Shine

 

Inspired by the troubled but ultimately triumphant life of classical pianist David Helfgott, SHINE focuses on Helfgott's painful retreat into a private world while still in his early 20s and on the brink of a glittering international career.

Spanning the 1950s to the 1980s, SHINE dramatizes the deeply moving way in which Helfgott (played by Geoffrey Rush in an Oscar® winning performance), after years of obscurity, achieves both personal and professional fulfillment through the love and support of a remarkable woman (played by Lynn Redgrave.)

Avoiding the straightforward, linear approach of conventional biography, SHINE employs an impressionistic musical structure that intricately counterpoints past and present, to tell a story that has all the power of actuality and the poetry of art.

Joining Rush and Redgrave in SHINE is an ensemble cast that includes Armin Mueller-Stahl (Avalon, The Music Box), Noah Taylor (Flirting, The Year My Voice Broke), and Academy Award winner Sir John Gielgud. The film was produced by Jane Scott from a screenplay by Jan Sardi. Geoffrey Simpson (Little Women, Green Card) was director of photography, and Pip Karmel the editor.

SHINE was an international success, winning many awards, including a BAFTA nomination for Lynn Redgrave as Best Supporting Actress.

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Geoffrey Rush and Lynn with director Scott Hicks outside Royal Albert Hall, London
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Lynn Redgrave and Geoffrey Rush in SHINE
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Sir John Gielgud and Noah Taylor in SHINE
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Armin Mueller-Stahl in SHINE
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Lynn Redgrave in SHINE