Editor

HUGO WEAVING JOINS ROLF DE HEER ON STAGE AT POPCORN TAXI

Join two of Australia's most accomplished filmmakers for a sneak preview of THE OLD MAN WHO READ LOVE STORIES, which stars RICHARD DREYFUSS, HUGO WEAVING (THE MATRIX, LORD OF THE RINGS, PROOF, BABE, THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA - QUEEN OF THE DESERT) and TIMOTHY SPALL. The preview screening will be followed by a special, Popcorn Taxi style, on stage conversation and audience Q&A with ROLF DE HEER and HUGO WEAVING led by film journalist MICHAELA BOLAND.

THE OLD MAN WHO READ LOVE STORIES is set in the depths of the Amazon jungle. DREYFUSS plays Antonio Bolivar, a 60 year old recluse who has discovered a passion for romantic tales. But in this remote corner of the world outsiders have intruded, killing a jaguar's cubs and upsetting the fragile balance between man and nature. Seeking revenge, the enraged mother jaguar begins killing humans. So begins an adventure and a dangerous duel. The stakes are raised and a single combat between man and animal will be final.

ROLF DE HEER describes this as one of his more special films.

" this film, of all the films I've made, most closely represents something of the essence of who I am, it most accurately reflects my sensibilities as a human being."

Location Shooting in French Guyana provides an authentic backdrop for this Amazon saga and many "behind the scenes" stories which DE HEER admits are almost as interesting and epic in nature as the film itself.

Time : 7:30 pm.
Date: Monday March 8 2004
Where: Valhalla Cinema
Address: 166 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
Entry: $15 / $13 Concession (sorry no bookings, cash only).
NOTE: All tickets for this session go on sale
from 6:30pm at the cinema on the night.

ROLF de HEER BIOGRAPHY
writer / director / producer

Having written, produced and directed feature films for nearly two decades, de Heer has become one of Australia's leading filmmakers. His films consistently challenge moral conventions and push the boundaries of the filmmaker's art. De Heer's early films include TAIL OF A TIGER (1984), INCIDENT AT RAVEN'S GATE (1987) and DINGO (1990)

BAD BOY BUBBY (1993) marked de Heer's first collaboration with Italian producer Domenico Procacci. Thirty-two different cinematographers were used to chronicle the adventures of a child-man seeing the world for the first time. BAD BOY BUBBY won immediate international acclaim and went on to win the Grand Special Jury Prize and the International Film Critics Prize at the 1993 Venice Film Festival, as well as four Australian Film Institute Awards in Australia. De Heer spent the next two years working on EPSILON (1995) that made extensive use of motion control cinematography. During a break in filming, THE QUIET ROOM was shot and in 1997 de Heer directed DANCE ME TO MY SONG, also chosen for Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. In the same year, he produced Richard Flanagan's THE SOUND OF ONE HAND CLAPPING, which was selected for the Official Competition at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival.

In 1999, de Heer spent three months in the jungles of French Guyana shooting the film THE OLD MAN WHO READ LOVE STORIES starring Richard Dreyfuss and Hugo Weaving.

De Heer's next film, THE TRACKER, was shot entirely on location in the rugged Gammon Ranges in outback Australia and debuted to a standing ovation at the 2002 Adelaide Festival of Arts and in Official Competition at the 2002 Venice International Film Festival. THE TRACKER has since thrilled audiences and won prizes all over the world:. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 2002 Valladolid International Film Festival, and best screenplay at the Festival of Ghent. In Australia it has won numerous prizes, including Best Film at both the 2002 Circle of Film Critics Awards and the 2002 IF (people's) Awards.


HUGO WEAVING BIOGRAPHY
actor

Hugo's credits include some of Australia's best-loved films. These include Jocelyn Moorehouse's PROOF, which earnt him the 1991 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award for Best Actor, BABE, and THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT. For his performance in Craig Monahan's THE INTERVIEW, Hugo received his second AFI Award for Best Actor in 1998 as well as the Montreal World Film Festival Best Actor Award. Hugo recently reteamed with Monahan on the soon to be released Australian feature PEACHES ( To be released late 2004). Internationally, Hugo's credits include two of the biggest triologies in film history: THE MATRIX, in which he plays the menacing Agent Smith, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, in which he plays the wise Elf Lord Elrond, Father to Liv Tyler's Arwen.

Hugo also has a wealth of experience on stage and a particularly strong history with the Sydney Theatre Company, with whom he has worked on nearly 20 productions.