Prime slot for Kiwi production

In My Father’s Den opened this year’s Sydney Film Festival – the first time a NZ feature has done so in the event’s 50-year history. Directed by Brad McGann, the film is based on Maurice Gee’s novel of the same name and stars British actor Matthew MacFadyen, Australia’s Miranda Otto, and Kiwi newcomer Emily Barclay. “It really is one of the best films that I have seen for a very long time,” says festival director Gayle Lake. “It examines the bigger questions in relation to how we feel about family, how you can never run from the past and at some point to achieve a level of redemption in your life, you have got to face up to the music.”