Film Festivals
‘I wouldn’t do it again’: The true story behind this gut-wrenching Australian film
Noora Niasari’s Shayda is a stunning debut, a deeply personal film about a mother and daughter trying to spark joy inside a women’s refuge.
- by Karl Quinn
Latest
They’re the voice: The high-schoolers who made a John Farnham musical
This Is Going To Be Big is a high school coming of age movie with a difference, and it’s an absolute delight.
- by Karl Quinn
Must-see films at the Melbourne International Film Festival
Our film critics choose their top films from this year’s festival.
- by Stephanie Bunbury and Jake Wilson
Southern exposure: Meet the filmmaker giving Albany a starring role
Adam Morris has taken the rare step of leaving the big smoke to make movies in the Great Southern, enabling him to bring something fresh to Australian cinema.
- by Mark Naglazas
Remember Blackberry and Y2K? The films exploring tech bros and their woes
Two films premiering at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival celebrate a very specific moment in time.
- by Stephanie Bunbury
Hugo Weaving liked this film so much he stripped naked for it
The Rooster came from a very dark place, but actor-turned director Mark Leonard Winter and actor-producer Geraldine Hakewill have made a film full of joy.
- by Karl Quinn
What’s it like to work for one of cinema’s most enigmatic directors?
Famously eccentric Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki didn’t do interviews for his new film Fallen Leaves – he left that to his actors, who reveal how he works behind the scenes.
- by Stephanie Bunbury
It takes a tiny village (recreating a Casablanca riot) to win the Sydney Film Festival competition
Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir helped her father painstakingly build a mini neighbourhood populated by small figurines to make The Mother Of All Lies.
- by Garry Maddox
Footballer who inspired #SaveHakeem campaign still fearful for his future
Former refugee Hakeem al-Araibi hopes a new documentary about his jailing can protect him from the Bahraini government.
- by Garry Maddox
Blanchett, Indiana Jones, blowing up a pipeline: the hottest tickets at Sydney Film Festival
From Blanchett as a renegade nun to Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, the festival that starts this week has plenty of highlights.
- by Garry Maddox
‘Showies’ for almost a century, this family is not scared of the ride
Elwin Bell says the travelling carnival business is good again – cash preferred – after fires, floods and the pandemic.
- by Garry Maddox