Director among VIP guests at CinefestOz premiere

Fresh from the US, Face to Face director Michael Rymer will premiere his Australian drama at Busselton’s Cinefest Oz tonight.

Picture: Sigrid Thornton and Vince Colosimo star in Face to Face, which premieres at CinefestOz tonight

Starring Matthew Newton, Sigrid Thornton and Vince Colosimo, Rymer addresses workplace issues including racism and bullying with Face to Face.

The movie has recently been shown in the US and Rymer and producer Gabrielle Christopher flew in from Montreal yesterday to attend tonight’s premiere.

The film, he said, tackled many workplace issues and was aimed at generating debate into reforms of the legal system.

Despite the confronting issues, Rymer said the movie attracted a positive response from audiences in the US and Canada, including many from the business community.

“It has been really amazing how the overseas audience has responded, the lingo’s pretty thick and the accent’s pretty strong in Australia and it’s a pretty socially progressive story,” he said.

Rymer said his cast started with old friend Thornton and “snowballed” to include Underbelly star Newton and Colosimo, who has starred in movies including Daybreakers and Chopper.

He said he was thrilled to have Face to Face appear alongside a list of Australian and international films at Cinefest and jumped at the opportunity to visit the South West.

“This is a part of the world we’ve always wanted to visit,” he said.

Rymer and Christopher will be among the VIP guests at tonight’s screening of Face to Face at Orana Central Cinemas, Busselton.