THE EYE OF THE STORM (MA15+)

Fred Schepisi returns with an engaging take on the acclaimed 1973 novel by Australian Nobel laureate Patrick White.

As the wealthy and powerful Mrs Hunter (Charlotte Rampling) approaches death, her unscrupulous children, Basil (Geoffrey Rush) and Dorothy (Judy Davis) return to the family estate. Long alienated from a mother they barely knew, and themselves having fallen upon hard times, they scheme of ways to win her vast inheritance. But united again in the family home, all three begin to awkwardly stumble toward a state of grace.

Boasting an all-star Australian cast, and marking Schepisi's first local feature since 1988's Evil Angels, The Eye of the Storm is an eccentric and wryly observed study of the way children understand themselves through their parents, and the always surprising return of compassion.

Fred Schepisi is a guest of the Festival.

See the film and read the book - browse online at Readings

D Fred Schepisi P Antony Waddington, Gregory Read, Fred Schepisi S Judy Morris Dist Transmission Films TD 35mm/2011