Fed: Kokoda to educate new generations

AAP General News (Australia)
04-10-2006
Fed: Kokoda to educate new generations

By Jonathon Moran, National Entertainment Writer

SYDNEY, April 10 AAP - A film based on Australia's bloody campaign against the Japanese
along the Kokoda Track highlights the importance of this historical event to a new generation,
says lead actor Jack Finsterer.

Kokoda is set in 1942 and tells the story of a small group of Australian soldiers cut
off from their supply and communication lines along the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.

"This script not only honours the memory and the deeds of the diggers that fought out
there, it also makes it accessible to a younger generation, which is vitally important,"

said Finsterer, 37, who plays soldier Jack Scholt.

"I am deeply honoured to be in a film called Kokoda - the responsibility of that was
not lost on me."

The 96km Kokoda Track, linking the southern and northern coasts of Papua New Guinea,
was one of Japan's first significant reverses in the Pacific war.

It was feared that if the Japanese secured Kokoda, they would have gone on to seize
Port Moresby and then threaten northern Australia.

More than 2,100 Australian soldiers were killed and a further 3,500 were wounded in
fighting to prevent Japanese troops from reaching Port Moresby.

Kokoda, the movie, marks the first time the story of those soldiers has been told on
the big screen.

The film opens nationally on April 20 with special screenings being held around the
country to coincide with Anzac Day commemorative events.

The film directed by Alister Grierson also stars Shane Bourne, Christopher Baker, Tom
Budge, Steve Le Marquand, William McInnes and Travis McMahon.

"It is taking certain elements that were a common experience to many soldiers and turning
that into a story," explained Finsterer.

The film was shot at Queensland's Mount Tamborine last year.

Finsterer described the shoot as "physically demanding", saying the conditions helped
him to "get in character".

"It fed into the whole character and the feeling of Kokoda," he said.

"For me, the harder it was, the better. Those guys did it a billion times harder than
we did though."

Kokoda is Finsterer's first major film role. His previous credits include parts in
TV series All Saints, McLeod's Daughters, Blue Heelers, and tele-movies Jessica and Big
Reef.

He's also worked with the Sydney Theatre Company, where he met his wife, fellow actor
Justine Clarke.

Finsterer and Clarke, who recently performed in the STC's production of Hedda Gabler
in New York with Cate Blanchett, juggle their careers with being parents.

"It just seems to work out," said the father of two - Josef, 4, and Nina, 2.

"We have crossover periods which can be difficult to juggle but we have managed."

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