Standing Up for Sunny | |
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![]() Theatrical movie poster | |
Directed by | |
Written by | Steven Vidler |
Produced by | Drew Bailey Jamie Hilton Michael Pontin |
Starring | RJ Mitte Philippa Northeast Sam Reid Matt Nable |
Cinematography | Mark Bliss |
Edited by | Dany Cooper |
Music by | Caitlin Yeo |
Production companies | See Pictures Spectrum Films Ticket to Ride |
Distributed by | Madman Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Standing Up for Sunny is a 2019 Australian film comedy written and directed by Steven Vidler, and starring RJ Mitte, Philippa Northeast, Sam Reid and Matt Nable. It won the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Indie Film.
An isolated man with cerebral palsy is railroaded into helping an unassertive comedienne, and finds love and acceptance through stand-up comedy. [1]
Filming took place in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 2018.[ citation needed ]
The film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2019. [2]
It was also shown at CinefestOZ to a packed audience in September 2019. [3]
The general release date was 5 December 2019. [4]
Standing Up for Sunny received favourable reviews from Australian critics.
Andrew F. Peirce of The Curb said, "It’s so rare to see a film that shines this brightly, and it’s so rare to see one that gives people with disabilities the chance to be funny". [3]
Matthew Eeles of Cinema Australia called the film, "Tender, clever and very, very funny". [5]
Julian Wood at Filmink said, "The film is certainly amiable, and the low budget gives it a sense of immediacy and authenticity". [4]
Isobel Sanby at Newsworthy gave the film four stars and stated, "What Standing Up for Sunny communicates is that it is not just representation on screen that needs to be addressed, it is accessibility holistically". [2]
Standing Up for Sunny won the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Indie Film in the 10th AACTA Awards. [6]
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Sam Reid is an Australian actor. He is known for playing Lestat de Lioncourt in Interview with the Vampire (2022–present), Dale Jennings in The Newsreader (2021–present), and Father Ignatius in Lambs of God (2019). He was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama for the latter two roles. Reid also played John Davinier in Belle (2013) and Hugo Fraser-Tyrwhitt in The Riot Club (2014).
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