By Laura BennettThursday 7 Apr 2022MoviesReading Time: 1 minute
Listen: ‘The Duke’ film producer Nicky Bentham chats to Laura Bennett about this moral dilemma true story.
Some of the best stories really are the ones based on real life.
Starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, The Duke is about Kempton Bunton, an unassuming blue collar social campaigner, who in the 1960s stole Goya’s painting of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.
Kempton sends ransom notes saying he’ll return the artwork if the government offers the elderly better financial support, raising questions of how crimes should be addressed if they’re committed for a worthy cause.
London-based Australian filmmaker Nicky Bentham was the creative originator of the movie, and spoke to Hope 103.2 about the unexpected email that brought the story to her attention, why Kempton’s story is relevant to today’s audience and what she learnt watching Jim and Helen on set.
The Duke is in cinemas now.
Listen to Australian filmmaker Nicky Bentham’s interview in the player above.