Hollywood star visits
Rachel Griffiths in town to promote new film
‘‘ THIS IS A FILM FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS RACHEL GRIFFITHS
RACHEL Griffiths says her new film Ride Like A Girl was a story about family, faith and believing in yourself.
The film, directed by Griffiths, tells the true story of how Michelle Payne went from dreaming of winning the Melbourne Cup when she was a child to her history-making win in 2015.
The film stars Teresa Palmer as Payne, alongside Sam Neill, Sullivan Stapleton, Magda Szubanski and Stevie Payne as himself.
“Ultimately it’s a you can’t be what you can’t see film,” Griffiths told The Chronicle. “And she (Michelle) grew up seeing it... she grew up with a father who believed she was capable of doing it. And because she believed she could (win the Melbourne Cup), she did.”
The Oscar-nominated actor and director was in Toowoomba last night for a special screening of the film, which was followed by a Q and A session with the audience.
Griffiths said it was important to visit regional areas to speak about the film as it was a story for all Australians.
“I was in Winton for a month with my children where I shot an ABC series and there are six shops in the town. One of the six shops was a frock shop and half of the frocks in there were race wear,” she said.
“That just exemplified again how important those race days (like the Melbourne Cup) are for bringing (regional and city) communities together. This film is about a rural family that all have that extraordinary work ethic that country farmers and people who make their living from the land have.
“And I want to celebrate that, to let everybody know that. This is a film for all Australians, male, female, old, young, city, country.”
Griffiths is no stranger to Toowoomba, having starred in the film Don’t Tell, which told the story of a Toowoomba girl’s sexual abuse survival and legal reformation. She also appeared in Saving Mr Banks, the film about the life of Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers, in scenes set in Allora.
“My father also went to school up here, to Downlands, which we used to call Naughtylands because he was naughty, and got sent up from Brisbane,” she said. “I think he spent six years up here. My father’s maternal grandfather also had a big string of dentist surgeries in Queensland, including Toowoomba.”
Ride Like A Girl is in cinemas from September 26.