Keswick Film Festival

Synopsis

The film takes place almost entirely on a property in the cane country of northern New South Wales, where single mother Rhea (Emily Barclay) survives by barring the door against debt collectors.To help make ends meet, she agrees to find room for Doyle (John Hurt), an old sailor with Alzheimer's disease who is the paternal grandfather of her three young daughters - an exotic figure in this setting, with his faraway eyes, English accent and sensitive, ravaged face. The oldest girl, Lou (Lily Bell-Tindley), initially resents the newcomer and the painful memories he stirs up. Doyle confuses the 11-year-old Lou with the wife who broke his heart many years ago, and Lou soon finds her own reasons to restage the past. This is a slightly dangerous coming-of-age fantasy.

This session also includes a screening of Elfar Adalsteins’ Sailcloth staring John Hurt and among the short films tipped to land an Oscar nomination.

Thanks to Matchbox Films