FRAN

 In addition to the usual array of Spanish/British/Scandanavian/Italian/German Film Festivals that Susan and go to, Perth has the Revelation International Film Festival. It's a rather odd combination of short films, feature films (most of which seem to be of genres such as horror), and documentaries (most of which seem to be about musicians). In other words, I haven't quite worked out the logic underlying the Festival. But amongst this odd collection of films, I spotted one which I had to go and see.

It was the 40 anniversary of Fran, written and directed by Glenda Hambly, staring Noni Hazelhurst and filmed in Perth - in Hamilton Hill to be precise. Fran is the story of a single parent, struggling to balance looking after three children, with a need to find pleasure in her own life. With a background of growing up in foster homes, she's determined to keep her family together but doesn't have the life skills to manage that. It's a story about challenging aspects of family life, so challenging in fact that Channel 7, having bought the rights, refused to show it for seven years. It's a film full of heart with great performances from the adults and the children. You can watch it on Amazon Prime. 

Two of the three children who were in the film, were in the audience. They spoke with great love - even after all these years - about the positive experience they had had working with Glenda, Noni and John Rapsey who was their drama tutor. They described Glenda as "gold"!

PS I should confess that Glenda is a friend but the accolades were real and heart felt.


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