The Tree (2010)

Name of Film	The Tree (2010)
Original Title
Director	Julie Bertuccelli
Country	Australia, France
Language	English
Mins	100 mins
Format to be screened
Festival & Awards	Australian Film Institute AFI Award AFI Young Actor Award Bratislava International Film Festival Best Actress Grand Prix Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards FCCA Award B São Paulo International Film Festival International Jury Award
Producer	Rosemary Blight .... executive producer Yael Fogiel .... executive producer Yael Fogiel .... producer Laetitia Gonzalez .... executive producer Kent Smith .... executive producer Sue Taylor .... executive producer Sue Taylor .... producer Flaminio Zadra .... associate producer
Synopsis	After the sudden death of her father, 8-year-old Simone shares a secret with her mother Dawn. She’s convinced her father speaks to her through the leaves of her favourite tree and he’s come back to protect them. But the new bond between mother and daughter is threatened when Dawn starts a relationship with George, the plumber, called in to remove the tree’s troublesome roots. As the branches of the tree start to infiltrate the house, the family is forced to make an agonising decision. But have they left it too late?
Note on Director	Julie Bertuccelli started her film career as an assistant director, working with acclaimed directors such as Krzysztof Kieślowski, Bertrand Tavernier, Otar Iosseliani and Emmanuel Finkiel.   She has also directed several acclaimed documentaries.  Her feature debut was Since Otar Left, which she both wrote and directed.  It went on to win several major awards including International Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival and a Cesar Award for best first feature. Bertuccelli first explored the idea of grief in Since Otar Left (which also won accolades in France). Like The Tree, it builds its story on the power of the imagination. Two sisters conceal from their mother the news of their father’s death, and the mother survives in a world of pretence. For Bertuccelli, there was no such consolation in real life. A press kit informs us that while preparing to film The Tree, she received news of the death of her husband and father of her children. I would not normally mention this wholly personal misfortune, but since The Tree is also about the death of a husband and father, it is difficult not to speculate on how much of its power can be traced to the director’s bereavement.
Trailer Link	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB-pUrRPFvQ
Sources	http://www.thetreefilm.com/Reviews http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1496005/