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Presented at MIFF in its world-premiere restoration, Rachel Perkins’ (Black Panther Woman, MIFF 2014; Bran Nue Dae, MIFF 2009) affecting Aussie classic sees three estranged sisters reluctantly reunite for their mother’s funeral and grapple with long-suppressed family secrets.
This touching domestic drama, set in remote North Queensland, has three beating hearts. The eldest, Cressy (Rachael Maza), is a famous, sophisticated opera singer unwilling to dwell on the past. This diva-like behaviour frustrates Mae (Trisha Morton-Thomas), the only sister who stayed behind to care for their dying mother. Meanwhile, Nona (Deborah Mailman), the youngest, is living it up as a party girl. With only 24 hours until their mother is laid to rest, the sisters must find a way to reconcile – and to confront unwelcome revelations about their family.
Adapted by Louis Nowra from his play of the same name, Perkins’ feature directorial debut launched the careers of several Indigenous Australian screen luminaries, including Mailman and DOP Warwick Thornton. First screened in 1998 (including at MIFF) and now gloriously restored by the NFSA, Radiance is a dazzling, ageless story of grief, Indigeneity, and the powerful ties and truths that bond us.
“The emotional territory [Radiance] embraces is powerful enough to make you forget anything but the fate of the three women … Enormously moving.” – SBS
Presented by the National Film and Sound Archive