The Mirror

Director's Statement

Ideas come in many different forms. "Le Miroir" was born from an image of a woman carrying a broken mirror down a street during the Spanish Civil War. In fact, it features in a certain film which goes by the same name by Tarkovsky. As a director, there are a few things which I look for in a story - strong female leads, visual power, a compelling plot and something a little different. Drawing on inspiration from Wes Anderson and Jeanne-Pierre Jeunet (notably Amelie), "Le Miroir" is visually rich but the characters also have the depth to carry the images in a way where the visual complexity adds rather than distracts. Achieving the tone was another challenge of the film; light-hearted at face value but with real grief and loss at its core. It was a pleasure to be able to both write and direct these complex female characters - to watch them be brought so beautifully to life by the extremely talented cast. Re-creating this distinctly European film in Australia was a delightful challenge. In many ways, the film is both timeless and placeless and I hope that this is one of the many reasons that it can resonate with audiences worldwide.