| Screenplay: | Melanie Tait |
| Director: | Lynn Hegarty |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Producer: | Andrea Keir Lisa Duff |
| Cinematography: | Henry Pierce |
| Editor: | Katie Flaxman |
| Runtime: | 108 minutes |
The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race is a 2023 Australian television film based on the stage play of the same name by Australian playwright and journalist Melanie Tait. The film premiered in Australia on Network Ten and was released on streaming on Paramount+ Australia.[1]
Doctor Penny Anderson moves from Sydney to her childhood home of Appleton. While visiting the hair salon of her sister Nikki, Penny sees a flyer advertising The Appleton Show and its famous potato race. She discovers the men's first prize pays out $2,000 and the winning woman's prize is only $200.[1] Penny leads a protest which causes turmoil in Appleton, particularly with Nikki, who is the current champion.
Nikki's brother-in-law Gavin vigorously opposes any increase in the prize money for the women's race, and when Penny succeeds in raising enough money to offer a bigger prize, he attempts to sabotage the ladies' race.
The film is based on a play by Melanie Tait, originally developed and performed with the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney. This was inspired by a real event in Tait's hometown of Robertson, New South Wales.[2] [3]
The film was shot in Sydney and the Southern Highlands with finance from Screen Australia, Screen NSW, and the NSW Regional Film Fund.[4] [5]
Andrew Mercardo of Mediaweek called it "charming… whilst it doesn’t play like a pilot, it would make for a great ongoing series."[6] Lenny Ann Low of The Sydney Morning Herald described the film as "sparky, funny, compassionate and honest."[7]