Together

Director’s Notes - Felicity Morgan-Rhind

“I remember vividly bumping into a friend one Christmas Day in the early ‘90s. She was in tears. The reason? Her father had spent their entire Christmas lunch trying to fondle her breasts.  Her story remained with me.

Later I returned to NZ for my first Christmas in 12 years and realised I had lost my position as oldest child in my family. Whilst away my family and I had become two separate entities. I had discovered the world whilst they had got on with the mundane art of living and loving each other. Feeling misunderstood and ostracised I retreated into the safety of behaving like the 16 year old child I had been when I left home. Suffice to say this did me little good.

After two years of self-reflection, I emerged an integrated member of my family with a script that in the writing, allowed me to fondly observe the tragic and comic of my re-integration into the family bosom.

This film is not a true story.  I don’t think Dad even noticed my breasts, my mum has always accepted my ‘interesting’ sexuality and thankfully Alzheimer’s has not yet reared its head.

Sadly my dad died before I made this film. I have dedicated Together to him because he was my rock, the one who quietly nodded his approval as I stumbled around the world finding myself.  He was the glue that held our family together, but in his absence we are finding a new togetherness.”