Australia

  • Soda Jerk – Terror Nullius (2018)

    2011-2020AustraliaSoda JerkVideo Art
    Terror Nullius (2018)
    Terror Nullius (2018)

    Quote:
    Part political satire, part eco-horror, part road movie, TERROR NULLIUS is a political revenge fable constructed entirely from samples pirated from the Australian cinema cannon. Binding together a documentary impulse with speculative muckraking, Soda Jerk’s revisionist history opens a queer narrative space where cinema fictions and historical facts permeate each other in new ways. The apocalyptic desert camps of Mad Max 2 become the site of refugee detention, flesh-eating sheep are recast as anti-colonial insurgents, and the women of Australian cinema go vigilante on Mel Gibson. Working within and against the official archive, Soda Jerk’s feature remix offers an incendiary un-writing of Australian national mythologies. Funded by the Ian Potter Moving Image Commission in 2016, TERROR NULLIUS was notoriously disowned by the organization just days prior to the film’s premiere in 2018. Offended by its politics, Ian Potter’s Board of Trustees described the work as “a very controversial piece of art” and “unAustralian.”Read More »

  • Kriv Stenders – The Go-Betweens: Right Here (2017)

    2011-2020AustraliaDocumentaryKriv StendersMusical
    The Go Betweens Right Here (2017)
    The Go Betweens Right Here (2017)

    Legends of the indie Oz Rock scene, The Go-Betweens provided a soundtrack to a generation of music enthusiasts throughout the 80s, developing a unique and compelling combination of song writing, both angst ridden and sensitive, that eluded the mainstream and all the trappings of popular success.

    Four decades in the making, Right Here: Finding the Go-Betweens explores the quintessential Aussie band from formation in 1977 by Queensland University students Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, joined by Lindy Morrison on drums until the band broke up in late 1989, after six critically acclaimed albums. They reformed in 2000 for three more albums before McLennan died in 2006, aged 48.Read More »

  • Rolf de Heer – Dance Me to My Song (1998)

    Rolf de Heer1991-2000AustraliaDrama
    Dance Me to My Song (1998)
    Dance Me to My Song (1998)

    Quote:
    Julia (Heather Rose) is crippled with cerebral palsy, lives in a wheelchair, waits for her carer to come and clean her, feed her, in a daily cycle. Her latest carer, Madelaine (Joey Kennedy) is a strung up and lonely young woman whose love life is in disarray. The two women are interdependent; Julia needs her carer, Madelaine needs her job. But they don’t exactly hit it off. Along comes Eddie (John Brumpton), a handsome young chap who appeals to both women. But Julia is behind the eight ball in this love battle, what with her wheelchair – she even needs a voice synthesiser to speak. Her body is small and frail and twisted …. But she is not totally helpless, as Madelaine discovers.Read More »

  • Gillian Armstrong – My Brilliant Career (1979)

    1971-1980AustraliaDramaGillian Armstrong
    My Brilliant Career (1979)
    My Brilliant Career (1979)

    Sybylla Melvyn (Judy Davis in her first major screen role) is the eldest daughter of a struggling Australian farming family in the 1890s. Bold and determined, she dreams of success as a writer. At a time when convention and sexism limit female ambition, Sybylla frequently challenges traditionalist expectations.

    She accordingly rejects one highly desirable suitor but then falls in love with dashing Harry Beecham (played by a young Sam Neill). As events twist and turn, Sybylla is painfully brought to realise the emotional cost of placing her career over love.Read More »

  • Lasse Hallström – ABBA: The Movie (1977)

    Lasse Hallström1971-1980AustraliaCultPerformance
    ABBA The Movie (1977)
    ABBA The Movie (1977)

    ABBA: The Movie is a 1977 film about the pop group ABBA’s Australian tour. It was directed by Lasse Hallström, who directed most of the group’s videos. The film has become a cult film among ABBA fans. Its release coincided with the release of ABBA: The Album, the group’s fifth studio album, and features many songs from that album as well as many of their earlier hits, and one, “Get on the Carousel”, unavailable anywhere else.Read More »

  • Jocelyn Moorhouse – The Dressmaker (2015)

    2011-2020AustraliaComedyDramaJocelyn Moorhouse
    The Dressmaker (2015)
    The Dressmaker (2015)

    Synopsis:
    Based on Rosalie Ham’s best selling novel, The Dressmaker is the story of femme fatale Tilly Dunnage who returns to her small home town in the country to right the wrongs of the past. A stylish drama with comic undertones about love, revenge and haute couture. —Sue MaslinRead More »

  • Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou – Talk to Me (2022)

    Danny Philippou2021-2030AustraliaHorrorMichael PhilippouThriller
    Talk to Me (2022)
    Talk to Me (2022)

    When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.Read More »

  • Albert Falzon – Morning of the Earth (1972)

    1971-1980Albert FalzonAustraliaCultDocumentary
    Morning of the Earth (1972)
    Morning of the Earth (1972)

    Declared a national treasure by the Australian government for its amazing photography and vision, this stunning masterpiece by Albert Falzon is, to quote Chris Darling directly, “one of the most beautiful surf films of all time!”

    This classic 1972 surfing film reveals a fantasy that takes place in three exotic lands: Bali, Hawaii, and Australia. It takes you away to a world where surfers make their own houses, surfboards, and live in harmony with nature.Read More »

  • Thomas Tancred – Last Stop Larrimah (2023)

    2021-2030AustraliaCrimeDocumentaryThomas Tancred
    Last Stop Larrimah (2023)
    Last Stop Larrimah (2023)

    rogerebert.com:
    “Last Stop Larrimah” is a funny little documentary. Set in the Australian Outback, in a tiny town with a population of 11 people, the film first gives a picture of a group of wisecracking citizens—mostly elderly—who call this middle-of-nowhere place home. They share stories of late-night revelries at the local watering hole (the only bar in town) and proudly point to the lack of a police station but the presence of a pet crocodile. The rusty bush landscape soaked in the orange sun makes Larrimah feel like an ideal retirement spot. But, as is always the case, there is trouble in paradise.Read More »

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