Last Monday I was at Parliament House in Canberra for the première of the wonderful British film Suffragette. The evening featured two fantastic performances, the first by Carey Mulligan in the film’s lead role – surely worthy of an Oscar nomination at least. The second was by Ian Smith, our Honorary Consul for South Australia. Epsom-born Ian happens to be married to Natasha Stott-Despoja, Australia’s Ambassador for Women & Girls, who was due to introduce the film but ended up stuck on the tarmac at Adelaide airport. Ian stepped in and delivered a great speech in her place despite almost no preparation time. Even better, Natasha managed to join us before the film finished and delivered an inspirational, off-the-cuff address to the 200 or so guests who had joined us for the evening.
I highly recommend the film itself, which is a gritty depiction of the Suffragette movement as seen through the eyes of a working-class mum. But take your tissues – it has some highly-charged and emotional moments! The film ends with a rolling list of the dates that various countries granted women the vote – a few of which certainly raised my eyebrows. Australians, of course, can be proud that they appear second on the list (only New Zealand is earlier) with women receiving the vote in 1902.
Watching the film with my teenage daughters reminded me how far gender equality has come since the days of the Suffragettes, but that we have further to go – on representation of women in senior roles in the public and private sector, on equal pay, and on access for women and girls globally to healthcare and education. This is the #WeekofWomen in the UK which aims to support the next generation in achieving their goals and equal rights. You can read more about that in this blog. The week has my strong personal support and I’m delighted that we have enabled three indigenous Australian women to be part of it.
Suffragette doesn’t go on general release until Boxing Day but cinemagoers have another chance for an early viewing of the film courtesy of the British Film Festival which begins today. I’ll be at the Palace Electric Cinema in Canberra tonight to enjoy Sir Michael Caine’s latest film, Youth, and to say a few words about the brilliance of the British film industry. Last year alone we produced 220 films wholly or in part in the UK, and in doing so contributed more than £6 billion to the UK economy.
There will be many great UK films shown over the course of the festival which includes screenings in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Byron Bay.
As if that wasn’t enough, next month brings with it The Big One: the 24th James Bond film, Spectre. Thanks to a partnership between Sony Pictures and the GREAT Campaign, we’ve been given our own ‘licence to thrill’. So we’re throwing a bit of Bond-themed do for the Canberra première. And our team in Brisbane are working with local start-ups and entrepreneurs from River City Labs to celebrate the technology and gadgetry synonymous with Bond.
Judging by the early reviews, this Bond’s going to be a classic, so don’t miss it.