A Street to Die

Director: Bill Bennett
Screenwriters: Bill Bennett

Institute History

  • 1986 Sundance Film Festival

Description

One of the year’s most eagerly awaited films from Australia, A Street to Die is based on the true story of one man’s battle to win the first compensation for exposure to Agent Orange. Chris Hayward turns in a low-key tour-de-force performance as Col Turner, a Vietnam vet who first discovers his cancer and its eventual link to the dioxin, Agent Orange. The bureaucracy blocks him at every turn, refusing his claim, and not acknowledging the source of his illness. He perseveres, losing neither his laconic sense of humor nor his pain and anger. His wife (Jennifer Cluff), continues to gather evidence and medical opinion even after Turner’s death.

A Street to Die is a modest film, without surprises or revelations. Yet it is precisely this modesty that gives the film its power and integrity, the anguish of ordinary people caught up in a nightmare of disbelief. Haywood’s performance as Col Was rewarded with the Australian Film Institutes Best Actor Award for 1985.

Screening Details

Credits

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]