What attracted you to the film?
It was the idea of the film, what the film dealt with, I was aware of the forgotten children but I've got to be honest, I wasn't aware of Margaret Humphreys. Reading her story I've found it absolutely compelling, an incredible story. Then the pedigree of the people involved in the project as well: Jim who is extremely impressive, having Emily on board who I've worked with before, and also Hugo meant it was just a fantastic team to collaborate with.
What did you know about the child migrants before?
I don't know anybody personally who was or is a forgotten child. There are some people within the public sphere, for example David Hill who is the head of the ABC, and I've read about his personal story. I watched The Leaving of Liverpool some years ago, so I was aware of it from that perspective. But it was terrific when the script came along to revisit something that's been a forgotten issue, and of course its been interesting that it has actually come to the fore over the past few months with the official apology from the Australian and the British government. The film is very timely in that regard.
Describe Len.
Len's a very interesting character because he deals with his history in a way that one wouldn't expect or anticipate - not that there's any normal way to be able to deal with the history that these people have gone through. There are huge barriers that he's put up around himself in an attempt to deal with his past. There's a terrific line in the script actually: he says that he stopped crying at the age of eight and he doesn't know how to cry anymore. That line sums up who he is, the essence of the man.
What is his relationship with Margaret?
They're two opposing forces. They challenge each other and she's a rare person who can meet the challenge and stand up to Len. He's a demanding, charismatic, irritating guy - a really, really complex man - but his thorny exterior is all due to the first dozen or so years of his life.
What is Len's story as told by the film?
You meet him and he comes up against Margaret pretty much straightaway. He's suspicious of her. He doesn't think she's really worth considering, nor her offer of helping him trace his family history. He's been down this track before. He's paid a lot of money - to have a private detective try and find out his family history with little result, so he's suspicious of Margaret. But Margaret, to her great credit, really puts him in his place and I think over time what you see through the film is that suddenly Len seems to understand Margaret and respects Margaret for what she does. Through this relationship you see Len open up as much as you're ever going to see him open up to anybody - it's only a small amount, but at least he does.
How did you conduct your research?
I was fortunate to be introduced to somebody who went not to Bindoon, but to Clontarf in Perth. I spent two days with him and he took me up to Bindoon and he took me to Clontarf as well and over that period he opened up and told me his personal story and history. It was through listening to him more than anything that I got an insight into what our fictional character of Len must have a) gone through and, b) how he actually responds in reality to the events.
So that was the biggest thing for me, actually spending time with this gentleman. He was extremely gracious and generous with his time and his stories, which are obviously very dear and precious to him.
So what would you like audiences to take away from Oranges and Sunshine?
I don't think films should be didactic or should tell people what they should think or feel. I think what they'll get from the film though is an incredibly powerful story.
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