Their brilliant careers
When Gillian Armstrong stood on the steps of the Palais des Festivals for her moment of glory, she was wearing a dressing gown. It was 1979 and her film My Brilliant Career was only the second Australian film ever to be in competition for the coveted Palm d’or. She, the film’s star Judy Davis and producer Margaret Fink were the toast of Cannes. And there she was in a self-customised op shop outfit.
“I was so naive I didn’t even know what the competition was. I had no idea it was a really big deal for a film maker to have their film selected. It took about 10 years to realise it is amazing to ever be in competition in Cannes,” Gillian admits.
When she found out she had to wear an evening dress for the screening, she simply didn’t have one. She didn’t know that Cannes was the home of haute couture red carpet.
“So I got a 1940s dressing gown from the op shop and I cut the sleeves and the back out of it and put my hair in a side ponytail. I had no idea.”
My Brilliant Career had been one of those moments when all the elements align into that rarest thing – alchemy. When all the right people are in the right place and magic happens.
All these years later, at its 40th anniversary screening at the Launceston Breath of Fresh Air film festival, a remastered is timeless, a classic, an iconic film.
