by FilmInk Staff
Molly Reynolds’ award-winning documentary A Portrait of Love is now streaming worldwide exclusively on Beamafilm, the Australian-owned premium digital platform dedicated to independent Australian and international cinema.
The love story of Roberto Meza Mont and the late Archibald Prize winning artist Craig Ruddy, A Portrait of Love took home the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2024 Mardi Gras Film Festival before going on to move audiences and win hearts across Australia.
The film is now available to rent worldwide or to stream free during Beamafilm’s 30-day subscription trial and it is also freely accessible through Beamafilm’s extensive network of participating libraries.
Through participating public and educational library networks, A Portrait of Love has the potential to reach almost 20 million people with free access to the film. Available with subtitles in more than 20 languages, the international library distribution networks continue to expand across Asia and beyond.
Actor, performer and subject of A Portrait of Love, Meza Mont (God’s Favourite Idiot, Top of the Lake, Candy), who also shot all of the footage used in the film, is particularly looking forward to sharing it with a Spanish speaking audience, having recently returned to live in South America.
A Portrait of Love was directed by Molly Reynolds, following her AACTA Award winning documentary My Name is Gulpilil. As with David, Molly was a close friend of both Roberto and Craig which makes the film all the more personal and meaningful.
An extraordinary insight into a prolific artist and the relationship that inspired him, the film is a rich and spirited portrait of life, love, and loss that draws you into its open embrace.
A unique artistic offering, A Portrait of Love was crafted from thousands of hours of personal footage shot over decades and in ever evolving formats, to deliver an intimate and personal story that resonates with viewers in sharing a universal emotion.
Filmmaker Molly Reynolds said: “Roberto and Craig have been most generous in sharing their love story through this film and it is wonderful to see it be so widely and freely accessible for so many people around the world.
Roberto Meza Mont said: “A Portrait of Love is an intimate documentary about the love Craig and I shared for 21 years. It captures the moments of our lives together: the joy, the creating, the dancing, the tenderness and the beauty in the smallest moments. Director Molly Reynolds saw something special in the footage I captured and shaped it into a documentary that honours what we had, Craig’s creative process and the community that grew around us. It’s a celebration of the life we created together.”
Louise van Rooyen, Founder and Managing Director of Beamafilm said: “A Portrait of Love is exactly the kind of extraordinary Australian story we want to champion on Beamafilm. While it is intimate and deeply personal, it also captures an important part of Australia’s artistic and cultural history through Craig Ruddy’s remarkable life and work. We’re delighted to help extend the life of the film beyond its festival and theatrical release and make it discoverable by new audiences around the world, including through our growing network of public and educational libraries.”
In 2004, Ruddy’s portrait of Australian screen legend David Gulpilil ‘Two Worlds’ won the Archibald Prize, a win that caused great controversy, as well as the People’s Choice Award. Ruddy’s Archibald Prize finalist works include portraits of Cathy Freeman, Bruce Pascoe, and that of Warwick Thornton, ‘The Prince of Darkness’, which won the People’s Choice Award in 2016.
Using footage shot by Roberto Meza Mont, the film is directed by Molly Reynolds, produced by Reynolds and Rolf de Heer, and co-produced by Anthony Anderson and Roberto Meza Mont. Editor is Sam Matthews, with sound design by Tom Heuzenroeder. Art works and opening animation are by Craig Ruddy, and colour grade and post-production finishing by Mark Eland. Distributed in Australia by ABCG Film.
