corporation are also investorsand Dendy will distribute locally. No sales agent is attached.

The filmmakers describe the dramaas an ode to fatherhood. It is about a disillusioned son's trip home and theten years of family secrets that explode over one weekend. The end result isuplifting and full of hope.

Geoff Morrell plays thefather of two sons, who will be played by Daniel Frederiksen and Tom Budge.Also in the cast are Jack Thompson and Hayes' co-writer, Brendan Cowell, asfamily friends.

Hayes and Cowell, who areassociate producers alongside producer Naomi Wenck, have written and produced anumber of plays and are motivated by wanting to present true and honestportrayals of Australians without mocking them.

Hayes won a Dendy Award atthe Sydney International Film Festival for his one-hour film New Skin, which had a limited release.

Ten Emptyis shooting on $1m (A$1.4m) from October 25 in Adelaide, which is also hosting two other new films aroundthe same time.

Kriv Stenders' low-budgetfilm Boxing Day is about a father'simpassioned struggle to reunite his family and it is being financed by theAdelaide Film Festival Investment Fund. Hey,Hey It's Esther Blueburger, a coming-of-age teen comedy about a Jewishgirl, is writer/director Cathy Randall's debut.

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