NZ teen wins best actress at the San Diego Film Festival

1.00pm

Wellington teenager Sally Andrews has won the Best Actress award at the San Diego Film Festival for her performance in the New Zealand movie Her Majesty.

Andrews plays 13-year-old Elizabeth Wakefield, who is consumed with a desire to meet the Queen during her namesake's 1953 tour of New Zealand.

The role was her first in front of a camera, and the accolade this week follows others that Her Majesty has gained internationally.

Director Mark Gordon said the film had received a warm reception in the United States.

Her Majesty, described as a movie for grandparents and parents to take their children to for a glimpse of 1950s New Zealand, is due for national release in New Zealand in January.

The cast also includes Vicky Haughton (from Whale Rider), Liddy Holloway (Fracture), Rachel Wallis as the Queen and Craig Elliot as Elizabeth's older brother.

- NZPA