BROKE
Genre: Drama Sports
Duration: 102 min
Production: 2016
Subtitles: English
Availability: Worldwide
Producer: Luke Graham
Director: Heath Davis
Executive Producer: Jonathan Page
Editor: Matt Evans
Score: Sam Lockwood, Heather Shannon
Pro Designer: Roger Wong
Cast: Steve Le Marquand, Max Cullen, Claire Van Der Boom, Steve Bastoni, Justin Rosniak, Brendan Cowell
Sales Agent: Bonsai Films
Distributor: Rialto Dist, Umbrella Ent
Official Selection:
Gold Coast Film Festival
Manchester Film Festival
Soma Film Festival
Uruguay International Film Festival
Arizona International Film Festival
Sene Film Music Art Festival
Lisbone International Film Festival
“Steve LeMarquand shines as the lead”, Matthew Eeles, Cinema Australia
“A softly gritty & very real feeling film with morality & honesty at its core”, Indiefest
An old working class man named Cec stumbles upon his favourite footy star come gambling addict, Ben “BK” Kelly, at the end of his shift. Taking pity on the one-time local legend, who he admired for his on field fortitude, Cec offers to take the now homeless Ben home for the night where he resides with his single mother daughter and fellow footy tragic, Terri.
Unable to resist his urge, Ben’s addiction gets the better of him when in the middle of the night he robs the low income family of their modest possessions (even taking Cec’s dead wife’s urn) and hocks them to the local pawnbroker/local crime lord, Neck.
BK is found by police, and Cec, spending the stolen goods money on the pokies at a local dive bar, where he is known to frequent at all hours of the day. Just one more misdemeanour away from being sent to lock up, BK is thrown a life line when Cec decides not to press charges but actually take him in permanently and help the former Daly M Medallist turn his life around much to the detest of local cop and BK’s former team-mate, Sherro.
Through Cec’s guidance and Terri’s love, Ben sets about winning back the respect of his family, friends, community and himself.
However, his journey back to the winner’s circle is thwarted when he’s confronted by closed door after closed door. Thus Ben is forced to dig deep and apply the courage and spirit he once displayed on the field to his personal life.
Showing resolute determination and proving his good intentions are exactly that, BK slowly wins back their trust and gets the townsfolk back onside when he’s invited to coach a junior footy team, gets a job from an old nemesis, and seeks treatment for his gambling habit. However, just when it seems BK’s life is about to get back on track his resolve is put to the biggest test yet from Neck.