Western Australian underground punk feature film Skeleton Girls. A Kidnapped Society will have its International Premiere at the legendary Fantasporto Film Festival in Porto, Portugal. The film will screen in Competition in the Fantastic Cinema section on 5th March 2026.
The highly regarded Fantasporto – Porto International Film Festival, which has garnered a world renowned reputation as a discovery festival for emerging talents and daring cinematic voices, has unveiled their official selections for its 46th edition and WA film Skeleton Girls. A Kidnapped Society is one of two Australian features selected for its main competition – Fantastic Cinema.
Written and directed by WA filmmaker Richard Eames and co-produced by Eames and Helena Tay, Skeleton Girls is a provocative independent film starring a massive all-WA cast of Alla Malakhitova, Alex Arco, Cara McCarthy, Ashleigh Zinko, Dean McAskil and performance poet Splodge to name a few. The film was shot by rising local cinematographer Meredith Lindsay (Proclivitas).
Described as ‘raw, rebellious and unapologetically local’ (Variety Australia) Skeleton Girls is a mind melting mix of bold animations, dark satire and punk thriller narrative about a young woman on the run who must survive a news cycle frenzy in order to escape a dangerous plot involving a notorious girl gang.
Skeleton Girls. A Kidnapped Society had it’s World Premiere at the 28th Revelation Perth International Film Festival in July last year before screening at the 19th Sydney Underground Film Festival in September.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be apart of Fantasporto, it’s such a legendary festival with an incredible track record of discovery spanning decades. It’s a huge honour to bring our film to an international audience at this festival and as independent filmmakers their support means the world to us. We also look forward to exploring the beautiful architecture and rich history of Porto, as well as many films while we are there!” – Richard Eames, Director.
Perth audiences will get their chance to see the film ahead of its premiere in Portugal at a special screening in late February as part of the 7th WA Made Film Festival, WA’s premiere screen industry event for all things Western Australian cinema held annually at Palace Raine Square.
The film’s pulsating original electronic score by WA musician Steven Alyian (Usurper of Modern Medicine, Injured Ninja, Selfless Orchestra, Doublethink Prism) is also scheduled for release to coincide with the film’s international premiere in early March.
ABOUT FANTASPORTO
Founded in 1981 the festival is one of Portugal’s cultural landmarks and considered one of the top 25 film festivals in the world. Each year the festival brings together films from over 70 countries with a focus on genre cinema including fantasy, horror, science fiction, psychological thrillers and more experimental genres. Over the decades it has developed a distinguished reputation as a discovery festival for emerging talents and daring cinematic voices by screening the early works of filmmakers such as Guillermo del Toro, Bong Joon-ho, Peter Jackson, Danny Boyle, Darren Aronofsky, Lars von Trier, David Cronenberg, and Park Chan-wook.
ABOUT RICHARD EAMES
Richard Eames is an award winning writer, director and editor who’s work combines elements of satire, the surreal and the experimental with a strong punk ethos. His early work was praised for its experimentation and new media aesthetic, particularly Violent Blue Light Ghosts (2004) that screened internationally and his surreal nightmare short Happy In Our Grave. Ten Years Deep (2006) which won the Australian Animation Award at the Sydney Underground Film Festival 2007. Richard’s political satire Flushed (2015) found considerable success on the festival circuit culminating in 3 WA Screen Awards for writing, editing and audience choice. Fiercely independent and uncompromising, Richard works with a small team of collaborators pursuing a ‘DIY / guerrilla’ approach. Based in Perth, Australia Richard is a post production professional and Skeleton Girls. A Kidnapped Society (2025) is his debut feature film.
MEDIA LINKS AND CONTACTS
Official Website: www.skeletongirls.com
Media Contact: Contact Form