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.
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.
“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,” said Molly.
For Roberto Meza, A Portrait of Love is an intimate documentary about the love he and Craig 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,” says Roberto.
“Molly 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.”
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.
You can watch A Portrait of Love here.
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