Daniel Morcombe’s tragic disappearance is to be transformed into a feature length movie, his parents announced on the weekend.
Daniel’s father Bruce Morcombe says that he felt it was time the world heard Daniel’s story.
“Denise and I feel we have reached a place where we can finally reveal our story in a different way,” Bruce said on behalf of his wife and himself.
“We have found a production company and director we trust and with whom we have a great connection.”
The film, which has the working title Where Is Daniel? and is set to be directed by Aussie actor turned director, Peter Cousens, follows the story of 13-year-old Daniel’s abduction from a Sunshine Coast bus stop in 2003 by child sex offender Brett Peter Cowan.
Bruce and Denise Morcombe announced at a Brisbane fundraiser for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation on Saturday night that they had signed the deal with Australian production company Heritage Films.
“We believe in their hands the world will discover our story and the legacy of Daniel from the unique perspective of a feature film,” Bruce said.
Daniel’s parents, Bruce and Denise Morcombe, at the 2014 sentencing hearing of Brett Peter Cowan.
Speaking to the media on Sunday morning, Bruce said that he hoped the film would raise awareness of child safety issues, while he was also aware that seeing the a film being made of the tragic story would be emotionally difficult for many.
“I have no doubt that for people close to Daniel – particularly his family, the school friends – they will find it difficult at times to watch that, but that’s what you would expect,” Mr Morcombe said.
“It’s not a fairytale … it is the journey of Daniel, for the Morcombe family. There will be difficult times to run through that but that’s what we want. We want to draw on the emotion of the viewer but have a great outcome at the end of it.”
Bruce also said that the family would be closely involved with the development of the script, to ensure that “the right interpretation of our journey” make it to the screens.
Daniel Morcombe, whose disappearance at age 13 shocked the nation.
“It’s not a documentary, it is a feature film, and we appreciate that artists see the world very differently to the parents of Daniel Morcombe,” he said.
The film’s production company also shared a look at the poster for the new film as well as the following announcement on their Facebook page:
“We’re excited to announce that pre-production has begun on a feature film about the story of Daniel Morcombe’s abduction and the persistence of his parents Bruce and Denise.”
They also debuted a teaser trailer for the film, which you can watch, above. The full-length feature film is slated for release in 2018.
The preview movie poster for the movie, Where is Daniel?
