2022 DEUTSCHE BANK FELLOWSHIP ENTRIES OPEN NOW
Sydney Film Festival (SFF) and Deutsche Bank today announced that submissions are open for the 2022 Deutsche Bank Fellowship for First Nations Film Creatives.
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EUROPA! EUROPA! ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL PROGRAM
From international film festival favourites to star-studded blockbusters and subversive works helmed by Europe’s most celebrated auteurs, Europa! Europa is set to bring the very best of European cinema to Australian shores for the first time from February 4 – 27 2022. Featuring 43 films from 42 countries, the Festival brings Europe’s most innovative, audacious and daring films to audiences down under in Sydney and Melbourne. “I am thrilled to present Europa! Europa’s incredible inaugural program, brimming with bold and daring Australian premieres which encapsulate the unrestrained spirit of European cinema and span the full cultural breadth of the continent.” “From terrifying Scandi-horror to acclaimed titles direct from Cannes and powerful ruminations on the experiences of refugees in Europe – the Festival gives Australian audiences the opportunity to see Europe’s hottest titles fast-tracked to their local cinema,” says Europa! Europa Film Festival Director, Thomas Caldwell. Launching the Festival’s inaugural program is The Souvenir Part II, British filmmaker Joanna Hogg’s (Archipelago) sequel to her acclaimed autobiographical feature The Souvenir. Starring film icon Tilda Swinton (The French Dispatch) and her real-life daughter Honor Swinton-Byrne, Hogg’s film is a shimmering story of a young woman’s …
FLiCKERFEST 2022 WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT
After a highly successful 10 day festival at Bondi the 31st annual FLiCKERFEST International and Australian awards were announced this evening at a star-studded ceremony under the stars on Bondi Beach. Attended by celebrated guests from the Australian film industry, the Closing Night ceremony honoured the esteemed entrants in this year’s competition and FLiCKERFEST’s Academy® Qualifying Awards, including Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film, Yoram Gross Award for Best International Animation, Panasonic LUMIX Award for Best Australian Short Film & Flickerfest Award for Best Documentary. The Flickerfest Short Film Awards continue to cement the festival’s global position as a leading International Short film festival on the world stage. FLiCKERFEST’s Festival Director BRONWYN KIDD said: We are thrilled that the 31st Flickerfest 2022 has been such a success with many filmmakers present to introduce their films, passionate crowds and great enthusiasm expressed for the programmes screened. It’s been great to see short films so warmly embraced by audiences across our ten-day event despite the challenges of COVID and its impact on the arts. I would like to congratulate all of the films selected for Flickerfest in competition this year …
JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL UNVEILS FREE ONLINE PROGRAMME FEATURING CUTTING EDGE CINEMA
From a futuristic existential animation about androids to a culturally rich documentary delving into the art of ramen-making, the Japanese Film Festival: Online returns from 14-27 February 2022 with a free streamed Festival featuring the best in Japanese cinema. The 2022 Festival presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney will screen 17 films nation-wide for free, including feature films and documentaries. JFF Online 2022 marks the second time The Japan Foundation, Sydney will screen the festival across Australia to enjoy online. Japanese Film Festival Director, Yurika Sugie said, “JFF Online invites Australian audiences to celebrate the richness of Japanese cinema from the comfort of their own homes, with an eclectic virtual program traversing the hottest new international film festival award-winners, past JFF favourites and cult hits.” Japanese Film Festival Programmer, Susan Bui said, “Enjoy cutting-edge titles from Japan’s finest auteurs in tandem with Japanophiles from 25 countries world-wide as part of this exciting global initiative.”
ANTENNA DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FULL 10TH ANNIVERSARY LINE-UP
The 10th Antenna Documentary Film Festival has announced its full program, to take place in cinemas across Sydney from 2–13 February 2022. Over the course of 12 days, Antenna will once again celebrate the best in documentary cinema from the past year, with 50 of the most creative and thought-provoking documentaries from Australia and around the world. “I am very proud of this lineup as a whole,” said Festival Director David Rokach. “Each documentary is imaginative, cinematic and provocative and I believe together they demonstrate the endless potential of documentary cinema in the hands of a great filmmaker.” Opening the festival is the Australian Premiere of Charm Circle by Nira Burstein, a cinéma vérité portrait of her eccentric New York family. With shades of the Maysles’ Grey Gardens, Burstein weaves together decades-old home videos and contemporary footage, to create an emotional and powerful family portrait that questions the value of the bonds that tie us together. Charm Circle premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest where it took out the Audience Award. Highlights include The Real Charlie Chaplin & A Night of Knowing Nothing. The 10th edition of the Antenna Documentary Film Festival opens Wednesday …
MARDI GRAS FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES QUEER FRONTIER PROGRAMME
Queer Screen’s 29th Mardi Gras Film Festival (Festival) invites audienceson a mission to the Queer Frontier, to meet emerging and established filmmakers andexplore new stories, styles and genres together – online, in the cinema, or both. Tickets areon sale now at queerscreen.org.au. Running from 17 February to 3 March, the Festival includes screenings at Event Cinemas inGeorge Street and special ‘one night only’ sessions at the Hayden Orpheum, Cremorne andEvent Cinemas in Parramatta and Hurstville. The Festival will then tour to the BlueMountains on 11–13 March and Canberra on 18–21 March. Those who prefer not to attend physical events can stream from the comfort and safety oftheir own home. “We understand there is on-going uncertainty in the community regardingthe Omicron outbreak in Sydney and are delivering a hybrid festival to ensure the program isas accessible as possible and adheres to our COVID-19 safety plan,” explains FestivalDirector, Lisa Rose. “This means LGBTIQ+ communities in Sydney can choose to attend in the cinema or online,and regional and interstate friends of the Festival can join our expedition to …
JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL UNVEILS PROGRAM FOR HISTORIC 25TH YEAR
From epic fantasies to spine-tingling thrillers and avant-garde features from modern mavericks in contemporary cinema, the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) returns to Canberra, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney for its historic 25th year from 28 October to 5 December. The 2021 Festival program will screen 15 films from the hottest newly-released feature titles spanning a diverse selection of genres from action to anime, drama, documentaries and much more.“In celebration of JFF’s 25th year, we’re thrilled to return to cinemas and share the very best in Japanese cinema with Perth audiences,” said Japanese Film Festival Director, Yurika Sugie. “This year film connoisseurs can look forward to a stellar selection of contemporary works, international film festival favourites and award winners, alongside an incredible online program.”Opening the Festival is Hokusai, Hajime Hashimoto’s biopic about the wildlife of legendary Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai. The star-studded cast features Yūya Yagira (Nobody Knows), Hiroshi Abe (The Crimes That Bind, JFF 2018) and Min Tanaka (Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura, JFF 2018). Award-winning dramas include Best International Feature Audience Choice Award winner at Chicago International Film Festival Under the Open Sky, about a hardened ex-yakuza who sets out to find his long-lost …
A NIGHT OF HORROR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL RELEASES PROGRAMME
A Night of Horror is making its festival a virtual event, with films streaming on-demand over two weeks, 18 – 31 October 2021, and it promises a spectacular program. Australia’s original and longest-running horror film festival – voted as one of theworld’s best by leading horror website Dread Central – will now take place onlinein the lead-up to Halloween, the most terror-ific time of the year. The features program has thirteen international and Australian premieres, including Addison Heath & Jasmine Jakupi’s wild and blackly comic slasher MY CHERRY PIE as the festival’s “Opening Night”, the sinister supernatural spookery of SUNODfrom festival alumni, Carlo Ledesma (THE TUNNEL), the Schuyler family’s eerielockdown nightmare, RED RIVER ROAD, Keene McRae’s brutal noir-esque debut,SHOT IN THE DARK, the hypnotic, escalating paranoia of Johannes Grenzfurthner’s MASKING THRESHOLD, and the immensely entertaining documentary THE BRILLIANT TERROR, focusing on grassroots horror filmmakers and fans in the US. Thirty-seven sensational short films are spread across two International ShortsShowcases and an epic Australian Shorts Showcase, and, last, but not least, anexclusive live talk with Q&A …
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARD WINNERS
The Melbourne International Film Festival has announced the winners of the 2021 MIFF Shorts Awards, which reward filmmakers with more than $63,000 in prizes. The awards are accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, resulting in half of the MIFF Shorts category winners now being eligible for next year’s Oscars. In a virtual ceremony hosted on MIFF Play (Melbourne International Film Festival’s Virtual Platform), eight out of the 80 films in the program received awards from the jury consisting of award-winning journalist Osman Faruqi, writer/director Natalie Erika James and industry expert Alexandra Burke. Winners are below: The Game(dir. Roman Hodel)City of Melbourne Grand Prix for Best Short Film Baltasar(dir. Brietta Hague)Film Victoria Erwin Rado Award for Best Australian Short Film Reptile(dir. Jordan Giusti)Award For Emerging Australian Filmmaker Lili Alone(dir. Zou Jing)Award For Best Fiction Short Film Listen To The Beat Of Our Images(dir Audrey Jean-Baptiste and Maxime Jean-Baptiste)Award For Best Documentary Short Film Gravedad(dir. Matisse Gonzalez)Award For Best Animation Short Film Happy Valley(dir. Simon Liu)Award For Best Experimental Short Film Lizard(dir. Akinola …
SYDNEY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES PROGRAMME
Sydney’s leading festival for cult, underground and independent films, the Sydney Underground Film Festival (SUFF), returns with a packed virtual program for its 15th year, from Thursday 9th September to Sunday 26th September. A cinematic trip you can take without leaving your living room, the 2021 line-up features 30 feature films and documentaries, 20 Australian premieres, a special 40-year anniversary film, and over 100 wild and wacky shorts across nine themed sessions. Joining the program for its third year will be much-loved filmmaking competition TAKE48 Film Challenge. Putting filmmakers’ abilities to the test, TAKE48 takes place for 48 hours from Friday 3rd September to Sunday 5th September. This year’s Challenge will also be entirely online, with entries open to Sydneysiders as well as interstate and international participants, and over $16500 in prizes to be won, including camera prizes from SONY Australia. 2021 Festival highlights include: – Opening film SWEETIE, YOU WON’T BELIEVE IT, from Kazakhstan-based director Yernar Nurgaliyev, a hilarious no-holds-barred road trip film about a man who decides to get away from his nagging …