They were the pictures thousands of ANZAC diggers sent home to their loved ones during WWI, almost a hundred years later they are the inspiration for a Queensland love story which hopes to become a classic Australian film.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In 2010, more than 3000 candid and often informal pictures of Allied troops were discovered in the attic of a rundown farmhouse in the Somme Valley, France and purchased by Kerry Stokes for the Australian War Memorial.
They were taken by Antoinette and Louis Thuillier in the village of Vignacourt in Northern France and during the war had been converted to postcards for soldiers to send home to their families to show they were safe.
Michael and Donna Fiechtner, Brisbane teachers turned film producers, visited Vignacourt as part of an overseas trip to commemorate the role of ANZAC soldiers in WWI.
Once they heard about the discovery of the photos, they investigated further and discovered a connection between the French village and the Queensland town of Childers, which has inspired the production of a multi-million dollar movie.
Mr Fiechtner said the film would be based around what he described as "the most amazing collection of WWI photos found" and aimed to become "an Aussie classic".
It will tell the "untold stories" of the relationships forged between Australian soldiers and French women against the backdrop of WWI.
The working title will be "Photos In The Attic" and follows soldiers from Childers, who had sweethearts back in Queensland but also became close to French women.
Mr Fiechtner said a number of soldiers who has spent time in Vignacourt did in fact marry women from the village.
While the main character will be fictional, supporting characters are actual soldiers from Childers who were photographed in the recently-discovered collection.
After the proposed film received support from Screen Queensland, Australian director Rod Hardy, who has worked on Hollywood films for the past 25 years, and Gold Coast producer Phil Avalon, who has worked with Mel Gibson, came on board.
The movie's budget is $10 million, with Mr and Mrs Fiechtner hoping to cast a few "significant" international actors to work along side local performers, including Indigenous talent to tell the "Black Diggers" story as well.
Filming was expected start at the end of the year, ahead of an anticipated release date in mid-late 2018 to coincide with the centennial anniversary of the conclusion of WWI.
It was hoped the film would also inspire those looking for relatives who may have been photographed by Antoinette and Louis Thuillier, with many of the pictured soldiers not identified because their uniforms didn't have any unit identifications on.
Mrs Fiechtner herself was searching for a family member and hoped others would be able to "find those who came home ..... and were lost".
The Fiechtner's also said there were plans for the Australian Government to create a museum in the Vignacourt barn where many of the photos were taken, which they were excited for, having visited the building itself.
"You could feel those boys there when you stepped into the barn," Mrs Fiechtner said.
