#festevez

“The theme of the Pandemic was chosen due to the times we are living in – it’s a great opportunity to see how differently people perceive it and the impacts it has had”

After a 2020 hiatus ala so many Film Festivals impacted by COVID-19, Muswellbrook’s dedicated Film Fest Blue Heeler is back come October 30 with a topical theme if ever; “DON’T PANIC!’ in the context of living in a pandemic.”

“It will be interesting to see the people who have found positives in the pandemic rather than just the negatives,” continued Muswellbrook Shire Council’s Susanne Tobin. “We don’t specifically want to push people in one direction or another; obviously we don’t want it full of doom and gloom.”

“Hopefully filmmakers will see it as an opportunity to focus on the positives – whatever they may be.”

Co-ordinated by Joshua Belinfante, an Academic at the University of Newcastle, together with Ashley Naylor and Georgia Cochraine, both of whom hail from UON, entries for the 8th annual Blue Heeler are free and now open. To be held at Musswellbrook Cinema, submissions are open (normal deadline August 28, late deadline October 9) to films of any genre under 7 minutes and will be screened alongside live music.

“The University of Newcastle supports Muswellbrook Council in the marketing and delivery of the Festival through a collaborative approach that provides scholarships to final year media and communication students,” said Dr Simon Weaving and Andrea Cassin of the UON School of Creative Industries, which will also be providing a number of short film workshops to local high schools.

The winner of the open category, eligible for filmmakers 18 years and over, will receive a $10,000 prize, while entrants aged 14-18 can compete for a $5,000 award.

“The most distinctive feature of the Festival is its links to the community providing local filmmakers and school students resources and incentives to explore their creativity and be part of an event that is also open to filmmakers from all over the world,” concluded Weaving and Cassin.

There’s a strange contradiction to Film Festivals endemic to their very existence.  

Intended to enliven a sense of community and appreciation of a form on as large a canvas as possible more so than any traditional cinema screening, they are also a celebration of a medium very suited and highly adaptable to home-centric, individualised experience and COVID-circumstance.  

A boon of Festivals both in attendance and their own numeracy predictably followed the wider availability of streaming services and stratification of cinema offerings between mega-budget and indie fare. Film fans typically wanted a curated experience of competent, experimental small to mid-budget fare and Festivals remain the place to get them, as well as a space more open to audible applause and sharing thoughts before, after and better yet between screenings.

At the same time, cinema remains a form not best appreciated but highly accessible outside an orpheum, making it better suited than other cultural touchstones, ala White Night, Vivid, to enjoyment amidst a pandemic.  

Some Festivals have chosen to go online, pursue hybrid models or otherwise postpone. Static Vision and the Taiwan Film Festival in light of their particular audiences and more experimental filmic fare, itself in cases a commentary on digital consumption, made the early decision to go online following the recent case rise across Australia, as the Festivals managed in 2020.  

On the other side of the equation Cinema Reborn, dedicated to showcasing minute restorations of cinema classics on some of Sydney’s largest screens, were the first Festival to postpone for a full 12 months in 2020. Australia’s Silent Film Festival has similarly postponed recent events and repeatedly so until October when screenings can intendedly take place in the State Library. The St Kilda Film Festival, in addition to postponements of weeks past, have put off this Saturday’s regional Camperdown event and the Antenna Documentary Film Festival have delayed the impending October program until February.  

In any assessment of whether to postpone, go online or pursue a mixed approach every current Festival has to balance two factors; to what extent is a cinema experience intrinsic to appreciation of the work(s) and does the existing sense of community once engendered and further anticipated by patrons necessitate either or both of an indeterminate (and at this stage it is indeterminate) future in-person event or more immediate digital offering?

These decisions aren’t just about maintaining artistic lifeblood but given these considerations’ impacts on both maximising and sustaining audience engagement they are also fairly of a related and necessarily commercial nature.

The Sydney Underground Film Festival, focused in part on commentary on digital forms, yesterday announced that the planned September 10-12 run will head online from September 9-26 with the third annual Take48 filmmaking weekend and competition to run entirely online. It will join the Irish Film Festival, likewise in its second annual digital-only run, which screens from September 1-12.

On Wednesday the Made in the West Film Festival ran an online networking event for filmmakers in Sydney’s west ahead of an in-person December 10-12 Festival. Hours before, the Adelaide Film Festival Youth (previously the Adelaide International Youth Film Festival), having postponed their in-person July 25-30 program announced that the Festival will run online and in-person from August 25 – September 8 and then September 15-16 respectively.

Cancelling an in-person pre-event scheduled for this Sunday past, Brisbane’s West End Film Festival, intended to run in-person from Wednesday through today, has instead pivoted to online for the first time and only a day later than its anticipated start; offering films online until now August 31.  

Queensland’s Capricorn Film Festival, having postponed multiple physical events in the two years past while running a one-off online event in 2020, will champion a three-day virtual Festival commencing next Friday. The day prior the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will commence a planned in-person run from August 12-21, overlapping with a virtual, Australia-wide Festival online from August 15-30.  

The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, previously postponing the planned Jul 21-31 in-person run set to tie in with a streaming program running the length of July, will now present a physical event from September 7-17.  

More prominent still, the Melbourne International Film Festival, originally scheduled to commence an in-person run this week to be followed by and overlap with a streaming program, has pivoted to jump-start a nation-wide streaming schedule commencing 9AM today through August 22 following the digital premiere of Coda yesterday evening.  An intended in-person run initially set to take place from August 13-22 will be subject to a flagged pending announcement from MIFF early next week in light of the lockdown implemented in Victoria commencing yesterday evening. Switching to a wholly online run in August of last year and seeing record attendance rates, MIFF in 2021, reflective of increased engagement, has too for the first time scheduled multiple events in new regional venues.  

Occurring when it did last year, Melbourne audiences even beyond traditional Film and Festival fans were primed for a major Melbourne cultural event absent the ability to travel very far or at all, and MIFF provided. Irrespective of the impact of current or future COVID-related restrictions on the in-person program MIFF have championed and effectively utilised capacity to reach audiences digitally for the duration of the intended 2021 run.  

This contrasts heavily with this week’s Sydney Film Festival announcement of the postponement of an in-person Festival until November 3-14. This follows the Festival’s physical cancellation in 2020, an online event in June of last year alongside participation in an international digital event, a brief physical run in January of 2021, the scheduling of this year’s physical Festival for August 18-29 rather than a traditional June run following a like shift in the scheduling of major international Festivals (and consequentially select titles’ availabilities) and the July postponement of a full program launch set to follow an already announced handful of titles.

Aside from the impact on SFF itself, this will directly affect the slew of Film Festivals which typically take place in early November including the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival which is currently scheduled for November 4-13, with the previous June to August shift already impacting a number of Festivals who prioritise the August window. Notably advertising campaigns run in recent months have emphasised the Festival holding a physical event as a priority with Festival Director Nashen Moodley noting in 2020 that SFF “do not currently have plans for an online component in future years (and that) the Festival very much looks forward to seeing our audience in cinemas next year for a fully immersive and connected Sydney Film Festival.”

An assessment of this a sensible decision or not comes down to whether the near exclusive appeal of the Festival is in fact in-cinema offerings and the extent to which the SFF audience are seeking forthcoming over in-person engagement.  

The response to last year’s online SFF program demonstrated a desire amongst its audience, more of whom than any other Australian Film Festival except perhaps MIFF are composed of such significant numbers of both dedicated and casual filmgoers, for not just engagement but consistent engagement whichever the form. SFF’s decision to host an online component last year followed months later by successful physical sessions bore scope for replication in the latter half of 2021 and moreover over one or more calendar windows.  

Sydneysiders and film fans right now across the country are seeking a sense of community denied in forms by current COVID-related restrictions and SFF could have borne that same significance MIFF heralded when faced with such a similar circumstance in now successive years. MIFF, making the decision to go online last year and again in 2021 unlike SFF, continues to recognise the potential to grow its audience (as MIFF has done) and reach film fans in rural and regional areas and/or who are immunocompromised and might not have in months past or otherwise in the immediate future sought out a physical Festival. This is moreover the case in light of yesterday’s announcement impacting Victoria incidentally coinciding to the hour with the commencement of MIFF’s digital run.  

SFF could too have run in June as traditional but as delayed permitted the attainment of select titles that make up a fraction of a typical program. The appeal of this particular Festival, ala MIFF, overly relates to its general curatorial breadth and sense of community as opposed to individual showcases and the platform’s decision-making has not prioritised the aforementioned with many creatives now too directly impacted. Rather than a few films and filmmakers it is a plethora thereof of both name and emerging talents that have continuously proven themselves both artistic and commercial life-bloods of the Festival. To the extent that there was such an overly marquee focus rather than artistic emphasis on the heft of talent and fixtures of the kind that overwhelmingly typify and further both SFF’s creative and commercial bona-fides the outlet has shown many filmmakers concerned and fans too no favour.  

Yes some filmmakers prefer and demand as is their right films to premiere or otherwise screen in particular environments but the extent to which the Festival in the current environment did not account for this when negotiating titles or otherwise prioritise to a requisite degree fixtures which could screen wholly digitally in the immediate term represents an omission as it would for any Festival neglecting to fully anticipate audiences’ demand to go ahead in part or entirely online and avail itself where affordable of digital infrastructure as needed.  

Following the Festival having gone online last year with works not ideal but adaptable to the form via willing filmmakers there remains evident desire and certainly scope for the platform to replicate something similar in 2021 with the announced titles alone representing a sizeable draw. Communication on this front has been notably lacking with the Festival previously indicating on their dedicated site that SFF had been postponed and withdrawing the statement once it was reported on. This was too days before any further public clarification which came at the outset via select media’s positive reporting of the Festival’s call.

Such calls in recent months engendering the lack of momentum for the Festival and sidelining thereof represents an absence affecting appended-filmmakers as well as dedicated and casual film fans alike seeking consistent and meaningful engagement who can and should, in addition to whenever the Festival screens and in any case, seek out other outlets who have taken the opportunity.

The Festival runs May 12-24 with special in-cinema closing night screenings in Sydney and Melbourne. All ticket proceeds go to programs supporting vulnerable groups in South Africa.

We’re not getting to South Africa anytime soon, so the South African Film Festival brought it here.

Three years strong, the Festival launched in Bondi in 2019, went online in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and this year will run online May 12-24 with special in-cinema closing night screenings in Sydney and Melbourne. All ticket proceeds this year go to programs supporting vulnerable groups in South Africa.

This year’s program includes documentaries, feature films and two short features.

“There’s a range of intrinsic directorial visions extrapolating South Africa’s past, present and future,” said Festival director Clare Jankelson. “Each year the focus is to find a selection of proudly South African films that brings the vibrancy of the unique South African culture and its people to our Australian, and for the first time this year, New Zealand, audiences.”

The program kicks off on Wednesday May 12 with documentary Influence, billed with world leaders Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma as stars.

“The disgraced PR powerhouse Bell Pottinger, with everything that went wrong, came to light with the probe into the severe Government corruption under the Zuma presidency,” said Clare. “The film highlights the relationship of truth and power on a global platform and shows how political spin and ‘fake news’ sway public perception.”

“This film won Best Documentary at the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa in 2021 and was a nominee for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.”

The documentary bears an especially strong resonance in light of events transpiring only this week past, with the ruling African National Congress’ Secretary-General Ace Magashule, currently facing fraud and other charges, being suspended by the ANC.

With South African politics remaining a consistent theme of the Festival and ever-present in the minds of South Africans both abroad and in Australia, the focus is even stronger this year in light of an unprecedented emphasis on documentaries.

“We usually try to find a balance between feature films, documentaries and short films, but this year and due to the global pandemic, most feature film productions slowed down, and documentaries were more readily available,” said Clare. “It’s a curation of ‘fresh off the press’ features launched at international Film Festivals before local South African release, like Influence and Barakat, or past releases with accolades. The Festival offers a reminder of South Africa’s history pre and post-Apartheid together with climate and environmental references that speaks to a country rich with remarkable nature and wildlife.”

Barakat, translating to ‘blessings’ in Urdu, follows a Muslim, Malay community residing in Cape Town where the feature was also completed. Also selected for the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, Barakat was the Closing Night feature of London’s most recent Film Africa Festival.

“Barakat is produced by Nagvlug Films, it’s dynamic young Writer/Director Amy Jephta and her producing partner Ephraim Gordon,” said Clare. “They brought together a stellar cast of mostly Muslim people in order to achieve a nuanced integrity in their depictions of ordinary family life.”

“This passionate little family film with so much heart, which is in the vain of Minari, will not only appeal to the African diaspora across Australia and New Zealand, but to all communities trying to overcome the trials and tribulations of this year of a global pandemic. The film will be released at the same time as the South African release and during the time of breaking the fast in celebration of Eid-al-Fitr (commencing May 12, 2021), a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims world-wide marking the end of the fasting of Ramadan.”

One of four documentaries on the program, Blindside covers the 1974 British Lions’ boycott-breaking Apartheid-era tour of South Africa. Reflecting on the political role of, and debates around, rugby during the regime, the material will resonate with fans of Clint Eastwood’s Invictus and those who recall, fondly or not, the recent triumph of South Africa in the World Cup; reminiscent itself of the events depicted in the 2009 drama.

The nation’s Oscar entry Toorbos will also screen; a period drama set in a conservative Knysna forest community chronicling 18-year-old Karoliena’s forced marriage to a shopkeeper and transition to a new reality in a new town. Based on the Dalene Matthee novel, Toorbos too centres on the Government’s plans to imminently remove and rehouse the impoverished community.  

Spanning the genre range to romantic adventure, Riding with Sugar covers pursuit of BMX success, the lead’s romance with a dancer and dreams of a happier life while Sandance! takes us across southern Africa via rehearsals by members of the San community bringing performances and healing dance as far as Botswana’s annual Kuru Dance Festival.

Gangster flick For Love and Broken Bones follows Motheo, a musician and debt collector who falls for his newest target while Mama Africa utilises five decades of archival footage to present singer Miriam Makeba’s legacy. Exiled from the country for more than 30 years, Makeba’s life took her from the US to Guinea, with her banishment heavily influencing her art.

A New Country and District Six Rising From the Dust, directed by Sifiso Khanyile and Weaam Williams respectively, via contemporary commentary and archival footage chronicle the continued effects of Apartheid, with Good Hope outlining the views, aspirations and experiences of younger South Africans whose earliest memories recall the post-Apartheid nation. Life is Wonderful will look to the earlier impacts of the laws and the story of Denis Goldberg, who was convicted at the infamous Rivonia trial where Mandela, alongside Goldberg and other co-defendents, were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jozi Gold will highlight the ever-present issue of the environmental state of South Africa and the impacts of mining, with drama Tess exploring the issues of abuse and gender violence through the experiences of a sex worker who falls pregnant.

Letter Reader, one of the short features on the program, follows a 12-year-old boy who becomes his village’s letter reader.

Continuing the Festival’s commitment to ‘Education without Borders,’ all ticket proceeds will go toward a charity assisting vulnerable and young South Africans in some of the nation’s most disadvantaged communities. A strong motivating factor in taking the Festival online last year, Education without Borders and those of their ilk are seeking to ameliorate conditions further impacted by an as of yet very limited vaccine rollout and the highest mortality rate in Africa.  An education foundation functioning in South Africa since 2002, their roles are as crucial as ever now given the extent to which COVID-19 has impacted the country with many communities now left even more bereft of requisite resources amidst lengthy lockdowns.

There resides a strong Australian-South African community surrounding the South African Film Festival’s foundations in Bondi but going online has meant the Festival bears an even greater opportunity to reach more ex-pats, community members and local film fans than before. For local residents of the South African community keenly watching what is happening overseas, some of whom have had to forestall long-awaited trips to Bloemfontein or Johannesburg, this author included, it’s a more than welcome opportunity to reconnect, re-engage, enjoy some movies and be as close to South Africa as we’re going to get right now.

The South African Film Festival screens online from Wednesday 12 May to Monday 24 May, 2021 in Australia and New Zealand with Closing Night Barakat screenings in Event Cinemas Bondi Junction and Castle Hill together with Melbourne’s Classic Cinema. Get program and ticket information at the Festival website.

on SBS

“The very first year for the second time”

A year to the day after first being postponed Festival Directors Tahyna MacManus and Kelly Tomasich launched the inaugural Australian Womens Film Festival into action. Filling Bondi’s Event Cinemas largest theatre with finalists and fans, 9 flicks competed in a competition overseen by, among several Judges, Rachel Griffiths and Teresa Palmer.

Aiming to “support, encourage, and celebrate female storytellers by giving them a platform to showcase their talent, both in front of and behind the camera,” to qualify for the Festival at least three of the five key creatives (Writer, Director, Producer, DOP and Editor) must be female and the short has to pass the Bechdel test. Men can participate in the Festival however, as noted by Host Megan Wilding, they simply need “to be willing to work with women.”

Taking out Best Dramatic Film, Sophie O’Connor’s ‘Clap,’ a highlight of the night, depicted a young woman in a challenging school and social environment encountering a classmate she barely knew navigating how to help her. A well-staged and memorably empathetic drama, lead performer Molly Broadstock’s acting win was too well deserved.

Rachel Mackey’s comedy ‘The Granny Flat’ was too a stand-out, chronicling childrens’ encounters with a busload of grannies. Using increasingly imaginative and hilarious animation to outline some very relatable and extremely Australian doting, Sophie Ash’s animation ‘Start Gate’ too featured some exceptional visuals; most powerful among them a visor reflection as a skier stares down a treacherous slope.

Franziska Link’s stunningly shot ‘Me and the Sea’ outlined the filmmaker’s very engaging free diving interactions with extremely remote ocean banks and much unseen beneath the waves, while Best Cinematography, Audience Choice & ‘One to Watch’ Awards winner Vivienne Smith utilised ‘Treasure’ to convey some very raw approaches to grief.

“Filmmaking is the hardest, longest and most expensive way to tell a story and for so many years the gatekeepers to that money and screen time has been men,” said Vivienne following the Awards win. “Being a finalist in the Australian Womens Film Festival was incredible because it signified the changing of the guard; for a whole night we watched exclusively female made content and were supported by those in the industry who are actively fighting for other stories to be told.”

An Adventure filmmaker, Vivienne shot key scenes from ‘Treasure’ throughout New South Wales.

“I’m setting my sights on my original passion telling scripted narrative but looking to leverage my work in grand, landscape cinematography; having put a camera on all 7 continents (I’m ironically more comfortable in harsh environments) ‘Treasure’ was the first opportunity to start telling those stories,” said Vivienne. “Female filmmakers rarely get access to big budgets which typically means our stories are told in smaller environments and easier locations… men dominate the outside, adventure world and I’d love to find ways to bring women into that space.”

“We shot in the middle of winter on Lake Jindabyne; everyone was freezing but it’s a landscape and light that just begs to have a lens on it. Chris the Producer and I are extremely proud of the film and the cast and crew who made this with us; the recognition at the AWFF has put a huge smile on our faces and given me the confidence to keep making movies!”

But for an unexpected moment the night would have been confined to all female presenters, speakers and recipients. Following an AWFF panel a man got up, ever stark in contrast and unwelcome; marched himself up to the podium and indicated he wanted to say something. Taking the mike from the Host after a brief pause and direct no, he proceeded to explain how happy he was that two recent high grossing cinema releases, Nomadland and Promising Young Woman, had been directed by women; Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell respectively.

Met with a mix of bewilderment and shock from the audience, the man, waxing lyrical in his personal validation of how far he thought society has come on gender equality, proceeded to hand the mike back before the Host’s tonally measured ‘thank you’ brought some of the biggest applause of the night. An action that in both its nature and reception reminded us of why the AWFF are so important, everyone left on a high from a night that was well worth the wait.

The Australian Womens Film Festival finalists are now streaming on Femflix

Patience (Isabelle Huppert), an interpreter for the French police force, finds herself getting involved with criminal enterprises and those she’s helping to catch in an effort to support her family and ailing mother.

A comedy with some dramatic touches, to get it out of the way yes there are some Breaking Bad elements; not least of all the idiosyncratic somewhat hapless goons tasked with moving goods through the black market. Her encounters with same lead to some of the best scenes in the film, including an initial extraction of goods and chase in a department store.

There are many films focused on criminal enterprise and interpreters the latter of whom, for dramatic effect, usually play a fleeting role, if at all. Their function is underexplored in cinema and in any professional setting they are usually the hardest-working person in the room having to work twice as much as everyone else. Reflective of this, the particular focus of The Godmother is a refreshing one.

Centring in part on the respective characters’ identities (Patience is Jewish while many of those she encounters are of Arabic background), the film interestingly touches on though never goes into great detail as to why different groups may be reticent to trust the police and feel pressure to operate outside of the law.

Reaching heights when engaging with Patience’s relationship with her neighbour who too looks to profit, another curious dynamic still is that between Patience and her lover, too the head of the taskforce. Setting this figure up as having a very defined moral compass, as established at a scene in a Zoo, The Godmother’s final sequences will have him act otherwise in order to impart a particular tone – maybe something the filmmakers wanted us to come away with but at the expense of the otherwise well evinced characterisations.  

‘The Godmother’ screens as part of the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival

on Film Fight Club

Set in Latvia on the eve of the Second World War and amidst the then Latvian dictatorship, a local, Christian sign painter finds himself in love with a Jewish girl, beset on art and caused to repaint the streets and all else when the Soviets and subsequently the Nazis take over the town.

Described as a tragicomedy yet more accurately a drama with comedic elements, there’s a welcome novelty to watching a figure who is usually a throwaway gag at the centre of a film. Recognisably or at least outwardly nonplussed by all this, it is very funny to see our lead have to top and tail each and every sign and bust whenever change (frequently) occurs, as it is to see his sought after’s father brazenly throw a pot plant at the head of another suitor.

Doing well to recreate early 20th Century Latvian life, the production design is the finest aspect of The Sign Painter seen best of all in a fond recreation of a memory herein; recalling a scene of celebration as the local Jewish congregation dance their way through the streets. Too remarkable are the placements of the residential interiors askew, only for the paintings to be cleverly set upright.

Moving from comedy in an attempt to sustain a darker tone for its remainder, The Sign Painter, intent on being a genre mix, throws in blaring music cues to signal at various instances that we should laugh, or be happier. This works when reflective of the more general tone of the film and indeed the first few times, but not when so numerous and bookended by that far from comic.

The Wes Anderson-esque stylings are commonplace throughout cinema though never equalled; here serving as distracting and to more than else take you out of this film which otherwise does well to rely on atmosphere to impart tone.

The Sign Painter screens as part of the Jewish International Film Festival

“When I received the news of my diagnosis, I was told to stop everything that I was doing, my job, my studies and my life; I felt like my life was over.”

“The World’s Best Film” doesn’t need to be the world’s best film, nor is the title as audacious as it sounds. Sydney filmmaker Joshua Belinfante set out to do his own justice to the title and however many awards it wins the 87 minutes shows that he, and everyone else featured, have put in their 10,000 hours.

The proverbial shorthand a distant memory for many of the experts herein, Belinfante, set on realising his own passions as a feature creator, sought inspiration from experts in many (often obscure) fields who are, at the very least, aspiring to be the world’s best.

“In the world we find ourselves in now many have begun to question their mortality and the decisions they’ve made in their lives,” said Belinfante. “They may be feeling depressed that they cannot do the things they want to do because the world is closed.”

“I wasn’t happy with everything that I’d done up to that point and I started to think about what I would do if I recovered and got a second chance; I realised I wanted to travel to as many places as I could and tell stories about people pursuing their passions. A lot of people out there now are stuck inside dreaming of an open world to navigate; in some ways my film has never been more relevant to the experience of people going out and fulfilling whatever it is they wanted to do; whether it’s fantastic, amazing or seemingly mundane to other people.”

Hitting a unique cultural nerve amidst a pandemic unforeseeable to the filmmaker and the Festival scene, Belinfante, capturing attention with the curious gimmick and seemingly ostentatious title, has seen the flick resonate at a number of Festivals including the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival (now screening online) and Revelation Film Festival’s online series ‘Couched.’  

“I felt it was important to finish the film and release it in the age of doom and gloom we now find ourselves, to offer audiences the opportunity to have an uplifting experience if they wish to take it,” said Belinfante. “My own journey from being told that I might not have much time left to being lucky enough to recover and travel the world hopefully shows people that there can be light after darkness.”

Spanning Sweden, Thailand, the UK, Romania, Australia and else, a marionette artist, the owner of the world’s most eclectic taxi cab and Britain’s toilet tour guide and expert on all things loos proved among this author’s favourites.  

“This is my first independently made feature documentary so having glowing responses from audiences has been wonderful,” said Belinfante. “Hearing from people that they’ve been inspired to question their own life paths and what they spend their time on has been a great reward for me, a reminder that the film is slowly finding its community.”

Benefiting from delving into the filmmakers’ own experience and that of Belinfante’s immediate family, “The World’s Best Film” would not resonate as it does but for a more than implicit acknowledgement of the filmmaker’s own function here far beyond documentarian; himself statedly setting out to realise herein his own aspirations. With most Festivals previously limited to geographic bases and select cinemas, absent an intimate screening Belinfante and other filmmakers are now finding that they can reach fresh audiences across Australia newly-exposed to now online Festivals patrons might otherwise never have experienced.

“Having films available on demand during a specific period is an exciting way to bypass the closures of the pandemic; obviously the option to screen the film online was not what I had in my heart when I set out to make ‘the world’s best film,’” said Belinfante. “Moving forward my dream would be holding a physical premiere and screenings where I’m able to meet audiences face to face.”

“I really want to hear from people about their experiences of pursuing their passions and what they want to say they might be the world’s best at! They need not be the Guinness World Record’s best at what they do or have even done everything that they say they wish to do; it is enough that they just affirm to themselves (and maybe some others to keep them accountable) that they are awesome and capable of greatness.”

“The response from our audience has been fantastic, we’ve seen a real appetite for film.”

With the Sydney Film Fest in full swing online Festival junkees and toe-dippers alike still get to enjoy the early-June staple amongst friends even if we’re a little further apart this year. With the annual ‘Europe! Voices of Women in Film’ strand now taking on an even stronger pride of place amidst a less expansive yet still premiere Program, with individual tickets and Fest passes now on sale, Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley sat down to talk 2020 and highlights.

“Europe! Voices of Women in Film, run in collaboration with European Film Promotion, showcases films from some of Europe’s most vital female filmmakers – many of whom we introduce to Australian audiences for the first time,” said Nashen. “From gripping Irish sci-fi thriller ‘Sea Fever’ to gritty German love story ‘Kids Run’ and daring Swedish drama ‘Charter,’ each film brings something unique to the Festival and enriches the overall program.”

Amidst the selection ‘Sea Fever,’ a flick that would likely have otherwise been programmed in the ‘Freak Me Out’ strand, stands out as a high point among both the retrospective and premiere selections. A mix of sci-fi, thriller, horror, fantasy and folklore set far off the west coast of Ireland (our full review here), there’s a fair amount of emerging talent behind and in front of the camera worth having on your radar.

‘Kids Run,’ covering the career and life of an amateur boxer and struggling father of three, hits a lot of the strides of many a familiar fight flick; notably excelling in it’s final, sport-centric stretch when a key contest turns on a beat novel to boxing dramas making much better use of the ring as an analogy for perseverance, as is commonly the case, than most.

‘Charter,’ likewise about a struggling parent, the fallout of a broken relationship and too benefiting greatly from well-cast child actors, navigates contentious and deliberately nebulous material sometimes to great effect and inevitably wildly different interpretations. One karaoke sequence, appearing at the outset as if characters are pointedly going to sing their feelings to the audience and all concerned, turns out to be one of the best in show; doing well to tease out the dynamic between the three family members (see here for further coverage).

‘Our Law,’ a highlight of the program and an Australian entry, has deservedly garnered much attention amidst rising awareness of racial prejudice and disparity in Australia and across the globe following the reported tragic deaths of Indigenous Australians, African Americans at the hands of Police Officers and the Black Lives Matter and related protests.

Created prior to most recent events (see here for our interview with Director Cornel Ozies), the film is instructive in how cultural sensitivity, knowledge of communities and use of language can be beneficial to law enforcement; chronicling examples of regular challenges and personal hurdles faced by two Western Australian Officers.  

“’Our Law’ explores the nature of Police work from the unique perspective of Officers working at Western Australia’s only Indigenous run Police Station,” said Nashen. “It is a particularly significant film as it explores whether Indigenous officers are the key to dismantling prejudiced Police culture from within – a topic that is both very relevant and underexplored.

“In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, the film’s overarching themes are particularly pertinent in today’s socio-political climate.”

Having gone wholly online for the first time ever, amidst numerous Festivals doing so, SFF achieving such to date represents within Australia a unique undertaking given the scale of the project, breadth of the audience and extent and nature of premiere features on offer.

“We are exceptionally grateful for the continued support of filmmakers, Government funders, partners, donors and our audience for helping make the virtual Festival such a success,” continued Nashen.

“We do not currently have plans for an online component in future years. The Festival very much looks forward to seeing our audience in cinemas next year for a fully immersive and connected Sydney Film Festival.”

on Film Fight Club