SWEPT FROM THE SEA
(US/UK, 1997 114 min.)

Thursday, October 23	Red Carpet Premiere and Reception 7:30pm
MANN'S CHINESE THEATRE

U.S. PREMIERE Inspired by a Joseph Conrad story entitled "Amy Foster," Beeban Kidron's SWEPT FROM THE SEA is an epic romantic drama set in 19th century Cornwall, England that pitches the morality of man against the immortality of nature. To the world, Amy Foster (Rachel Weisz) is a girl who never smiles, a servant written off as a simpleton by her employers and shunned for being different by the local community. Even her parents reject her and see her as little more than a burden and a curse, a blight on their existence. But Amy's stubborn exterior belies a pagan spirit. A collector of things from the sea, Amy finds solice in her "secret world" - a shoreline cave filled with cast-off treasures where she dreams of a better life. Her world is irrevocably changed when the sea delivers the most beautiful and most impossible gift of all - Yanko Gooral (Vincent Perez) - a passionate adventurer washed overboard by a murderous tempest, who has left his Ukrainian homeland in search of the new world - America. Amy and Yanko begin a courtship which ignites the hatred of the community. The townspeople try to tear them apart but despite the hate and suspicion from the ignorant masses the couple form a bond too powerful to be broken. Joseph Conrad was a Polish Ukrainian who came to Britain as a young man without speaking a word of English. His story "Amy Foster," written in 1901, and some of its themes, reflect Conrad's own fears and anxieties as a Polish exile living in a strange land which are echoed in Tim Willocks screenplay. A limited amount of tickets are available to the public for this star studded premiere at Hollywood's most famous movie palace with a reception to follow at the new Hollywood Entertainment Museum. CAST Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland & Kathy Bates DIRECTOR Beeban Kidron PRODUCERS Polly Tapson, Charles Steel & Beeban Kidron SCREENPLAY Tim Willocks RELEASING COMPANY TriStar Pictures DIRECTORS BIO Beeban Kidron first drew critical attention with her 1990 award winning television drama for the BBC, ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT. Also in 1990, she directed ANTONIA AND JANE for the BBC/Miramax. Her first major Hollywood picture USED PEOPLE (1992) was followed by HOOKERS, HUSTLERS, PIMPS AND THEIR JOHNS. In 1993, she directed GREAT MOMENTS IN AVIATION starring Venessa Redgrave, followed by her return to the U.S. with TO WONG FOO, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAR. Other films include VROOM, CARRY GREENHAM HOME, ITCH, LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT and EVE ARNOLD, A PORTRAIT.

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