Kerry Fox gained two stones (12.7kg) for her role as Janet Frame. She managed this by drinking liters of Coca-Cola, eating packets of chocolate biscuits and going on the pill.
Based on Janet Frame's three autobiographies, To the Is-Land (1982), An Angel at My Table (1984), and The Envoy from Mirror City (1984).
Was the first film from New Zealand to be screened at the Venice Film Festival, where it received multiple standing ovations and was awarded the Special Jury Prize. In addition to virtually sweeping the local New Zealand film awards, it also took home the prize for best foreign film at the Independent Spirit Awards and the International Critics' Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
In the DVD commentary, DOP Dryburgh recalls that the scenes in Spain of Kerry Fox's nude swimming were shot in November - quite brisk fall weather, the water wasn't warm and they had the off-tourist season Spanish seaside town pretty much to themselves. Fox recalls how, for this scene, she made the entire crew strip down and join her in the water.
This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #301.