Fiona Kay

Fiona Kay was just 12 when she starred in Vincent Ward’s Vigil, playing a shy farm girl who retreats into make believe. Keen to avoid sentimentality, Ward interviewed 200 children before casting her. Vigil won a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. Kay appeared in almost every scene; reviewers praised her “faultless” and “remarkable” acting, and “restless inner intensity”. After a handful of further acting roles — including sci-fi series The Boy from Andromeda — Kay emigrated to Australia.

I don't know that I've ever seen a young actress display the combination of restraint and sheer power that she shows here ... Kay is called upon to communicate her character completely through the tiniest, subtlest gestures and expressions ... In her face, a soul is laid bare. Hal Hinson reviewing Vigil in The Washington Post, 22 March 1988