Australian Drama to Spotlight Sexual Abuse

By Don Groves
if.com
July 11, 2013

http://if.com.au/2013/07/11/article/Australian-drama-to-spotlight-sexual-abuse/CHBHQEWGES.html

Lynette Curran, Susie Porter, Gillian Jones and Lisa Hensley are attached to star in a 30-minute drama which tackles sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

A Priest in the Family is based on a short story by Irish writer Colm Toibin about an elderly woman whose son, a parish priest, is accused of molesting his former students.

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“We are making a film that tells the emotional tale of how clergy sexual abuse affects not just individuals but also families and communities,” Anni said. “We want to make people more informed and thereby give them a voice.

“It is a simply told tale of a mother facing the ultimate disgrace. No one, not her family nor friends, seems quite sure how to tell her that her son, a priest, is an accused paedophile.”

She said $40,000 will be enough to cover the costs of filming. “Our priorities at this stage are to pay necessary crew and to cover accommodation at our location and some decent catering,” she told IF. “If we raise more we will be able to pay Lynette, who has quite a workload, some kind of fee, amongst other key actors and crew who would otherwise be working for nothing.”

Curran’s character Molly is described as a vigorous Irish woman in her late 70s who attempts to keep up with the changing times of her grandchildren by mastering the Internet. When Molly learns her son Frank, a local parish priest, is about to go on trial for sexual abuse of some former students, the horrifying case gives them a chance of reconciliation, if only they could communicate and bridge the gap.

Curran has been busy playing Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Belvoir Street theatre and with roles in Zak Hilditch’s These Final Hours and in Foxtel’s Wentworth. The cast also includes Andrew Benson as Frank, Tim Ailwood and Jenifa Dwyer.

The producers hope to arrange distribution via a company that supports low budget films, with screenings followed by community forums in Australia and internationally that will facilitate discussion about the issues raised in the film.

She will direct the actors and Humble will direct the crew. Finsterer works as an actor in theatre, film and TV and as a director and a teacher of English, drama and acting. Her credits include the films Sleeping Beauty, The Clinic, The Boys Are Back, Prime Mover and Johnny Ghost.

Humble is a cross-disciplinary artist and teacher who works in film, video, music and photography. His recent work as cinematographer for artist Todd McMillan has been shown at the MCA and MONA.