EXCLUSIVE: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga duo Alyla Browne and Elsa Pataky are among the ensemble cast for Australian feature Chiquita, which has started production in Byron Bay, Australia.

Set against the world of endurance horse riding, the movie is described as “an uplifting family adventure about two outsiders; a rebellious teenage girl and a mistreated rescue horse who form an unlikely bond at a pivotal moment in their lives.”

Australian distributor Umbrella will release the film in the 2027 summer school holiday corridor.

Written and directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, based on a story by Mark Morrissey, the feature is produced by Blake Northfield and Michelle Krumm for Bronte Studios and Mark Morrissey for First Option Pictures.

Also starring are Michael Caton (The Castle), Stephen Peacocke (The Newsreader), Martin Sacks (Blue Heelers) and rising Australian actor Aswan Reid (The New Boy).

Major production investment comes from Screen Australia, in association with Screen NSW. International sales are being handled by Essential Film Group. Additional financing comes from Obsidian Creek Capital.

Director of photography is Jonathan Baker; first assistant director is Jamie Crooks, while production designer is Tylah Pratt, and costume designer Tracey Rose. Hair and makeup designer is Nele Pandis, and editor Gabriella Muir. Sandra Tahmasby Baxter serves as Head of Production for Bronte Studios.

““What I love about Chiquita is that underneath this big, cinematic adventure is a really simple relationship between a girl and a horse,” said Roache-Turner. “They’re both outsiders, they’re both pretty wild, and neither of them has much interest in doing what they’re told. Somehow they find each other. That gives us the heart of the movie, and then we get to surround it with galloping horses, endurance racing and these huge Australian landscapes. It’s a proper big screen family film with real scale.”

“From the beginning, we saw Chiquita as an Australian story with the ability to travel,” added Northfield and Krumm. “It has all the ingredients of a great family adventure with an extraordinary young protagonist, humour, heart, horses and a spectacular landscape but underneath that is a deeply relatable story about grief, family and finding where you belong. With this cast, Kiah’s vision and Essential Film Group taking the film to the international market, we’re incredibly excited about the audience this film can reach.”

JB Perrette has moved quickly to put together the executives that will report to him at Skydance.

Perrette, who is Co-Chair & Chief Business Officer, Skydance TV and Co-Chair & Chief Business Officer, Skydance Direct-To-Consumer, oversees global distribution, advertising sales, content sales, DTC strategy, marketing and business operations across Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s new owner.

Deadline understands that Perrette has signed a new contract, like a number of David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz’s top team. It’s not clear how long Perrette has signed up for, but his colleagues Casey Bloys, who he worked closely with at WBD, signed a five-year deal earlier this month.

He has gotten straight to work; earlier today, he named three executives to oversee content sales, advertising and distribution for him.

David Decker has been named President, Content Sales, coming ahead of the Mipcom international TV market, Jay Askinasi is Chief Revenue Officer, Advertising and Ray Hopkins is President, Distribution.

Decker’s appointment has also led to the first executive from this group to depart following the merger; Kevin MacLellan, who was President of International and Global Content Distribution at Paramount, is exiting, as a result.

Insiders told Deadline that it was important for the divisions that bring in revenue to Skydance to get their houses in order sooner rather than later, compared to the content divisions that are still working out personnel decisions.

Perrette is an interesting case; he was previously CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games for Warner Bros. Discovery and one of David Zaslav’s key lieutenants. But over the last few years, he has built up a key partnership with Bloys as the pair oversaw the growth of the HBO Max streaming service, Bloys on the content side, and Perrette on the business side. He will also now work closely with George Cheeks, who is Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer, Skydance TV.