Annie's Coming Out

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For another movie, under similar title, see: The Test of Love
Annie's Coming Out
Anniescomingout.jpg
Directed by Gil Brealey
Produced by Don Murray
Written by Chris Borthwick
Rosemary Crossley
Anne McDonald
John Patterson
Music by Simon Walker
Cinematography Mick von Bornemann
Edited by Lindsay Frazer
Production
company
Distributed by Hoyts (Australia)
Umbrella Entertainment
Universal (US)
Release dates
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  • 27 September 1984 (1984-09-27) (Australia)
  • 23 November 1984 (1984-11-23) (UK)
  • 29 March 1985 (1985-03-29) (U.S.)
Running time
 96 minutes
Country Australia
Language English
Budget under AU$1 million[1]

Annie's Coming Out (also known as A Test of Love) is a 1984 Australian drama film directed by Gil Brealey. It is based on the non-fiction book Annie's Coming Out by disability activists Rosemary Crossley and Anne McDonald. The book tells the story of McDonald's early life in a government institution for people with severe disabilities and her subsequent release.

Plot

Annie O'Farrell (based on Anne McDonald) is a 13-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who is unable to communicate and has been living in a government institution from an early age. Jessica Hathaway (based on Rosemary Crossley) is a therapist who learns to communicate with Annie using an alphabet board and comes to believe that although physically disabled, Annie is not intellectually impaired. When Annie turns 18, Jessica begins a legal fight to get her released.[2][3]

Cast

Production

Film rights to the book were bought by Film Australia and Gil Brealey was assigned to direct. It was originally intended that Ann McDonald play herself but she had grown too big by the time she left hospital so 9 year old Tina Arhondis was cast instead. Shooting started in September 1983 and went for four weeks, mostly at the Convent of the Good Shepherd in Melbourne.[1]

Reception

Annie's Coming Out won three 1984 Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Lead Actress (Angela Punch McGregor).[4] It was nominated for four other AFI awards. The film won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1984 Montréal World Film Festival.[4]

The film was not a large commercial success but it screened in the US as A Test of Love.[1]

Home media

Annie's Coming Out was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in October 2010. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as press clippings, photos, and audio commentary with Gil Brealey, Rosemary Crossley, Chris Borthwick and Anne McDonald.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p57-58
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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