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FilmFest Australia · 2009

FilmFest Australia 2009

Full line-up

In addition to the films below, there will be a free screening of Tropfest - the largest short film festival in the world. A selection of the films - marked On Tour - is currently making its way around the UK. For dates and venues read our

Programme

39 films · 18 reviews

Jump to a film

$9.99

Stop-animation film tackles the age-old question of the meaning of life.

(Country: Israel, Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Tatia Rosenthal; Writer: Etgar Keret, Etgar Keret, Tatia Rosenthal; Stars: Tom Budge, Joel Edgerton, Leon Ford, Samuel Johnson, Claudia Karvan, Jamie Katsamatsas, Anthony LaPaglia, Ben Mendelsohn, Henry Nixon, Barry Otto)

Screening with short film Chicken Of God

The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert

Groundbreaking cult classic about a transsexual on a cross-country trip to Alice Springs. Scheduled to celebrate the film before the stage version opens in the West End.

(Country: Australia; Year: 1994; Director: Stephan Elliott; Writer: Stephan Elliott; Stars: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, Rebel Penfold-Russell, John Casey, June Marie Bennett, Murray Davies, Frank Cornelius, Bob Boyce, Leighton Picken)

Come in your most flamboyant finery, say organisers, there will be a prize for most dazzling diva.

Australia

Review preview for Australia

Australia undercuts its cinematic insecurities with heart, soul and imagination.

James Benefield · 2.5 out of 5
Sprawling epic sees English toff and drover bond over cattle and kids.

(Country: UK, Australia, US; Year: 2008; Director: Baz Luhrmann; Writer: Baz Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie, Ronald Harwood, Richard Flanagan; Stars: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, David Wenham, Bryan Brown, Brandon Walters, Bruce Spence, Jack Thompson, Bill Hunter, Ben Mendelsohn, John Jarratt, Jacek Koman) , Trailer

Full review

Featuring an exclusive pre-recorded introduction to the film by director Baz Luhrmann

Bitter Springs

Vintage drama about racial conflict between a group of settlers and an indigenous tribe.

(Country: UK, Australia; Year: 1950; Director: Ralph Smart; Writer: Monja Danischewsky, W.P. Lipscomb, Ralph Smart; Stars: Tommy Trinder, Chips Rafferty, Gordon Jackson, Jean Blue, Michael Pate, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Nonnie Piper, Nicky Yardley, Henry Murdoch)

Centenary Tribute to Chips Rafferty

Bitter & Twisted (Bitter And Twisted)

This quirky, multidimensional drama of longing and loss starts with the death of a young man and flashes forward three years to assess the toll it took on his parents, brother, and ex-girlfriend. A vivid style and nuanced performances add unusual charm to this confident debut.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Christopher Weekes; Writer: Christopher Weekes; Stars: Noni Hazlehurst, Steve Rodgers, Leeanna Walsman, Gary Sweet, Matt Newton, Christopher Weekes) , Official site

Screening with short film 296 Smith Street. On Tour

The Black Balloon

Review preview for The Black Balloon

Fearlessly reaches outside the box.

Chris · 3.5 out of 5
An insightful family drama, about a young man who must deal with more than his fair share of troubles, like his autistic brother. Also, young love and being a new boy in school.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Elissa Down; Writer: Elissa Down, Jimmy Jack; Stars: Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford, Toni Collette, Erik Thomson, Gemma Ward, Lloyd Allison-Young, Nathin Butler, Lisa Kowalski, Firass Dirani, Aaron Glennane, Andy Meritakis)

Full review

Screening with short film fOUR

The Bold, The Brave & The Best: Celebrating 30 Years Of Australian Animation

Showcase, featuring shorts by famous Australian animators including Sarah Watt, Adam Elliot, Wendy Chandler and Oscar-winner Bruce Petty. Curated by Oscar-nominated animator Anthony Lucas (Jasper Morello).

(Country: Australia; Year: 2009)

Broken Sun

The story of ailing WW1 veteran and Japanese PoW escapee imprisoned by the positions into which world events have thrown them.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Brad Haynes; Writer: Dacre Timbs; Stars: Rudi Baker, James Bishop, Galvin Scott Davis, Katie Ditchburn, Steve Dodd, Kentaro Hara, Kuni Hashimoto, Jai Koutrae, Sam O'Dell, Robin Queree)

Screening with short film Ali & The Ball

Cactus

Review preview for Cactus

A lean and moody road-trip thriller, which though a little uneven, is nevertheless a deft piece of filmmaking.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A kidnapper takes his payload cross country into the Aussie outback.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan; Writer: Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan; Stars: Travis McMahon, David Lyons, Bryan Brown, Shane Jacobson) , Official site

Full review See: Interview with Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan, director of Cactus , Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under

Featuring a Q&A with director Jasmine Yuen Carrucan. On Tour

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 1974; Director: Peter Weir; Writer: Peter Weir, Keith Gow, Piers Davies, Peter Weir; Stars: John Meillon, Terry Camilleri, Kevin Miles, Rick Scully, Max Gillies, Danny Adcock, Bruce Spence, Kevin Golsby, Chris Haywood, Peter Armstrong)

Full review

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 1978; Director: Fred Schepisi; Writer: Fred Schepisi, based on the novel by Thomas Keneally; Stars: Tommy Lewis, Freddy Reynolds, Ray Barrett, Jack Thompson, Angela Punch McGregor, Steve Dodds, Peter Carroll, Ruth Cracknell, Don Crosby, Elizabeth Alexander)

Full review

The Cheaters

Silent film classic charts a story of romance and crime.

(Country: Australia; Year: 1930; Director: Paulette McDonagh; Writer: Paulette McDonagh; Stars: Marie Lorraine, Arthur Greenaway, John Faulkner, Josef Bambach, Nellie McNiven, Elaine de Chair, Frank Hawthorne, Leal Douglas, Stanley Court, Reg Quartly)

With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney. Showing with Paula McDonagh shorts: Don Bradman - How I Play Cricket and The Mighty Conqueror - Phar Lap

Death Defying Acts

Review preview for Death Defying Acts

Much of the story is smoke and mirrors in terms of fact, but this is pitched more at romance fans than Houdini addicts.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Harry Houdini falls for a gypsy 'psychic' in an Edinburgh-set period romance.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Gillian Armstrong; Writer: Tony Grisoni, Brian Ward; Stars: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Saoirse Ronan, Jack Bailey, Aaron Brown, MacKay Crawford, James Fiddy, Martin Fisher, Tim Frost, Campbell Graham)

Full review

Screening with short film The Ballad Of Betty And Joe

Donkey In Lahore

An unusual love story that follows the quixotic courtship of Brian, an ex-goth puppeteer from Australia, and Amber, the traditional Muslim girl he met and fell in love with in Pakistan. Can this unlikely couple survive the challenges they are about to face?

(Country: Australia; Year: 2007; Director: Faramarz K-Rahber) , Official site

Dot And The Bunny

Cartoon outback adventure, sees Dot hunt for a lost joey.

(Country: Australia; Year: 1984; Director: Yoram Gross; Writer: Yoram Gross, John Palmer; Stars: Drew Forsythe, Barbara Frawley, Ron Haddrick, Anne Haddy, Ross Higgins, Robyn Moore, Anna Quin)

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Jody Dwyer; Writer: Michael Boughen, Jody Dwyer, Rod Morris; Stars: Mirrah Foulkes, Leigh Whannell, Nathan Phillips, Melanie Vallejo, Bille Brown, Peter Docker, Brendan Donoghue, Elaine Hudson, Sally McDonald, Ken Radley, Sally McDonald, Sheridan Harvey) , Official site

Full review See: Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under

Screening with short film Advantage

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Cathy Randall; Writer: Cathy Randall; Stars: Nikita Adams, Tisha Adey, Paul Blackwell, Christian Byers, Lucy Carey, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Danielle Catanzariti, Elise Champion, Toni Collette, Essie Davis)

Full review

Screening with short film Mutt

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Steven Kastrissios; Writer: Steven Kastrissios; Stars: Peter Marshall, Caroline Marohasy, Brad McMurray, Jack Henry, Evert McQueen, Christopher Sommers, Bryan Probets, Steve Tandy, Chris Betts, Damon Gibson)

Full review See: FrightFest 2009 analysis and reviews , Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under

Screening with short film Bella

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Tom Murray; Writer: Tom Murray; Stars: Galuma Maymuru, Will Stubbs, Dhukal Wirrpanda, Wuyal Wirrpanda) , Official site

Full review See: Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under

Lionel

Documentary about Australian Aboriginal boxer Lionel Rose.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Eddie Martin; Writer: Eddie Martin, David Tiley; Stars: Lionel Rose)

On Tour

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Joel Anderson; Writer: Joel Anderson; Stars: Talia Zucker, Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, Steve Jodrell, Tamara Donnellan, Scott Terrill, Chloe Armstrong, Charles Armytage, Claire Astbury)

Full review See: Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under

Screening with short film Dog With Electric Collar

Long Weekend

Review preview for Long Weekend

A creepy one-off.

Anton Bitel · 4.5 out of 5
Getting back to nature for a sophisticated Sydney couple upsets the animals.

(Country: Australia; Year: 1978; Director: Colin Eggleston; Writer: Everett De Roche; Stars: John Hargreaves, Briony Behets, Mike McEwen, Roy Day, Michael Aitkens, Sue Kiss von Soly)

Full review

Screening with short film The Funk

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Michael Joy; Writer: Michael Joy, John L Simpson; Stars: Grant Dodwell, Don Reid, Paul Gleeson, Steve Rodgers, Steve Le Marquand, Paul Tassone, William Zappa, Matthew Waters, Leroy Page, Maria Simpson, Lily Kate Simpson, Louise McCabe, Jo Allebone)

Full review

Screening with short film Small Change. On Tour

My Brilliant Career

Gillian Armstrong's break-out film, set in the early 20th century, about a teen who finds her ambitions tested when she falls for an aristocrat.

(Country: Australia; Year: 1979; Director: Gillian Armstrong; Writer: Miles Franklin, Eleanor Witcombe; Stars: Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Wendy Hughes, Robert Grubb, Max Cullen, Aileen Britton, Peter Whitford, Patricia Kennedy, Alan Hopgood, Julia Blake)

Newcastle

Revolving around Jesse, a 17-year-old surfer who treads the line between success and self-destruction, Newcastle saturates the senses with magnificent surfing footage and absorbs viewers in the fresh loves and personal tragedies of Jesse and his mates.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Dan Castle; Writer: Dan Castle) , Official site

Screening with short film Summer Breaks

Newsfront

Phillip Noyce's ode to Aussie newsreel photographers.

(Country: Australia; Year: 1978; Director: Phillip Noyce; Writer: David Elfick, Bob Ellis, Philippe Mora, Phillip Noyce; Stars: Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Gerard Kennedy, Chris Haywood, John Ewart, Don Crosby, Angela Punch McGregor, John Clayton, John Dease, Bryan Brown)

A Northern Town

The residents of an Australian nursing home recall their town's history of racism and brutality.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Rachel Landers)

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!

Review preview for Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!

If you're a fan of B-movies - of nudity, gore, monsters, car chases, kung fu action and ultra-low-budget fun - then Not Quite Hollywood is a treat you can't afford to miss.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Documentary charting a key moment in Aussie cinema.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Mark Hartley; Writer: Mark Hartley; Stars: Phillip Adams, Christine Amor, Glory Annen, Victoria Anoux, Ian Barry, Briony Behets, Steve Bisley, Jamie Blanks, Graeme Blundell, Russell Boyd)

Full review See: Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under , Interview with Mark Hartley about Not Quite Hollywood

Playing For Charlie

Story of a rugby player caught between duty and ambition.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Pene Patrick; Stars: Shane Connor, Jared Daperis, Jodie Rimmer, Mark Leonard Winter)

Screening with short film Brother Boys

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Tony Rogers; Writer: Jason Gann, Adam Zwar; Stars: Jason Gann, Adam Zwar, Anya Beyersdorf, Paul Denny, Alexis Porter, Jess Beazley, Gary Rens, Belle Leslie, Matthew Molony, Francis McMahon, Bert Labonte)

Full review See: Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under

Screening with short film My Rabbit Hoppity. On Tour

Rock N Roll Nerd

Documentary charting the career of comedian Tim Minchin.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Rhian Skirving; Writer: Rhian Skirving; Stars: Tim Minchin)

Salute

The black power salute at the 1968 Olympics was an iconic moment in the US civil rights movement. But what price did the white man who came second, Peter Norman, pay for his beliefs?

(Country: Australia, US; Year: 2008; Director: Matt Norman; Writer: Matt Norman; Stars: Christopher Kirby, John Carlos, Paul Hoffman, Payton Jordan, Cleve Livingston, Cordiner Nelson, Peter Norman, Larry Questad, Tommie Smith, Bob Steiner)

The Square

Nash Edgerton (whose shorts we like a lot on Eye For Film) steps up to the big time with this dark thriller about a woman who rips off her hubby's ill-gotten gains.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Nash Edgerton; Writer: Joel Edgerton, Matthew Dabner, Joel Edgerton; Stars: David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Joel Edgerton, Anthony Hayes, Lisa Bailey, Lucy Bell, Paul Caesar, Amanda Crompton, Maree D'Arcy, Kieran Darcy-Smith)

Screening with short film The List

The Tender Hook

Hugo Weaving and Rose Byrne star in this noir thriller about a dangerous love triangle.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Jonathan Ogilvie; Writer: Jonathan Ogilvie; Stars: Rose Byrne, Hugo Weaving, Matthew Le Nevez, Pia Miranda, Luke Carroll, John Batchelor, Tyler Coppin, Don Bridges, Jarrah Cocks, Brendan Guerin)

Screening with short film The Ballad Of Betty And Joe

Ten Empty

Alcoholism, adultery, mental illness and self-harm greet Elliott when he returns for the christening of his new half brother...

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Anthony Hayes; Writer: Brendan Cowell, Anthony Hayes; Stars: Daniel Frederiksen, Geoff Morrell, Lucy Bell, Tom Budge, Brendan Cowell, Blazey Best, Jack Thompson, Kaliopi Eleni, Andy McPhee, Adam Morgan)

Featuring Q&A with writer/director Anthony Hayes. Screening with short film Gluteus Maximus

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Matthew Newton; Writer: Matthew Newton; Stars: Ewen Leslie, Toby Schmitz, Matthew Newton, Jacki Weaver, Charles 'Bud' Tingwall, Gracie Otto)

Full review See: Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under

Screening with short film Five New Things. On Tour

Unfinished Sky

Review preview for Unfinished Sky

As a two hander, the film eases gently towards acceptance, even affection, until a melodramatic ending blows it to smithereens.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 2.5 out of 5
An Afghan refugee hides out on an isolated farm in Australia.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2007; Director: Peter Duncan; Writer: Peter Duncan; Stars: William McInnes, Monic Hendrickx, David Field, Bille Brown, Roy Billing, Christopher Sommers, Milo) , Official site

Full review

Screening with short film Netherland Dwarf

Whatever Happened To Brenda Hean?

Investigation into the disappearance of world-leading Tasmanian conservationist.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Scott Millwood)