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Festival coverage

FilmFest Australia

2009

Back for its 15th year in 2009, the Barbican-hosted festival aims to showcase the best from the silver screen Down Under from the past 12 months and runs from March 12 to 22.

Featuring a host of European premieres, the festival showcases feature films and documentaries and is this year offering a look back at the Australian New Wave, plus an examination of the country's latest horror output in The Dark Side Of Down Under strand. There’s chance to see the best short films from Flickerfest before each film and another free screening of highlights from Movie Extra Tropfest – the world’s biggest short film festival. Even if you're not in London, don't panic, the festival generally tours around the country afterwards.

To get Londoners in the mood there is a screening of LAFF 2008 favourite Bra Boys on February 18.

View complete schedule

Other years (5)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith
    Review preview for The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith

    When the moment of violence arrives, abruptly, at the half-way point, it does so in flurry of handheld camerawork, striking sound design and stark symbolism.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    The son of a white man and an Aboriginal woman is pushed to the limit by racism and spirals into violence.
  • The Horseman
    Review preview for The Horseman

    While The Horseman will have viewers squirming in their seats, its take on the workings of vengeance is remarkably responsible.

    Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
    A grief-mad father tracks down the men responsible for his daughter’s death and discovers more about his daughter than a father should ever know.
  • Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger
    Review preview for Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger

    If you’re sick of Hollywood teen movies that can’t see past the end of their next tube of lip gloss, this Aussie alternative is well worth checking out.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    Coming of age comedy drama Aussie style.
  • In My Father's Country
    Review preview for In My Father's Country

    Tom Murray takes us on a journey, not just into this most sacred of ceremonies but also into the heart of a community.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    An intimate look at the coming-of-age ceremony and way of life of the Dhuruputjpi Aboriginal community.
  • Rats And Cats
    Review preview for Rats And Cats

    It has all the cringe-making laughs one might expect from a comedy of celebrity, but Rats And Cats also achieves a surprising subtlety.

    Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
    Black comedy about the ugly side of showbiz.
  • Men's Group
    Review preview for Men's Group

    A refreshing examination of the collective male psyche through pure drama.

    Anton Bitel · 4 out of 5
    Six men, each with heavy emotional baggage, meet once a week to talk, with unexpected consequences.
  • Three Blind Mice
    Review preview for Three Blind Mice

    This is not, like so many films with Iraq as plot element, about the military’s inhumanity to others, but its careless disregard for the wellbeing of its own.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    Three sailors face up to their future and their past on an eventful night out in Sydney.
  • Dying Breed
    Review preview for Dying Breed

    Dwyer has taken this cinematically uncharted landscape and, like the convict runners of old, transported to it all manner of unsavoury foreign elements.

    Anton Bitel · 3 out of 5
    Four friends find out something - or someone - murderous lurks in the rain-slogged Australian bush.
  • The Cars That Ate Paris
    Review preview for The Cars That Ate Paris

    The Cars That Ate Paris is no ordinary horror film.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Trouble brews for a stranger in a town where car crashes seem to be a little too frequent.
  • Lake Mungo
    Review preview for Lake Mungo

    Anderson’s use of the documentary framework is an inspired choice, since it lends what we’re seeing an air of reality that helps build the tension to jangling point.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    A family are haunted by their daughter's death.

A–Z of FilmFest Australia 2009 reviews

Features

  • Jasmine's journey
    The director of Cactus talks about making the move from camerawoman to writer/director.
  • Wizards of Oz
    As the 15th London Australian Film Festival opens, we take a look at what's on and ask what the future holds in store for the film industry Down Under.
  • Mark Hartley talks Not Quite Hollywood
    The Australian director on the neglected history of exploitation cinema.

News