Australian writer-director Jason Raftopoulos was overcome by the five-minute standing ovation that greeted his debut film West of Sunshine after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
“It was a completely overwhelming experience,” he said. “So much of filmmaking is conducted in a bubble – you never truly know what you have until it’s shown. So to have the Venice audience respond in the way they did just blew me away.”
The critical response to the film was also warm. Trade magazine Variety called it an “impressive feature debut”. The Guardian said its “down-at-heel Aussie vibe prompts one to set it alongside other recent bawler…
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