The opening night film of the 66th Sydney Film Festival was literally a family affair with Rachel Ward directing her husband Bryan Brown and daughter Matilda Brown. It was even more familial due to the fact that the ensemble cast were very good friends of the Browns and each other. Sam Neill and Bryan Brown in particular have worked on many projects together over the years.
Due to its injection of a $5,000,000 worth of funds to facilitate the Festival’s penetration into regional New South Wales, both the Minister of the Arts Don Harwin and the Premier Gladys Berejiklian were in attendance. IO can’t recall the last time a Premier has attended the opening night of the Sydney Film Festival. Due to the camaraderie of the cast there was a lot of kidding around and tomfoolery on the red carpet making it extremely difficult to get a decent shot of the participants. Many of their industry friends were in attendance with the newly appointed Governor of New South Wales Margaret Beazley brought a bit of decorum to the rambunctious Palm Beach cast.
Featured image – Sam Neill and Greta Scacchi. All images by Ben Apfelbaum
