The Steve Jaggi Company and Incendo have commenced production on the romantic comedy You, Me and the Penguins. This feature film stars Australian actor Tammin Sursok (Pretty Little Liars, Rules of Engagement, Crossing Over), Jason Wilder (Kidnapped, Great White, We Were Tomorrow) and Madeleine West (Neighbours, Playing for Keeps). Written by Annelies Kavan and welcoming the talent of director Christine Luby (This Little Love of Mine, Dive Club), the film is being shot on location across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Steve Jaggi, Spencer McLaren and Ian Whitehead, will produce the film; Graham Ludlow is Supervising Producer; Executive Producers are Steve Jaggi, Jean Bureau and Ian Whitehead.
You, Me and the Penguins – Tilly Monterey (Tammin Sursok) works a desk job as the Compliance and Outreach Manager at the Animal Discovery Institute in San Diego. When the Crystal Bay Penguin Sanctuary is threatened with closure and its colony of Little Blue penguins is scheduled to be relocated 2,500km away, Tilly’s dream to work in the field is realised. Accompanied by her sister and mother of three Gemma (Madeleine West), Tilly heads to Crystal Bay… Australia. Arriving at the centre, Tilly is met by the welcoming General Manager Kyle (Stuart Lumsden) and his husband Parker (Nick Hardcastle), alongside Head Zoologist Fletcher (Jason Wilder). Preferring penguins to people, Fletcher begrudgingly welcomes Tilly’s arrival and the two rarely see eye to eye. With only a week to turn the sanctuary around, the group must band together to gather donations, gain funding, and generate interest in the scientific community. As Fletcher teaches Tilly more about the sanctuary’s needs and the Little Blue penguins that they house, his belief in people, and even love, is reignited by the bubbly and intelligent Tilly. Meanwhile, Tilly realises she has never felt more at home than with pragmatic and practical Fletcher. With the sanctuary saved, a dream job in Alaska now on offer and Gemma keen to return to her family, Tilly must decide between leaving Crystal Bay, or staying with Fletcher and the Little Blue penguins he loves so much.
Tammin Sursok has recently returned to Australia from the US, and comments “I’m thrilled to be back here in Australia with my family to film. I was really attracted to this positive and inspiring story, and I can’t wait to get underway with the shoot.”
Director Christine Luby adds “I’ve chosen this project as my second feature because of the smart and capable protagonist we have in Tilly, and her determination to create community and a sense of belonging. We need more stories with female leads with agency and I find that Tilly is an inspiration to us all. Creating the town of Crystal Bay with its adorable Little Blue penguins and small town vibes has been so much fun.”
You, Me and the Penguins is the latest feature film in the romance genre from The Steve Jaggi Company, having recently wrapped Love In Bloom, also shot in Brisbane. You, Me and the Penguins will be distributed in Australia by Pivot Pictures. Internationally, the film will be titled Love and Penguins.
