Blessed
June 4, 6:30pm
Pacific Place

The often-fraught bond between mothers and their children provides the focus of Blessed. Set in a blue-collar Melbourne suburb over the course of 24 hours, intersecting stories are divided into two parts, the first told from the viewpoint of the troubled offspring and the second through the weary eyes of their struggling moms. Sharp-tongued Katrina and Trisha cut school and get caught shoplifting. Trisha’s gay brother, Roo, lives on the street, but when he finds himself in a porn film he realizes he's not so tough after all. Unfairly accused of stealing his mother's money, angry Daniel attempts a real theft with unexpected results. Orton and Stacey flee their beloved but irresponsible mother in order to survive. James is the most lost of all: a young Aboriginal man with no place in the white or the black world. Director Ana Kokkinos gathers the crème-de-la-crème of Oz actors to play the mothers, with Frances O’Connor, Miranda Otto, and Deborra-Lee Furness as particular standouts.

Director Ana Kokkinos is scheduled to attend

To view trailer and read more about the screening, please visit: http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=38758&FID=166