Conferencing on film

We were having dinner with the David & Kristen Williamson last week and learnt that the first of David's plays on Conferencing, Face to Face, has just been turned into a film, directed by Michael Rymer & staring amongst others Vince Colosimo, Sigrid Thornton, & Matt Newton (as Jack Manning the Facilitator).  The blurb on the website reads as follows:

Face to Face is adapted from David Williamson's play which is in turn based on the transcripts from real conflict resolution sessions.

The story is about a young scaffold construction worker who is charged with assaulting his boss. By the end of the film, all our assumptions about guilt and blame are turned on their heads. As 10 people sit in a room discussing the turn of events that brought our protagonist to breaking point, twists and surprises reveal that all is not quite as simple as it seems.

Michael Rymer directs his screen adaptation of ‘Face to Face’ (written by Australian playwright David Williamson), as an ensemble piece, in the tradition of “12 Angry Men” about 10 very dissimilar Australians bound together by a complex pattern of relationships and shared histories. By turns, hysterically funny and deeply moving, each character’s role in the drama peels back another layer as the story digs down to the roots of who these people really are.

David Williamson said that “Rymer is a filmmaker of outstanding ability; he is a genuine storyteller who brings a tremendous amount of passion, energy and imagination to his work. And I am delighted that this story is in such trustworthy hands.”

Rymer believes the extremely topical subject matter of this film will be of enormous interest to people and has assembled an impressive cast of ‘A’ list Australian actors.

I'll keep you up to date with the film's release date & see if we can find some tickets to get along to the Premier.  Filming is complete & it's currently in post-production. You can Google Face to Face the movie & it has it's own facebook page which will pop up. Check it out.   J