A Portrait of Love streams worldwide on Beamafilm – Australian documentary A Portrait of Love is now available worldwide on Beamafilm, giving new audiences a chance to discover the 21-year relationship between performer Roberto Meza Mont and late Archibald Prize-winning artist Craig Ruddy.
Directed by Molly Reynolds, the 90-minute film draws on thousands of hours of personal footage that Roberto recorded over the couple’s life together. Its streaming release follows a 2024 Mardi Gras Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary.
For Australian viewers, the release is more than a standard digital rental. Beamafilm offers the film through its subscription and rental options, while members of participating libraries can stream it with their library card. Availability through a particular library depends on that library’s Beamafilm partnership.
How to watch A Portrait of Love
Beamafilm is the film’s exclusive worldwide streaming home. Viewers can rent it for a 72-hour viewing window or access it through a subscription, including the platform’s advertised 30-day trial. Participating libraries in Australia and New Zealand provide another free-to-cardholder route. The service says it is extending library access internationally, including into Asia.
The film has subtitles in more than 20 languages. That matters for a story whose Australian creative roots sit alongside Roberto’s connections with South America and a potential audience beyond the film’s festival and theatrical run. The documentary is rated M.
A private archive becomes a public portrait
Reynolds, who also directed the AACTA-winning documentary My Name is Gulpilil, was a friend of Roberto and Craig. She worked with Roberto’s extensive home-video archive to build a portrait of their relationship, creative lives and circle of friends. The footage captures small domestic moments as well as the artistic process behind Craig’s work.
Roberto has described the film as a celebration of joy, dance, tenderness and the everyday moments that shaped their time together. Reynolds welcomed the wider access made possible by the Beamafilm release, including the opportunity for library members to discover it without paying for a separate rental.
Craig Ruddy’s place in Australian art history gives the documentary another point of entry. His portrait of David Gulpilil, Two Worlds, won both the 2004 Archibald Prize and that year’s People’s Choice award. He later painted figures including Cathy Freeman, Bruce Pascoe and Warwick Thornton. His portrait of Thornton won the 2016 People’s Choice award.
Beamafilm founder and managing director Louise van Rooyen says the film contributes to Australia’s artistic and cultural record. The library-based distribution model can also take it to people who did not see its festival or cinema screenings.
Watch the trailer
Reynolds directed and produced the film. Rolf de Heer is a producer, Anthony Anderson and Roberto Meza Mont are co-producers, Sam Matthews edited, Tom Heuzenroeder handled sound design, and Mark Eland worked on colour and post-production. Craig Ruddy’s artworks and opening animation also feature. ABCG Film is the Australian distributor.
For more TV Central streaming coverage, head to our Streaming section. To watch the film or check library and rental options, visit A Portrait of Love on Beamafilm.
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