Redford son in Arrowtown for premiere

The son of a Hollywood heavyweight will arrive in Queenstown tomorrow for the New Zealand premiere of his documentary about dyslexia, screening at Arrowtown's boutique cinema, Dorothy Brown's, tomorrow.

Filmmaker Jamie Redford, son of Robert Redford and Lola Van Wagenen, made the documentary - featuring his son Dylan and wife Kyle - which first screened at the Sundance Film Festival and then on HBO, to critical acclaim.

Arrowtown had been chosen as the venue for the New Zealand premiere in recognition of the progress schools in the area have made in supporting and empowering pupils who learn differently.

Redford drew on his own experiences with Dylan in making The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia, which also features interviews with other high profile dyslexics, including Sir Richard Branson and financier Charles Schwab.

Redford, his mother and stepfather George Burrill - honorary New Zealand consul to the United States - both of whom live part time in Northland, will attend the premiere.

However, Dylan, who was in New Zealand for Christmas, has returned to the United States because of commitments with his radio show.

Redford said his mission with The Big Picture was to make a film he wished he could have seen when Dylan was first struggling with dyslexia''

Like many dyslexics, Dylan is intelligent, thoughtful and intellectually curious - a `big picture' thinker. But at the age of 10, he was barely able to read and write. Now that he is grown and thriving, there are many things that I wish I had known about dyslexia at that time,'' Redford said.

''Creativity and entrepreneurship are some of the upsides that come with being able to see the big picture, and certainly the high-achieving dyslexics interviewed for this film exemplify that.

''In terms of showing this film in New Zealand, that's a happy case of stars aligning with my being here and the Dyslexia Foundation taking up the baton to make this happen.''

Redford has an extensive list of credits as a documentary director - his first film, Kindness of Strangers, was about organ transplants after his own experiences having two liver transplants in 1993.

The Big Picture will show to an invitation-only audience at Dorothy Brown's at 9pm tomorrow. Interested groups could arrange screenings throughout the year by contacting the Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand.