Against All Odds

In her feature film-directing debut, actor Rachel Griffiths strikes gold with Ride Like a Girl, the true story of Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup in 2015.

- Adriana Donnola

The tale is such a great example of female empowerment, but what an emotional roller-coaster. “I know, you can’t make this shit up. The family’s story is so extraordinary. I really wanted to make a film like they used to—going back to those Frank Capra movies, National Velvet—films we watched as a family on a Sunday afternoon. [I thought] ‘How can I make this film a [four]-quadrant movie—which is like the unicorn of film—that men, women, young and old would want to see?’”