Billie Rose Prichard
Ben Geurens
Ryan Johnson
Ella Scott Lynch
Socratis Otto
MONKEY PUZZLE follows five intrepid friends on an adventure into New South Wales’ Blue Mountains on a search for one of the world’s rarest trees, the Wollemi Pine.
After abseiling down into the rainforest canyons, a series of mishaps delay their adventure. Tensions in the group surface quickly. As the friends become engulfed by the harsh terrain, they come face-to-face with their most personal secrets and fears on a journey which will test their perceptions of friendship, intimacy and the nature of their pasts.
Key crew
Writer / Director — Mark Forstmann
Co-Writer — Stephen Davis
Producer — Tamara Popper
Director of Photography — Justine Kerrigan ACS
Production & Costume Designer — Sam Hobbs
Editor — Ken Sallows ASE
Music — Amanda Brown
Sound Design — Liam Egan
Titles — Mathematics
About the director
MARK FORSTMANN – Biography
A graduate of Australian Film, TV & Radio School, Mark is a director, producer, and writer with experience ranging across drama and documentary.
His first feature as writer-director, Monkey Puzzle, won awards at several international film festivals, including the Best Environment Film at Shanghai International Film Festival. It has screened globally and is currently showing on Amazon Prime and other platforms. Mark has produced and directed TV documentaries, Climate Changers (SBS), Freestyle Man (National Geographic) and Bulls & Bears (ABC TV). Prior, he wrote, directed, and produced several award-winning short films, which screened at international film festivals and on pay TV.
Currently, he is in advanced development for a science-fiction feature film, I Am You, as well as a sci-fi TV series, Germania.