Shirley Barrett

All the time, she was working on her own script, inspired by her husband's small northwest Victoria hometown, Robinvale. Producer Jan Chapman ("The Piano") had seen Barrett's work and committed to the feature "Love Serenade," which premiered in Cannes and earned the helmer the Camera d'Or. The dark comedy, which had its US premiere at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, concerned two naive sisters and their dual romance with a new neighbor who takes over the small local radio station, shaking up the town with his 70s soul music. Shot in Robinvale, the film was lauded for its melancholy use of small-town Australian locale and for Barrett's ironic humor--as well as the film's surprise ending.