Griffiths rides in with film to inspire nation
RACHEL Griffiths couldn’t make a film about a tenacious country girl without taking it to the places where it will resonate most.
The Oscar nominee and Muriel’s Wedding star makes her feature film directorial debut with the Michelle Payne biopic Ride Like A Girl.
Griffiths is in town tonight for a special preview followed by a Q&A about the film at Event Cinemas Cairns Central.
“We’re really thrilled to be in Queensland,” she told the Cairns Post.
“We do make a lot of urban films for urban audiences, but this film is about a country family and about how the bush is a lot harder and the kids are raised a lot tougher, I think. I’d love to go inland a bit more actually. I think the bush is going to love this film.”
Teresa Palmer, Sam Neill and Magda Szubanski star in the PG-rated film, which chronicles Payne’s life from her childhood dreams of becoming a jockey to a near-fatal fall and her eventual win against 100-1 odds at the 2015 Melbourne Cup – the first woman to do so in 155 years.
But it’s Payne’s older brother and strapper Stevie, who has Down syndrome and plays himself in the film, who steals the spotlight.
“If winning the Cup was Michelle’s breakthrough (of the) glass ceiling, then I think Stevie Payne has broken a massive glass ceiling playing essentially the third lead in the film,” Griffiths says.
“He just wins audiences over. What Stevie does is he puts the audience’s mindset in a different place, and he has that effect on the other actors too. Everyone’s just present with him. I feel like he’s going to open up opportunities for other performers and open up content generally to be more inclusive.”
For information and tickets to tonight’s special screening go to eventcinemas.com.au. Ride Like A Girl opens on September 26.
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Cairns will roll out the red carpet for Ride Like a Girl at Event Cinemas Cairns Central today. The film starts at 6.30pm with a Q&A with Rachel Griffiths directly after. Applications close 5pm Thursday 31 October 2019 She will also attend a VIP panel discussion presented by Cairns Central Shopping Centre. Cairns Central marketing manager Louise Montafia said it was exciting to be one of a handful of Australian shopping centres to host the premiere. “It is a major coup for the Cairns community to have … acclaimed actress Rachel Griffiths visit our centre,” she said.