SET TO SPICE UP WINTER WITH AWARD WINNERS, COMEDIES, THRILLERS AND DOCUMENTARIES
The HSBC Spanish Film Festival presented by Palace, an annual celebration of film and culture from Spain and Latin America, will screen at Palace Cinemas, Luna Palace Cinemas and Palace Nova Cinemas from this June to July.
The highly anticipated Festival is celebrating 25 years in 2023 and befitting such a milestone, will be presenting a thirty-two-film strong lineup that offers exciting, inspiring and entertaining viewing from the region. The many highlights include a focus on Women in Filmmaking featuring the work of seven prominent Spanish and Latin American female directors, a comprehensive Carlos Saura retrospective, a Uruguayan documentary with an Australian connection and much, much more.
The festival is delighted to welcome new Naming Partner HSBC, one the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. Jessica Power, Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC Bank Australia Limited, says “We’re thrilled to be involved in this year’s Festival. Much like the power of film, we at HSBC believe that by bringing people and ideas together we can open up a world of opportunity. We’re sure that all attendees to this year’s Festival will love the global selection of compelling storytelling.”
Opening this year’s festival is the Australian premiere of delicious comedy TWO MANY CHEFS (La vida padre). Set in Bilbao’s world of high cuisine, this Spanish box office hit stars Karra Elejalde and Enric Auquer as a father and son whose unexpected reunion after thirty years apart puts their ideas about cooking and life to the test.
Festival Centrepiece ALCARRÀS has been a critical and audience success in Spain, taking home the coveted Golden Bear at Berlinale in 2022. Carla Simón’s personal and beautifully observed new ensemble drama follows a family of Catalonian farmers who, after generations harvesting the same land, face eviction and an uncertain future.
The 2023 Festival Retrospective Lord of Dance: A Focus on Carlos Saura showcases a selection of works from the legendary Spanish filmmaker who passed away earlier this year. Brimming with his vibrant passion for music, art and dance, this selection of Saura's work displays the consummate filmmaker’s dedication to presenting and showcasing culture through creativity.
The critically acclaimed Spanish box office hit thriller PRISON 77 (Modelo 77) is one of two 2023 Special Presentations. The five-time Goya Award-winning film from Alberto Rodríguez, (Marshland) follows a young accountant awaiting trial in 1977 who joins a group of prisoners demanding amnesty. The second Special Presentation is Colombia’s award-winning drama THE KINGS OF THE WORLD (Los reyes del mundo) from director Laura Mora Ortega, which follows five Medellín teenagers from the streets who set out on an adventure in search of the promised land.
Other exceptional thrillers include gripping true crime thriller A SINGULAR CRIME (Un crimen Argentino) set in 1980s Argentina, in which two jurists race against time to try to solve the case of an intriguing disappearance of a wealthy businessman; and STARING AT STRANGERS (No mires a los ojos) starring Paco León as a man who is spying on a family from inside a closet, becoming a mysterious presence in their lives.
For comedy lovers, this year’s offerings includes the uplifting film for all ages FULL OF GRACE (Llenos de gracia), starring top Spanish actress Carmen Machi and set in a boarding school in the 1990s; Spanish box office hit FOUR’S A CROWD (El cuarto pasajero) from Álex de la Iglesia, about a 50-year-old divorcee with financial problems who begins sharing his car with strangers via an app; GRANDFATHERS (Abuelos) the story of three friends near retirement age who dare to launch a kindergarten business from scratch and heartwarming adventure LET THE DANCE BEGIN (Empieza el baile) about a once-famous tango dance couple (played by Darío Grandinetti and Mercedes Morán) who reunite and go on a road trip across Argentina with an old friend.
Based on the celebrated play by Matías del Federico and from multi-award winner Gerado Herrero, dramatic comedy IN THERAPY (Bajo terapia) follows three married couples in therapy and features an excellent ensemble cast. Money, love and ambition are the subject of THE TE$T (El Test), a smart comedy from Dani de la Orden.
A salute to Mexican wit, MIGHTY VICTORIA (El Poderoso Victoria) is a comedic adventure set in a small desert town in 1930s Mexico which chronicles the crazy plan of a group of locals who decide to build their own steam train. A modern comedy, MY FATHER’S MEXICAN WEDDING (La novia de América) follows two Spanish siblings as they travel to Mexico to attend the wedding of their father to a woman he met online.
Family friendly films include THE THREE WISE MEN VS SANTA (Reyes contra Santa) and from Argentina, TODAY WE FIX THE WORLD (Hoy se arregla el mundo), in which a busy talk show producer discovers that he is not the real father of his nine-year-old son, so they set off on an adventure of discovery.
Other Cine Latino gems include Ana García Blaya’s drama THE WOMAN FROM URUGUAY (La Uruguaya) based on the acclaimed novel by Pedro Mairal; FEROCIOUS WOLF (Lobo Feroz), a tense, twisted, and darkly comic thriller starring Adriana Ugarte and Javier Gutiérrez and HISTORY OF THE OCCULT (Historia de lo Oculto) a stylish 1980s set horror film filmed in black and white, following the final live broadcast of a current affairs program where an occult conspiracy threatens to be exposed.
Shot almost entirely in the majestic Cordillera de las Andes of Mendoza in Argentina, THE BROKEN LAND (Las Rojas) is a feminist western imbued with magic realism, about two women who are willing to do anything to protect a dream.
Two fascinating true stories also feature this year; FREE (Libres) a remarkable documentary about twelve monasteries in Spain and the interior lives of those who have given themselves completely to a cloistered life of prayer, and the story with an Australian connection GREG MORTIMER (Greg Mortimer, en busca de una tierra solidaria), documenting the travails of passengers and crew aboard the Australian cruise ship that left for Antarctica just before the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other new Spanish cinema includes IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN (Las buenas compañías), an elegant drama set in the Basque Country in the late 1970s. Actress-director Silvia Munt’s tribute to the brave women of a generation explores the fight for women's rights and the right to abortion. Also female-focused is affectionate drama about the world of acting, fame and family SOMEONE WHO TAKES CARE OF ME (Alguien que cuide de mi), starring three-time Goya Award Winner Emma Suárez; TOBACCO BARNS (Secaderos) set in dreamy landscapes, takes viewers to a mysterious and moving summer amongst the tobacco barns ; WILD FLOWERS (Girasoles silvestres), a powerful reflection of everyday life as a young single mother battles to defend her children while embarking on a love affair and CORK (Suro), the fascinating debut feature from Mikel Gurrea which explores the balance of power in relationships, as a Barcelona couple move to the country to build a new life in the cork-tree forests.
LORD OF DANCE – CARLOS SAURA RETROSPECTIVE
CARMEN - This 40th anniversary presentation showcases Carlos Saura's biggest international box-office success with this self-reflexive meditation on both Bizet's popular opera Carmen, featuring legendary dancers Antonio Gades and Laura del Sol.
FADOS - A unique film experience investigating fado, a traditional Portuguese music genre dating back to 1820 featuring top artists and dancer from Portugal, Brazil and Cape Verde.
J: BEYOND FLAMENCO (Jota de Saura) - An intimate engagement with the vivacity and charisma of the jota, a waltz-like castanet dance originating in the province of Aragon, the birthplace of Carlos Saura.
THE KING OF ALL THE WORLD (El rey de todo el mundo) - A cinematic collage of incredible music, extraordinary dance forms and stunning visuals, this musical explores the folkloric tradition of the music and dance of Mexico.
WALLS CAN TALK (Las paredes hablan) - In his final film before his death earlier this year, Carlos Saura investigates how “the wall” ties in with the evolution and relationship of art, acting as a creative canvas for thousands of years. All sessions will be preceded by the short film Goya: May 3, an innovative audio-visual project that offers a cinematographic recreation of Goya's iconic painting.
The 2023 HSBC Spanish Film Festival will take place nationally from 14 June to 5 July in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Byron Bay, from 20 June to 12 July in Sydney. ¡Viva la fiesta!
Tickets on sale from 17 May. Visit www.spanishfilmfestival.com.
LISTING DETAILS:
Canberra 14 June – 5 July: Palace Electric Cinema.
Adelaide 14 June – 5 July: Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas.
Brisbane 14 June – 5 July: Palace James Street and Palace Barracks.
Melbourne 15 June-5 July: The Astor Theatre, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Palace Balwyn and Pentridge Cinema.
Perth 15 June – 5 July: Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville and Luna on SX.
Byron Bay 15 June – 5 July: Palace Byron Bay.
Sydney 20 June – 12 July: Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinema.
For updates and more information, visit www.spanishfilmfestival.com and join the mailing list or follow;
Facebook @SpanishFilmFestival
Instagram/Twitter @spanishfilmfest
#SPANISHFILMFEST
Today the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2023 revealed its complete crème-de-la-crème programme of contemporary French films. The 34th edition of the largest celebration of French film outside of France, arrives in Melbourne from 8th March – 5th April. The culturally curious will once again venture to the cinema and be seduced by a season of electrifying French storytelling.
Setting the scene with a heady dose of glamour, lust and manipulation, Nicolas Bedos’ Masquerade opens the festival. An official selection of Cannes Film Festival 2022, the sexy and oh-so-French drama starring Pierre Niney, Isabelle Adjani and Marine Vacth transports cinemagoers to the dreamy shores of Côte d’Azur. Closing the festival on a bittersweet high, is a road trip of sublime joy and tears in Didier Barcelo’s Freestyle, featuring rising star Benjamin Voisin and the enchanting Marina Foïs.
Speaking on the festival’s imminent arrival, Karine Mauris, Festival Artistic Director and Cultural Attachée to the French Embassy in Australia, said: “2023 represents our most dynamic programme to-date.”
“The hilarity of a meta-zombie comedy, suspenseful thrillers and historical dramas that will have you clinging to the edge of your seat, family-friendly flicks and of course, l’amour in all its forms!”
“With over 153,000 eager spectators in attendance last year alone, we’re looking forward to reaffirming our emphasis on discovering the latest and greatest French talent and bringing impactful storytelling to new audiences.”
2023 cohort of ambassadors
Joining the Alliance Française on its vision to immerse newcomers in its culture are festival ambassadors, acclaimed chef Guillaume Brahimi, lauded blockbuster film director Phillip Noyce AO, renowned actor David Wenham AM, and internationally recognised filmmaker Samantha Lang.
Returning ambassador Wenham said: “Culture is the beating heart of French society. Over the past century, French Cinema has not only captured major and minor events and documented changes in political, social and daily life, it has been a major influence on how the rest of the world approaches making films and telling stories in a continuing journey to understand who we are and what we do. French cinema, for me, is always alive!”
Sharing some of his top picks and speaking to his emotional connection to French cinema, Brahimi added:
“This year’s festival line-up is sure to delight foodies and cinephiles alike. I’m looking forward to Sugar and Stars, a true story about a young man from a difficult upbringing and his journey to become a famed pastry chef, along with Umami, starring Gérard Depardieu on a quest to Japan for exceptional noodles.”
“When I first arrived in Australia 30 years ago and couldn’t speak English, days were quite lonely, so I used to watch on repeat Cyrano de Bergerac with Gérard Depardieu to make me smile… this is the escapism and magic that cinema offers.”
ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL 2023 DATES & VENUES
Sydney, NSW: 7th March to 5th April – Palace Central, Palace Verona, Palace Norton St, Chauvel Cinema, Hayden Orpheum Cremorne
Melbourne, VIC: 8th March to 5th April – Palace Cinema Como, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, The Astor Theatre, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema
Perth, WA: 8th March to 5th April – Luna Leederville, Luna on SX, Windsor Cinema, Palace Raine Square, Camelot Outdoor Cinema
Canberra, ACT: 9th March to 5th April – Palace Electric Cinema
Hobart, TAS: 9th to 19th March – State Cinema
Brisbane, QLD: 15th March to 12th April – Palace James Street, Palace Barracks
Byron Bay, NSW: 16th March to 5th April – Palace Byron Bay
Adelaide, SA: 23rd March to 19th April – Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Port Pirie, Renmark, Whyalla, Mount Gambier: 24th March to 26th March – Northern Festival, Chaffey Theatre, Middleback Arts Centre, Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre
Gold Coast, QLD: 29th March to 16th April – Dendy Southport
Parramatta, NSW: 29th March to 2nd April – Riverside Theatre Parramatta
Victor Harbour, SA: 3rd and 10th April – Victa Cinema
Bendigo, VIC: 21st to 23rd April – Star Cinema
KEY PROGRAMME THEMES & HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS:
From this year’s biggest French box office successes to infectious tales of hope and resilience, must-see highlights from the 2023 festival include:
Masquerade (Mascarade) - Australian premiere (Opening Night)
Watch trailer here
Just how far will you go to get what you want? Glamour, sex, money and manipulation all combine in a deadly vortex on the unassuming shores of the dreamy Côte d’Azur, as trouble begins to brew beneath the surface of the water.
An official selection of Cannes Film Festival 2022, Masquerade follows Adrien (Pierre Niney) an aspiring dancer whose dreams are suddenly dashed when he is hit with an injury. Succumbing to laziness, he relies on his beauty to seduce older, wealthy women who happily support his lavish lifestyle. Our protagonist is content living with doting Martha (Isabelle Adjani) that is until he meets captivating Margot (Marine Vacth).
Two Tickets to Greece (Les Cyclades) - Australian premiere
Watch trailer here
Three fabulous femmes - Laure Calamy (Call My Agent!), Olivia Côte and Kristin Scott Thomas – star in the wildly entertaining new comedy from writer/director Marc Fitoussi (Call My Agent!) about estranged childhood friends who tentatively reunite for a trip to the Greek Islands.
The Colours of Fire (Couleurs de l’Incendie) - Australian premiere
February 1927, following the death of her father, Madeleine Péricourt (Léa Drucker), must suddenly take on his vast financial empire – but as deception begins to brew on the horizon, it's unclear how long her reign will last...
Directed by Clovis Cornillac, this masterfully told historical drama, touches on a broad dissection of challenging, all too human themes - from debilitating grief to love and loss.
Maria Into Life (Maria Rêve) - Australian premiere
Watch trailer here
The always-sensational Karin Viard and Grégory Gadebois star in award-winning short filmmakers Lauriane Escaffre and Yvonnick Muller’s debut feature, an enchanting and beautifully-crafted romantic comedy about a shy, unappreciated woman who finally allows herself to open up to life and love.
Sugar and Stars (À La Belle Étoile) - Australian premiere
Watch trailer here
Based on champion pastry chef Yazid Ichemrahem’s own autobiography and starring influencer Riadh Belaïche, comes a story of struggle and triumph above all else.
All Yazid has ever wanted is to cook delicious desserts and provide for his foster family. At night he gazes longingly at the pictures of his favourite pastry chefs on the wall before he drifts off to sleep - propelled forward by his dream of becoming a great chef just like his heroes. Securing an apprenticeship at a prestigious Parisian restaurant, he must suddenly learn to navigate the elitist pastry world under the guidance of the chefs he so idolises.
November (Novembre) - Australian premiere
Watch trailer here
Cédric Jimenez’s status as one of France’s most successful contemporary directors has been cemented with his captivating new thriller, an edge-of-your seat deep-dive into one of the most incredible manhunts in European history. After premiering to acclaim at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, November stormed the local box office to become one of the most successful French films of the year (achieving a spectacular 2.4 million admissions).
Led by an all-star cast of iconic talent, November powerfully explores the perspective of the lead investigators of the French anti-terrorism services, working against the clock in the aftermath of the 2015 attacks across Paris.
Tenor (Ténor) - Australian premiere
Watch trailer here
A film that will transport you from the gritty, high-rise “banlieues” of outer Paris to the gilded splendour of the Opéra Garnier – a dissection of genres in a world where opera meets rap in musical marvel. Antoine (Mohammed Belkhir, playing under his rap name MB14) is doing it tough, barely making a living working as a food delivery driver by day, trying to make his way to the big time as a rap artist by night.
While delivering food, Antoine stumbles into a rehearsal room at the Opéra Garnier and becomes instantly enchanted.
The Innocent (L’Innocent) - Australian premiere
Watch trailer here
Taking France by storm, The Innocent holds the highest number of nominations for a single film at the upcoming 2023 César awards.
Tensions, criminal hijinks and unexpected romance collide in the uproariously entertaining new comedy hit from the multi-talented Louis Garrel. When widowed marine biologist Abel (Louis Garrel) learns that his impulsive mother Sylvie (Anouk Grinberg) is once again re-marrying – this time to an inmate she met whilst teaching theatre in prison – he’s more than uncomfortable. Doubting that convicted burglar Michel (Roschdy Zem) is capable of staying out of trouble, Abel’s protective streak kicks in…
Country Cabaret (Les Folies Fermières) - Australian premiere
Watch trailer here
Based on an outrageous true story, Country Cabaret will throw you headfirst into the most uproarious, show-stopping circus performance you’ve ever seen, brought to life on the big screen...
A testament to the power of teamwork, determination and above all else, hope. Delight in the infectious chemistry as the cast hustle together to transform a tired barn house into a dazzling theatre.
Annie’s Fire (Annie Colère) - Australian premiere
Watch trailer here
Inspired by true events, Annie’s Fire is the warm, tender, and humane film from Blandine Lenoir, starring the unstoppable Laure Calamy as an ordinary woman who becomes emboldened by a cause far bigger than herself.
February 1974, regional France. When mild-mannered working-class mother of two Annie and her husband accidentally fall pregnant, they know they can’t afford to care for another child. Annie is introduced to a group of local women and doctors who offer both judgement-free support and family planning. Far from underground, the network defiantly refuses to hide from public view, even though their efforts are considered illegal across the nation.
Ride Above (Tempête) - Australian premiere (family audience)
Watch trailer here
A film that touches the heart and bewitches the senses, Ride Above transports audiences from their seats to the stables and glistening coastlines of Normandy, France. The story follows Zoé (Carmen Kassovitz), who dreams of becoming a great jockey just like her father Philippe (Pio Marmaï).
L’AMOUR’S PROMISES
Festivalgoers are invited to experience l’amour in all its forms with:
· A career-best performance from Virginie Efira in award- winning writer/director Rebecca Zlotowski’s enchanting and profoundly moving new romantic drama, Other People’s Children.
· Oliver Peyon’s captivating adaptation of Philippe Besson’s critically acclaimed, autobiographical novel Lie with Me begs the question “do you ever really forget a first love?”
· Léa Seydoux stars as a single mother trying to balance the emotional needs of her parents, her child and herself in One Fine Morning, a sensitive and deeply personal new drama from acclaimed writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve.
· Squirm at the wickedly funny and all-too-relatable exploration of embarrassment and self-doubt in Everybody Loves Jeanne by director Céline Devaux.
UP FOR A LAUGH
There’s nothing quite like the sound of communal laughter, and the AF FFF23 offers many opportunities for comic relief:
· Éric Lavaine’s hilarious Happy 50 (Australian premiere) takes you on a dream holiday with an all-star cast that goes terribly wrong.
· The 2023 programme offers not one, but two outrageous features from absurdist director Quentin Dupieux, Smoking Causes Coughing (Australian premiere) and Incredible but True.
· Chaos ensues in A Good Doctor (Australian premiere), starring Michel Blanc as the only emergency doctor making home visits on a busy Christmas Eve in Paris.
· Indiana Jones meets Monty Python in the hilarious comedy adventure, Jack Mimoun and the Secrets of Val Verde (Australian premiere).
CANNES HIGHLIGHTS
· A standout opening night hit at Cannes Festival 2022, Oscar award-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) delivers show-stopping comedy yet again in Final Cut starring Romain Duris. Be warned, this film isn't for the squeamish or faint-hearted. Those who push past the first 20 minutes of chaos and gore will welcome an outrageous epiphany, brought about by one totally brilliant, cutting-edge twist!
· Academy Award®-winner Marion Cotillard and Melvil Poupaud star in Brother and Sister (Australian premiere), an intelligent and emotionally involving new drama from acclaimed writer/director Arnaud Desplechin.
EDGE OF YOUR SEAT DRAMA
· From director Sébastien Marnier comes The Origin of Evil. Indulge in a cinematic experience that offers wealth, opulence and danger – the story of a toxic, dysfunctional family told from behind the doors of a dazzling seaside villa.
· Academy Awards® winning director Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Notre-Dame on Fire (Australian premiere) offers a thrilling film retelling of the tragic blaze which destroyed much of the Notre-Dame cathedral in 2019.
· Saint Omer (Australian premiere), an extraordinary narrative debut feature by acclaimed documentarian Alice Diop depicts the gripping story of a young novelist who is forced to confront her own complex family history as she attends a notorious murder trial.
TASTE OF FRANCE
Culinary adventures await:
· A tribute to French and Japanese Gastronomy, Umami sees Gérard Depardieu head on a journey inspired by an exceptional bowl of noodles.
· In The Tasting, award-winning stage director Ivan Calbérac delivers a delightful and witty heartfelt romance best served with a glass of French wine.
WOMEN WITH A VOICE
· Set in the aftermath of the horrific November 2015 terrorist attacks, Virginie Efira delivers an incredibly moving and honest performance in Paris Memories (Australian premiere).
· Driving Madeleine (Australian premiere) starring Line Renaud invites us to rediscover the power of the kindness of strangers.
FINDING YOUR WAY
Explore the French free spirit:
· Embark on a bittersweet road trip with closing night film Freestyle (Australian premiere).
· Laura Wandel’s gripping Playground is arguably one of the most truthful, emotional, and memorable films made about childhood.
· Newcomer Paul Kircher shines alongside Juliette Binoche in Christophe Honoré’s most autobiographical and arguably best film to-date, Winter Boy (Australian premiere).
· Larger-than-life Gérard Depardieu brings generous helpings of his own personality to writer/director Constance Meyer’s deft, highly enjoyable new fable Robuste (Australian premiere) about an unlikely friendship.
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
Tales of limitless hope:
· Based on the real-life story of the Salt and Pepper band, Silver Rockers (Australian premiere) is a feel-good film, celebrating life at every age.
· A feel-good comedy with some of France’s brightest rising stars and established actors, The Nannies (Australian premiere) is a real crowd-pleaser.
· Based on Sylvain Tesson’s critically acclaimed novel, On the Wandering Paths (Australian premiere) is a beautiful and complex cinematic retelling of Tesson’s path to healing and the power that comes with surrendering to complete vulnerability.
ICONIC 80s
· Immerse yourself in '80s nostalgia and marvel at the coastline of the dazzling Greek islands with the beautifully-restored Luc Besson retro-cult-classic, The Big Blue.
FAMILY
Not just for adults, the festival boasts several wholesome tales to be enjoyed by all the family:
· Belle & Sebastian: Next Generation (Australian premiere) is a beloved classic, retold with a fresh modern twist – a story where one Parisian street-rat must take on the desolate mountains of the Pyrénées, forming an unbreakable bond with one particularly inquisitive dog...
· Venture into the past with acclaimed writer and artist Michel Ocelot in the spell-bounding animation, The Black Pharaoh, The Savage, and the Princess.
· The aforementioned Ride Above illustrates the beautiful connections between humans, animals and nature, with Mélanie Laurent and Pio Marmaï co-starring as parents.
For more information and to purchase tickets from 9th February, please visit affrenchfilmfestival.org
The Alliance Française French Film Festival announces its 2023 return with a new trailer: À très bientôt dans les salles de cinéma
Artistic director Karine Mauris teases her ‘coups de cœur’ *highlights ahead of the long-running festival’s 34th edition
*coup de cœur – a sudden falling in love
WATCH TRAILER HERE
Mark your cultural calendars as the countdown begins to the 2023 Alliance Française French Film Festival (AF FFF23) with a new trailer and programme highlights revealed today. Get set for a season of enchanting cinematic escapes, when the world’s largest showcase of French cinema outside of France returns to Melbourne, 8th March – 5th April 2023.
Coup de cœur for AF FFF23:
With a programme too ‘magnifique’ to keep under wraps any longer, Artistic Director Karine Mauris teases her favourite highlights, which are set to delight cinephiles and Francophiles alike.
Speaking on the line-up, Mauris says:
“Our 2023 edition is bursting with effervescence as it tells tales of resilience and limitless hope.”
“We can’t wait for festivalgoers to experience our most eclectic line-up to-date of the best contemporary French cinema. The 2023 programme will offer something for everyone, whether it be the hilarity of a meta-zombie comedy, tragic journeys with gripping consequences or adventures of l’Amour in all its forms.”
This year the leading ladies of French entertainment take centre stage, with mesmerising performances from Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Virginie Efira and Léa Seyoux, not to mention Call My Agent! favourite Laure Calamy.
Alongside one of this year’s biggest French box office successes November and The Innocent, the AF FFF23 also offers the opportunity to discover a new school of emerging French talent - newcomer Paul Kircher’s performance in Winter Boy, Céline Devaux’s directorial debut in the wickedly funny Everybody Loves Jeanne and the 2023 Academy Awards contender for Best International Feature (France) Saint Omer from Alice Diop featuring rising star Kayije Kagame.
Highlights from the 34th edition of the AF FFF23 include:
OPENING NIGHT:
· MASQUERADE (Mascarade)
FINDING COMIC RELIEF:
· FINAL CUT (Coupez !)
· EVERYBODY LOVES JEANNE (Tout le monde aime Jeanne)
· TWO TICKETS TO GREECE (Les Cyclades)
LIMITLESS HOPE:
· NOVEMBER (Novembre)
· ANNIE’S FIRE (Annie Colère)
· PARIS MEMORIES (Revoir Paris)
· NOTRE-DAME ON FIRE (Notre-Dame brûle)
L’AMOUR IN ALL FORMS
· OTHER PEOPLE’S CHILDEN (Les Enfants des autres)
· WINTER BOY (Le Lycéen)
· ONE FINE MORNING (Un Beau matin)
· THE INNOCENT (L’Innocent)
· BROTHER AND SISTER (Frère et Sœur)
· LIE WITH ME (Arrête avec tes mensonges)
2023 ACADEMY AWARDS – Best International Feature (France)
· SAINT OMER (Alice Diop)
With the full festival line-up set to be announced and tickets available from 9th February, stay tuned to the latest Alliance Française French Film Festival updates at: affrenchfilmfestival.org
DISCOVER THE BEST OF EUROPEAN CINEMA AT THE RETURN OF EUROPA! EUROPA FILM FESTIVAL
After a successful debut, Europa! Europa returns to Australia for its second year from Thursday 16 February to Tuesday 7 March 2023. An exciting line-up of 29 films from 24 different countries, including international festival favourites and star-studded blockbusters.
The festival will take place in Sydney and Melbourne, and audiences will be able to experience the most cutting-edge, boundary-pushing, and critically acclaimed European cinema of the moment. Be transported on a journey of discovery and inspiration as the festival unveils the best of what European cinema has to offer.
"Europa! Europa is a celebration of the diversity and richness of European cinema,” said Artistic Director Thomas Caldwell. “Whether you prefer relationship dramas, police thrillers, feel-good sports films, period biopics, disaster films, or comedies, we have a film for you. Our program offers a wide range of genres and styles, catering to a diversity of tastes.”
“One of the highlights of this year's festival is the Australian premiere of the new 4K restorations of Krzysztof Kieślowski's masterful Three Colours Trilogy,” added Caldwell. “These films perfectly embody the spirit of European cinema and exemplify our guiding programming principles: showcasing films that are multinational, arthouse alternatives to mainstream Hollywood cinema, and bold in their storytelling.”
OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHTS
The Blaze (France) is a French eco-thriller that follows Simon and his ageing father Joseph as they try to escape a devastating wildfire in the south of France. Directed by Quentin Reynaud and featuring standout performances by André Dussollier and Alex Lutz, The Blaze will launch the festival's program.
Closing out the festival is a special screening of Allelujah, a British film featuring a star-studded cast including Judi Dench and Jennifer Saunders. Directed by Richard Eyre and adapted from the lauded stage play by Alan Bennett, the film explores the challenges of healthcare in a geriatric hospital facing closure while paying tribute to the UK National Health Service.
INTERNATIONAL OSCAR SUBMISSIONS
Europa! Europa will screen 8 films submitted by their home countries for the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards. Highlights include Aurora’s Sunrise (Armenia), a documentary film blending animation and rediscovered footage that tells the forgotten story of a 14-year-old Armenian genocide survivor and reluctant Hollywood sensation, Aurora; Carbon (Moldova), an absurd and dark comedy that comments on war's destructive effects; and Il Boemo (Czech Republic) a film that tells the extraordinary and unknown life story of Josef 'Il Boemo' Myslivecek, a Prague miller and Mozart contemporary who became an opera composer in 18th century Italy.
A multi-award-winner at the prestigious Locarno International Film Festival, Safe Place (Croatia) is a deeply personal drama that takes place over 24 hours as a family navigates the struggles of caring for a suicidal loved one. Orchestra (Slovenia) takes audiences on an uproarious journey as a brass band of rowdy Slovenians hit the road in a tour bus to Austria to escape their daily lives.
Other Oscar submissions include Victim (Slovakia), a gripping and emotional story of a mother's relentless pursuit of justice; Kalev (Estonia), a classic underdog tale based on a true story; and A Long Break (Georgia), a tense drama that explores how we contextualize our school experiences as adults.
BOX OFFICE HITS
The Festival will showcase a selection of internationally acclaimed films that have captivated audiences across Europe. Starring Vicky Krieps and Gaspard Ulliel, in his final role, More Than Ever tells the story of a woman torn between love and empathy as she battles a life-threatening illness. My Sailor, My Love, directed by Finnish filmmaker Klaus Härö (The Fencer), is a heart-warming drama that delves into themes of love, forgiveness, and familial dynamics. In Simone: Woman of the Century, director Olivier Dahan (La Vie En Rose) presents a biopic of French feminist icon Simone Veil, tracing her journey as a Holocaust survivor, human rights advocate, and politician.
A box office smash hit in its native Germany, Wunderschön explores the interconnected lives of five women as they navigate modern issues. It was the highest grossing German film of the 2022 box office. In Stay With Us, acclaimed comedian Gad Elmaleh (Gad Elmaleh: American Dream) both directs and stars in an autobiographical comedy that reflects on acceptance, family, and the importance of understanding, as he leaves New York for Paris and converts to Catholicism. Finally, the Spanish box office hit comedy Undercover Wedding Crashers follows a classical musician and new police recruit as he goes undercover as a keyboard player to catch criminals.
Luxembourg, Luxembourg, a fun and unpredictable dramedy coming from Ukraine is about frayed family ties as two brothers attempt to reunite with their dying father and cause more chaos than intended. This humorous and humane film, inspired by the Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich’s own father's death, delivers a reprieve from the country’s current crisis with a rich story of interpersonal family relationships.
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Europa! is proud to present a selection of critically acclaimed films that wowed audiences during the 2022 film festival season. The Accusation, premiering at the Venice Film Festival and starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, delves into the intersection of class, sex, truth, and consent through the story of a power couple struggling with their son's rape accusation at Stanford University. The Odd-Job Men, a multi-award-winning film at the Locarno International Film Festival, is a smart and insightful comedy that follows the challenges of three diverse men as they navigate their roles in a small plumbing and electricity company, exploring themes of masculinity and the immigrant experience.
Remains of the Wind premiered as a Special Screening at Cannes and is a captivating drama about mob behaviour, intergenerational male toxicity, and injustice, set in a village in northern Portugal. The Beasts, nominated for Best Film at the 37th Goya Awards is a psychological thriller following a French couple in a Galician village whose refusal to implement a wind farm escalates tensions with their neighbours until the domestic dispute reaches a shocking breaking point.
Tickets to Europa! Europa are on sale now. For the full program and more information, visit europafilmfestival.com.au
2023 Europa! Europa Film Festival Screening Dates:
MELBOURNE
16 February – 7 March 2023
Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn
SYDNEY
16 February – 7 March 2023
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick
Tickets: Adults $24, Concession $18.50
Festival Passes: 10-pass $175, 20-pass $300, Festival pass $400
Stay up to date with Europa! Europa:
Website: www.europafilmfestival.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/europafilmfest
Instagram: www.instagram.com/europafilmfest
Twitter: https://twitter.com/europaeuropaff
FILMS DIRECT FROM THE WORLD’S
MOST PRESTIGIOUS FILM FESTIVALS
The 2022 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival presented by Palace, Australia’s pre-eminent event celebrating the culture and cinema of Italy, returns this Spring, promising to transport viewers on a favoloso escape to Italy. It is with much delight that we reveal the full festival line-up which will screen in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Byron Bay exclusively at Palace Cinemas, Cinema Nova, Palace Nova and Luna Palace cinemas from September 13.
The ST. ALi Italian Film Festival, presented by Palace, will open with the Australian premiere of Italian Box Office hit BELLI CIAO from popular comedy duo Pio and Amedeo. It follows two formerly inseparable friends who reunite in their hometown in Puglia after years apart, resulting in an entertaining north vs south culture clash.
Closing the festival this year will be the Oscar-winning trilogy of romantic comedies YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW (Ieri, oggi, domani) starring the inimitable Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. From acclaimed director Vittorio De Sica, this classic will be a fitting way to bid arrivederci to the festival. It also forms part of the Spotlight on Naples, the heartbeat of Italian Cinema, the festival sidebar presented by the Italian Cultural Institute Melbourne. Many films from this year’s selection were either filmed in Naples and/or from or featuring Neapolitan stars or directors, including this classic from 1963 which opens in bella Napoli.
From Official Competition in Cannes comes this year’s Festival Centrepiece: Mario Martone’s new drama NOSTALGIA, featuring a superb performance from Pierfranceso Favino, about a man who returns to his hometown of Naples after forty years and rediscovers the city’s codes and rules, facing a past that haunts him.
Two exciting announcements are the Special Presentation films coming direct from their world premieres at major international film festivals: LORD OF THE ANTS (Il signore delle formiche) starring Luigi Lo Cascio direct from its In Competition screenings at the prestigious Venice International Film Festival, is a powerful new drama based on the 1968 trial of Aldo Braibanti, a Roman intellectual whose relationship with a younger student caused a nationwide scandal; and THE HUMMINGBIRD (Il colibri), Francesca Archibugi’s star-studded ensemble drama led by Pierfrancesco Favino which follows its main character from childhood to adulthood exploring the relationships that have criss-crossed his life over the years, direct from its Gala screening at the Toronto International Film Festival and screening in the festival from October.
Three excellent documentaries will be screening this year, including the not to be missed ENNIO – THE MAESTRO (Ennio). From Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso, Malena) it celebrates the life and legacy of the legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone and features interviews with Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Bernardo Bertolucci and Hans Zimmer, plus the man himself prior to his death aged 91. There will be two special musical tribute events in Melbourne and Sydney at The Astor Theatre and Chauvel Cinema which will pay homage to Morricone’s amazing body of work.
SALVATORE: SHOEMAKER OF DREAMS directed by acclaimed filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) charts the rise of Italian shoemaker to the stars, Salvatore Ferragamo, in this love letter to the fashion icon. Tracing the birth of the Roman Empire, POWER OF ROME charts the marvels of the city and its history led by Roman native Edoardo Leo.
Festival favourite Toni Servillo features in three films – he is the lead in THE KING OF LAUGHTER (Qui rido io), and has major roles in THE INNER CAGE (Ariaferma) and CASANOVA’S RETURN (Il ritorno di Casanova). Winner of Best Director and Best Screenplay at the 2022 Nastri d’Argento Awards, THE KING OF LAUGHTER is a dazzling biography of Neapolitan comic theatre legend Eduardo Scarpetta, played by Servillo. A suspenseful drama about a group of prisoners and their guards in a remote prison, THE INNER CAGE won Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor for Silvio Orlando, who plays opposite Servillo, at the 2022 David di Donatello Awards. CASANOVA’S RETURN tells the story of a film director and a Venetian libertine who both grapple with the fact that they’re over 60.
Other highlights of the 2022 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival include:
3/19 - An intriguing new drama from Silvio Soldini in which a successful lawyer is involved in a traffic accident that results in the death of a young immigrant.
A GIRL RETURNED (L’Arminuta) - Based on a 2017 bestselling novel, this entrancing drama tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who unwillingly returns to the biological family she never knew in 1970s central Italy.
BLACKOUT LOVE – In this biting romantic comedy, Anna Foglietta plats a commitment phobic volleyball coach who has her life completely figured out, never looking back on her past relationships, until one day her ex reappears in her life.
BREAKING UP IN ROME (Lasciarsi un giorno a Roma) - An homage to the Italian capital, this heartfelt romantic comedy directed by and starring Edoardo Leo delves into the difficulties a couple faces when they separate after many years living together.
ON OUR WATCH (E noi come stronzi rimanemmo a guardare) - Taking aim at the technology multinationals that have transformed our modern world, this sci-fi comedy follows an up-and-coming manager who accidentally makes his job superfluous and must work as a delivery rider to get by.
SUPERHEROES (Supereroi) - Jasmine Trinca and Alessandro Borghi star as a mismatched couple in this tender drama from Perfect Strangers director Paolo Genovese which follows a passionate love story set over a decade.
SWING RIDE (Calcinculo) - When a fairground sets up outside her window, 15-year-old Benedetta develops an unlikely friendship with someone working there who defies gender norms and she begins a journey of discovery.
THE CODE OF SILENCE (Una Femmina) - Inspired by the true stories of women who stood up to the ‘Ndrangheta, this evocative drama about a young girl learning the truth of her mother’s death is a powerful story of resistance.
THE GREAT SILENCE (Il silenzio grande) - A screen adaptation of best-selling writer Maurizio De Giovanni's stage play, this Naples-set story from Alessandro Gassmann follows a once well-off family that is selling their house and must face up to their own secrets and silence.
THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS WITCH 2: THE ORIGINS (La Befana vien di notte 2: Le origini) - Set in the 18th century, this prequel to the hugely successful comedy The Legend of the Christmas Witch, tells the origin story of the Befana, featuring an excellent ensemble cast including Monica Bellucci.
THE PERFECT DINNER (La cena perfetta) - Suspense and a pinch of romance are the ingredients of The Perfect Dinner, a delicious comedy about a Neapolitan mafioso who is sent to Rome to launder money through a restaurant, crossing paths with a chef who dreams of winning a Michelin star.
THE SHADOW OF THE DAY (L'ombra del giorno) - After the declaration of racial laws in Fascist Italy, a restaurateur’s life changes when a girl with a dangerous secret starts to work at his restaurant in this dramatic love story starring a smouldering Riccardo Scamarcio and rising star Benedetta Porcaroli.
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU (Una relazione) - A romantic comedy that upends the way of viewing the crisis of a relationship, by following a couple who, after 15 years together, decide to separate amicably.
And as previously announced, the festival will be honouring the centenary of the birth of celebrated auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini in a retrospective presenting three of his iconic film adaptations of literary works: THE CANTERBURY TALES (I racconti di Canterbury) on its 50th anniversary, ARABIAN NIGHTS (Il fiore delle mille e una notte) and THE DECAMERON (Il Decameron) presented by Italian Cultural Institute Sydney.
The return of the festival is welcome news for naming rights sponsor ST. ALi. Lachlan Ward, co-CEO and co-owner said “Supporting the arts is paramount for ST. ALi. Supporting the Italian Film Festival is one the biggest highlights of the year for us."
Festival Director Elysia Zeccola added “It’s that time of year when we emerge from our wintery cocoons to embrace Spring and take a cinematic trip to Italy! Join us at the cinema for a ST. ALi Coffee, vino or aperitivo, as we share the enjoyment of seeing films on the big screen together.”
ALL TICKETS NOW ON SALE. For more information visit: www.italianfilmfestival.com.au
The 2022 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival presented by Palace screens in the following locations:
Sydney 13 September – 12 October, Palace Central, Palace Norton St, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinema
Canberra 14 September – 12 October, Palace Electric Cinema
Melbourne 15 September – 12 October, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema, The Astor, Cinema Nova
Brisbane 21 September – 16 October, Palace Barracks, Palace James Street
Adelaide 21 September – 16 October, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Perth 22 September – 16 October, Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville, Luna on SX, Windsor Cinema
Byron Bay 23 September – 9 October, Palace Byron Bay
For information and updates, please visit italianfilmfestival.com.au and sign up or follow us on Facebook @ItalianFF and Instagram @ItalianFilmFest for all the latest news.
The Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) returns into cinemas in 2022 with a fabulous line-up of excellent new Korean films, spanning across a range of exciting genres.
Taking place in: Sydney (18-23 Aug), Melbourne (1-5 Sept), Canberra (1-3 Sept), Brisbane (8-11 Sept), the Festival program features 13 of the finest films from Korea’s internationally recognised film industry.
KOFFIA Programmer Francis Lee says, “We put our hearts and souls into selecting 13 Korean films of diverse genres especially after the Korean film industry was heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic over the last couple of years. We feel highly confident whether you are a film buff or not, this year’s curation of 13 films will lead you to a kaleidoscopic cinematic journey encompassing the spectrum of human emotions.”
“We wish KOFFIA will continue to serve as a platform on which more and more Australians will discover and enjoy the Korean way of storytelling, cinematography, acting and many more that are resonating with the global audience.”
KOFFIA is a cinematic experience for people of all tastes, ages and cultural backgrounds. As such, every film presented at the Festival screens with English subtitles.
The program includes:
DRAMA
K-dramas are celebrated across the globe for their world-class storytelling. It’s no wonder the 2022 KOFFIA program features a slew of these masterful pieces of cinema.
The delightful and heart-breaking Broker, features 2022 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Song Kang-Ho and depicts a pair who illegally take an abandoned infant from a ‘baby box facility’ with the intention of finding the child a good home themselves.
In Front of Your Face features a former South Korean starlet, now living in anonymity in the US, which made its premiere in Cannes, capturing 24 hours in this fallen star’s life.
Decision To Leave sees a man fall from a mountain peak to his death. The detective who is carrying out the investigation meets the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. Seo-rae doesn’t show any signs of agitation at her husband’s death which results in her being a suspect of her husband’s death. As the detective observes her, he begins to develop feelings for her.
Escape from Mogadishu is set in the late 1980s at the height of the Cold War, with a diplomatic skirmish taking place in Somalia’s capital which ultimately leaves both the South and North Korean diplomats in their respective embassies, trapped.
Director Sin Suwon’s latest film Hommage is a tantalising mystery starring Lee Jeong-eun (Parasite, SFF 2019) as a filmmaker searching for missing footage from one of the first feature films directed by a South Korean woman.
In Our Prime follows an outcast in a prestigious private high school, who does not fit in due to a differing social background than his well-to-do classmates. One day, he meets Hak-sung (CHOI Min-sik, Oldboy), the school’s security guard who is actually a mathematical genius, who defected from North Korea and is now living with his past shut away. Ji-woo asks Hak-sung to teach him math, and although reluctant at first Hak-sung eventually agrees to.
CRIME
KOFFIA’s Opening Night film, Special Delivery is Park Dae-min’s crime action film that sees a secret delivery clerk dragged into a gambling crime and a long pursuit from Seoul to Busan involving a crooked police officer and his son. Starring Park So-dam (Parasite) and Director Q&A to follow the screening.
The Policeman’s Lineage follows Min-jae (CHOI Woo-shik), whose family has been in the police force for generations, and has been ordered to investigate Kang-yoon (CHO Jin-woong) secretly, who is the ace team leader of the investigation team. Min-jae has the belief of, “if the police do something illegal even if it has occurred during the process of investigation, he is also a criminal.” But while Min-jae investigates Kang-yoon, he begins to resemble Kang-yoon who has the belief of, “the chase of crime should be justified even if it's illegal.”
Hot Blooded is a film set in Kuam, a shabby port town in the shadow of the stunning port city of Busan. Hee-su is a third-rate gangster who has been acting like a hotel manager under Don Son for 20 years. Seemingly out of nowhere, Yong-kang, who fled the country as a murder suspect, returns home and begins causing trouble all over town, which only adds pressure on Hee-su.
The Roundup sees ‘Beast Cop’ MA Seok-do (Don Lee, Train to Busan) head to a foreign country to extradite a suspect, but soon discovers additional murder cases and hears about a vicious killer who has been committing crimes against tourists for several years.
FANTASY
I-an (YOON Kye-sang) loses his memory and wakes up in a new body every 12 hours in Spiritwalker, each time forced to discover who he is anew. In his desperate search to find himself, he comes across a woman who claims to recognise him. As he bores deeper into the mystery, he runs into a secretive organisation that appears to be chasing him. Before it's too late, he must find a way back into his own body. Also includes a Q+A with director Yoon Jae-keun.
MYSTERY
Toxic follows an ER doctor who suddenly lost his wife to a toxic humidifier disinfectant that claimed a large number of lives from 1994 to 2011, as he goes up against the Goliath to reveal the truth!
ROMANTIC COMEDY
Perhaps Love follows a group of people and their experiences with love and romance, like Hyun (RYU Seung-ryong), a best-selling writer, who has found himself in a slump for a long time. In the meantime, he accidentally meets Yu-jin (MU Jin-sung), an aspiring young writer.
Tickets to the Korean Film Festival in Australia are on sale now at www.koffia.com.au
2022 KOFFIA screening dates and locations:
Stay up to date with KOFFIA:
Website: www.koffia.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/koreanfilmfestival
Instagram: www.instagram.com/koreanfilmfestival
Twitter: www.twitter.com/koffiafilmfest
Showcasing the best new cinema from the Nordic region, the Carlsberg Scandinavian Film Festival returns to Palace, Palace Nova and Luna Palace Cinemas this July with a line-up designed to warm the coolest of seasons. A selection of first highlights have been announced, with a glimpse into what’s in store for Scandi film lovers next month.
From the 2022 Cannes Film Festival Critics’ Week is Finland’s The Woodcutter Story (Metsurin tarina), the directorial debut from Mikko Myllylahti. In an idyllic village, Pepe the woodcutter’s quiet life is torn apart by a series of tragic events over the course of a few days but he seems to be fine with it, as if he held a secret to existence that is hard to grasp. This idiosyncratic black comedy direct from Cannes had many people talking and will certainly be a highlight of the festival.
The Opening Night selection is an epic co-production between Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Czech Republic and Poland titled Margrete – Queen of the North (Margrete den første). A lavish historical drama set in 1402 from acclaimed director Charlotte Sieling, it explores the legacy and dilemmas faced by Denmark’s Queen Margrete, a visionary ruler who brokered the historic Kalmar Union, uniting Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
From Sweden comes a new version of the original classic epic, The Emigrants (2021) (Utvandrarna) from internationally acclaimed director Erik Poppe. Based on Vilhelm Moberg’s beloved story, it follows the emigration of a family from Sweden to the United States in the mid 1800s and stars Lisa Carlehed and Gustav Skarsgård.
Selected for many European film festivals including the 2022 Göteborg Film Festival is the absorbing mystery thriller from Iceland Quake (Skjálfti). Based on a best-selling Icelandic novel, the film stars Anita Briem as a single mother who is fighting to keep her young son while trying to piece together her life after losing her memory.
Nothing to Laugh About (Ingenting å le av) hails from Norway and tells the story of a successful stand-up comedian whose entire life changes in a single day. He sets out on a heart-warming journey to rediscover himself and his laughter in this charming dramatic comedy starring Norwegian comedian Odd-Magnus Williamson.
Danish beer brand Carlsberg are the new naming rights partner for the festival, aligning well with their international ad campaign starring actor Mads Mikkelsen. Festival goers will be able to enjoy a glass of Carlsberg beer while feasting on the best new Scandinavian cinema.
The 2022 Carlsberg Scandinavian Film Festival will take place from 12 July to 10 August.
The full programme will be announced on 23 June when tickets go on sale.
Listing details:
Sydney: 12 July - 7 august, Palace Norton, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinema
Canberra: 13 July – 7 August, Palace Electric
Melbourne: 14 July – 7 August, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema and The Astor Theatre (selected sessions)
Adelaide: 19 July – 10 August, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas
Perth: 20 July – 10 August, Luna Leederville, Luna on SX & Palace Raine Square
Brisbane: 20 July – 10 August, Palace James St, Palace Barracks
Byron Bay: 22 July – 10 August, Palace Byron Bay
From stories of unlikely friendships, strange true life events to the heroes of history, the Jewish International Film Festival (23 Feb – 3 April) makes its sparkling return to Australian cinemas, showcasing the very best of Jewish cinematic gems from around the globe.
Featuring 55 premiere films from 20 countries, the Festival will deliver a vast program; presenting 31 feature films, 25 documentaries and episodes from 1 television series, and 6 short films alongside a suite of live arts events to audiences in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra with the exciting new addition of the Gold Coast.
“Adapting to change has been a theme for all of us over the last two years and our selection of films only highlights the challenges that come with adapting to change; a story all too familiar to Jewish people,” said Jewish International Film Festival Artistic Director, Eddie Tamir. “Amongst the cacophony of infinite entertainment choices available to us today, we are privileged to present this wonderfully curated program of incredible stories for the 2022 edition of JIFF, alongside a lively program of events and experiences.”
OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHTS
Kicking the Festival into gear will be Olivier Dahan’s moving and monumental biopic Simone Veil: A Woman of the Century – sharing the extraordinary life and legacy of the French feminist icon through pivotal events of the Twentieth Century. Simone Veil: A Woman of the Century completes a trilogy of films Dahan began with Edith Piaf biopic La Vie en Rose, starring Marion Cotillard, and Grace of Monaco, starring Nicole Kidman.
Closing Night will screen the first two episodes of epic Israeli period melodrama The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, featuring an all-star cast of Michael Aloni (Shtisel), Hila Saada (The Baker & the Beauty) and Itzik Cohen (Fauda). The series spans three generations of a family set against the backdrop of the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate, and the establishment of the Jewish state.
ROOFTOP SCREENING
Melbournians can look forward to a special Classic Rooftop screening of Greener Pastures on 5 March, a laugh-out-loud comedy following an elderly man forced into destitution, who hatches a plan to sell marijuana to nursing home residents in order to buy his house back.
AUSTRALIAN STORIES
JIFF will showcase a vibrant abundance of Australian stories with film features including, Mother Mountain, which tells the story of a young, restless Jewish mother and her family struggles set in the idyllic Australian country at the base of Gulaga, a mystical and sacred Aboriginal mountain.
Marianne Mathy & Her Legacy documents a momentous figure in Australian music history who, after immigrating to Australia from Germany in 1939, went on to train many of Australia’s greatest opera singers. Japanese documentarian Mirai Osawa’s Where But Into the Sea illuminates the under-reported asylum process for Jewish people in wartime Japan and Japanese occupied Shanghai – many of whom made Australia their home.
In Australian short film The Holy Duty, Melbourne-based filmmaker Sarah Marcuson takes an intimate look into the lives of the 'Chevra Kadisha', or “Sacred Society”; a group of Jewish volunteers that spend years of their life preparing, sanctifying, and burying Jewish bodies.
FESTIVAL FEATURES
Tales of unlikely and generation defying friendships litter the program including dramedy Here Today directed by and starring beloved Hollywood icon Billy Crystal (Untogether) as a comedy veteran in the early stages of dementia who forms a bond with a New York singer played by Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip).
Tiger Within recounts the initially tense friendship between a Holocaust survivor, played by Golden Globe winner Ed Asner (The Parting Glass) and a teenage runaway. Stirring French film Haute Couture centers on Esther, who has reached the tail end of her career as Head Seamstress at the Dior Avenue Montaigne workshop and her young protégé Jade.
The history and plight of the Jewish diaspora is highlighted in films including French filmmaker Sandrine Kiberlain’s directorial debut A Radiant Girl, which premiered in the 2021 Cannes Critics’ Week that offers a moving look into the experiences of a young woman during the Occupation in Paris. The handsomely lensed black and white film Shadow Country is a unique account of life in a small Czech-Austrian village, examining the dire effects of nationalism in the aftermath of WWII. Haunting drama The Conference, shot on location at Wannsee Lake in Berlin commemorates 80 years on from the Nazi conference, which conceived the idea for the systematic mass murder of millions of Jews across Europe.
Israel’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards and winner of Best Film at the 2021 Ophir Award (Israeli Oscars) is the bittersweet satire Let It Be Morning, depicting a snapshot of the Israeli-Palestinian tensions through the eyes of a Palestinian-born Israeli man. Nominated for Best Film at the 2021 Ophir Awards is acclaimed Israeli director Avi Nesher’s (Past Life, The Other Story) Image of Victory, a stirring anti-war epic that tells the little-known story of the Battle of Nitzanim in Israel’s War of Independence.
DOCUMENTARIES
Documentaries that reflect JIFF’s 2022 theme of heroes of change include Sigmund Freud, a Jew Without God, a poetic documentary giving intimate access to the little known stories of Freud that move beyond his enigmatic ‘genius’ tag, starting with his Jewish roots in Freiberg to his experiences as a family man. Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, is a charming exploration of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and the journey of his internationally renowned hymn from record label reject to chart-topping hit. The documentary is packed full of performances from Cohen’s career, interviews with the star as well as other musicians who recorded their own versions of the song including Judy Collins and Rufus Wainwright. In I Am Here, spirited South African Holocaust survivor Ella Blumenthal reveals her astonishing life journey and unwavering appreciation of life.
Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful is a humanizing documentary on a controversial genius – his unconventional and titillating depiction of women remains a topic of controversy – with legends like Grace Jones and Isabella Rossellini weighing in.
Intimate profiles of past Israeli leaders include Upheaval, an incisive portrait of one of Israel’s most venerated and complex leader Menachem Begin, both a controversial figure and crowned peacemaker by the Nobel Prize Committee. Shamir: War, Peace and a Dream a riveting documentary bringing together a veritable roll call of Israeli politicians and generals to talk about the extraordinary life and legacy of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir; and What If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace, which features former Prime Minister Barak observing his own history and the history of the State of Israel with disillusioned clarity, while trying to figure it all out.
Juicy docos on controversial figures include thrilling true-crime documentary Dirty Tricks, offering audiences an insight into the world of competitive bridge and centered on top Israeli player Lotan Fisher who was embroiled in a massive cheating controversy. Speer Goes to Hollywood follows controversial Nazi figure Albert Speer, who dodged the death sentence and went on to attempt to callously whitewash his past. Featuring rare archival footage taken before and after WWII, the documentary explores how this close confidant of Hitler went on to become a best-selling author and TV personality and nearly convinced a big Hollywood studio to produce a bio-pic on his life.
SPECIAL EVENTS
JIFF’s expansive film program will be accompanied with a festival- long suite of special events spanning comedy, cabaret, script-reading and live music across Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick in Melbourne including exciting in-cinema Q&A events with film directors including Mother Mountain’s Celina Stang as well as jewish comedy trivia hosted by Monique Goodman and Eli Landes.
Similarly, the Ritz Cinemas, Randwick will present a complementary arts program including a star studded band of musicians performing the best of Kavaret’s songs, poems and music arrangements in tribute to Leonard Cohen and digital Q&A events including Fourth Window’s director Yair Qedar and Blue Box’s Michal Weits.
2022 Jewish International Film Festival Screening Dates
SYDNEY
3 March – 4 April Ritz Cinema, Randwick
3 March – 23 March Roseville Cinemas, Roseville
MELBOURNE
2 March – 3 April Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick
3 March – 3 April Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn
BRISBANE
10 March – 20 March New Farm Cinemas, New Farm
GOLD COAST
26 March – 3 April Dendy Cinemas, Southport (Queen Street Village)
CANBERRA
10 March – 20 March Dendy Cinemas, Canberra
PERTH
23 February – 16 March Luna Palace, Leederville
Stay up to date with JIFF:
Website: www.jiff.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JewishIFF
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jewishiff
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jiff_oz/
From hotly anticipated world premieres to captivating true tales and enthralling features from award-winning filmmakers, the Jewish International Film Festival makes its triumphant return to the silver screens of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra from 25 February – 4 April.
In 2022, the Festival will also move into Dendy Cinemas, Southport (Queen Street Village) from 26 March – 3 April, a new cinema location in the Gold Coast.
Each year, the Jewish International Film Festival presents a fresh and diverse selection of Jewish cinema from Australia and around the world. In 2022, the Festival will screen 55 feature films and a shorts package from 19 countries, including two world premiere screenings of Australian films. Audiences can also look forward to a full suite of events including live music, comedy, cabaret and more.
The Festival will launch its program with the high spirited Australian Premiere of Israeli stoner comedy Greener Pastures on Sunday 30 January at 4PM in Melbourne (Classic, Elsternwick), Sydney (Ritz, Randwick) and Perth (Luna Palace, Leederville). This laugh-out-loud feature follows an elderly man forced into destitution, who hatches an ingenious plan to sell marijuana to nursing home residents in order to buy his house back. Tickets on sale from Wednesday 15th December.
The Festival arrives in: Sydney at Ritz Cinema, Randwick (3 Mar - 4 Apr) and Roseville Cinemas, Roseville (3 - 23 Mar); Melbourne at Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick (2 Mar - 3 Apr), and Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn (3 Mar - 3 Apr); Brisbane at New Farm Cinemas (10 - 20 Mar); Gold Coast at Dendy Cinemas, Southport (Queen Street Village) (26 Mar - 3 Apr); Canberra at Dendy Cinemas (10 - 20 Mar); and Perth at Luna Palace Leederville (25 Feb - 16 Mar).
“We are thrilled to return to cinemas around Australia in 2022 with a world-class program featuring 55 feature films plus a full events suite that encapsulate the experiences of the Jewish community from Israel and the diaspora,” said Jewish International Film Festival Artistic Director, Eddie Tamir. “We’re also very excited to announce our new Gold Coast beachside home, Dendy Cinemas in Southport.”
Stay tuned for further announcements on the full program and virtual guests. Tickets on sale from Sunday 30 January.
2022 Jewish International Film Festival screening dates:
SYDNEY 3 March – 4 April Ritz Cinema, Randwick
3 March – 23 March Roseville Cinemas, Roseville
MELBOURNE 2 March – 3 April Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick
3 March – 3 April Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn
BRISBANE 10 March – 20 March New Farm Cinemas, New Farm
GOLD COAST 26 March – 3 April Dendy Cinemas, Southport (Queen Street Village)
CANBERRA 10 March – 20 March Dendy Cinemas, Canberra
PERTH 25 February – 16 March Luna Palace, Leederville
Stay up to date with JIFF:
Website: www.jiff.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JewishIFF
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jewishiff
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jiff_oz/
(And your dog needn’t stay at home)
December program released and tickets now on-sale at moonlight.com.au
The Summer of freedom is fast approaching, there is a feeling of celebration in the air and with it comes the return of Australia’s favorite outdoor cinema. Moonlight Cinema is back, and co-dependent COVID pups needn’t stay at home.
The original cinema under the stars will return to six venues Australia wide, in Sydney, Western Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and a new venue in Adelaide for this season, Rymill Park/Murlawirrapurka. Sessions will run from the end of November 2021 to April 2022 across different dates nationally (see below for locations and dates.)
Movie goers can expect a line-up of new releases including Dear Evan Hansen, based on the Tony-Award winning musical, 60’s horror film, Last Night in Soho starring Golden Globe Award winning actress, Anya Taylor-Joy, Netflix’s action comedy Red Notice starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, Marvel Studio’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage as well as family hits Clifford the Big Red Dog and Disney’s Encanto.
Also making the program are Hollywood blockbusters that may have been missed in lock-down such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with Simu Liu and Awkwafina, Black Widow starring Scarlett Johansson, Cruella with Emma Stone and Free Guy with Ryan Reynolds. As Christmas approaches, a string of festive favourites will show including Love Actually, The Holiday, Home Alone, The Grinch That Stole Christmas and Die Hard. Not to be missed for the retro-film fans, McDonalds Sing Together sessions will also be hosted where guests can unabashedly sing along to classic hits like ‘The Time of my Life’ in Dirty Dancing.
John Boero, General Manager of Entertainment Operations, Event Hospitality and Entertainment said, “After a pretty tough and isolated few months for many Australians, we are particularly excited for the return of Moonlight Cinema. Moonlight is such a quintessential Australian experience, and it’s going to feel all the more special this summer to have family and friends reunite over picnics and films at our beautiful parkland venues.”
Thanks to Green Partner, Garnier, Moonlight Cinema will be greener than ever this season, with all 470 screenings nationwide powered by 100% renewable energy from solar panels. The renewable energy will be provided from Atlas Renewables’ Solar Pivotel Satellite project in Dubbo, NSW, which will ensure minimal greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
What’s On at Moonlight Under balmy summer night skies, each Moonlight location will come to life with on-site activations, food trucks, bars and the comfiest of bean beds for humans and their four-legged friends.
This summer, there are a range of exclusive packages on offer:
• Tia Maria Platinum Experience (available at Sydney, Melbourne & Perth)
This ultimate Moonlight experience for a truly indulgent night out for two. Sink into a premium double bean bed situated in an exclusive area with prime viewing. Tickets include food and beverages delivered to your seats including an exclusive grazing box by QT Hotels, featuring locally sourced charcuterie expertly curated by the award-winning QT chefs. Plus, Tia Maria Matchatini or Espresso martinis cocktails, take home blankets and Parlour Lane popcorn.
• AAMI Gold Grass (available at all locations apart from Western Sydney)
For the best views and top-notch wait service, you can’t go past AAMI Gold Grass. The ticket includes a deluxe bean bed situated in an exclusive area with prime viewing and waiter service.
• Connoisseur Lounge
For the ice-cream lovers, tickets to the Connoisseur Lounge come with a reserved bean bed in an exclusive area and a delicious Connoisseur Gourmet Ice Cream stick. Pick from a choice of decadent flavours including their latest collaboration with chocolatier KOKO Black.
Also new this season, Moonlight will launch Parlour Lane Fiesta, a Mexican-inspired food truck. Guests can grab their nachos and churros and recline happy with a Fat Bastard wine or chilled Byron Bay Larger. As always guests can also prepare their own picnics, bring along refreshments and enjoy one of Australia’s quintessential summer experiences^ (Moonlight is BYO in all locations apart from Brisbane).
Renowned as a beloved dog-friendly night out, this season you can even book the furriest member of your family a plush dog bean bed thanks to Moonlight’s dog partner, K9 Natural, who will also have the hungry fur-babies covered for movie snacks^^.
Moonlight Cinema guests will also be able to learn more about Garnier’s ‘Green Beauty’ commitments at the Garnier Garden Cart, which will be onsite from November 2021 at film screenings across the country, with take-home samples of Garnier’s most popular products available.
Moonlight will implement COVID-safe initiatives in line with local health guidelines and recommendations, including social-distancing, capacity limits and increased hygiene measures. Taking place in sprawling parklands and under a ceiling of stars, guests can return to Moonlight with peace of mind ready to enjoy an evening outdoors with their loved ones.
TICKETS AND DECEMBER PROGRAM: www.moonlight.com.au
WHERE & WHEN:
Adelaide: *NEW Location for 2021* Rymill Park/Murlawirrapurka, opening 26th November 2021 – 16th January 2022
Brisbane: Roma Street Parkland, opening 26th November 2021 – 20th February 2022
Melbourne: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, opening 2nd December 2021 – 27th March 2022
Perth: Kings Park & Botanic Garden, opening 2nd December 2021 – 27th March 2022
Sydney: Centennial Park, opening 9th December 2021 – 3rd April 2022
Western Sydney: Lizard Log, Western Sydney Parklands, opening 16th December
2021 – 30th January 2022
* AAMI Gold Grass available at all locations apart from Western Sydney
** Tia Maria Platinum Experience available at Moonlight Cinema Sydney, Melbourne and Perth only.
^ Moonlight is BYO at all locations apart from Brisbane
^^ Moonlight Cinema is dog-friendly at all locations apart from Perth
Website: www.moonlight.com.au
Facebook: facebook.com/moonlightcinema
Instagram: http://instagram.com/moonlightcinema
With a FREE Online Feature Film & Documentary Program
Mark these dates in your diary, because the Japanese Film Festival (JFF Online 2022) is presenting a FREE Film Festival in early 2022: from 14 to 27 February.
Japanese Film Festival Director, Yurika Sugie said, “The international Festival program of hot new feature films and well-loved favourites direct from Japan, is being streamed to Australia, as part of a global initiative where 25 countries around the world will be able to see these great films at the same time.”
Japanese Film Festival Programmer, Susan Bui said, “Australians across the country can now enjoy some really cutting-edge cinema straight from Japan. The program includes hair-raising thrillers, wholesome comedies, powerful dramas, insightful documentaries and more”
JFF Online 2022, marks the second time The Japan Foundation Sydney has presented a FREE Australia-wide film Festival, with the first offered in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic.
Sign up to be the first to see the program on the 13 January 2022 at www.japanesefilmfestival.net
FESTIVAL DETAILS:
WHAT: Japanese Film Festival Online 2022
WHEN: 14 Feb – 27 Feb, 2022
WHERE: Streaming online in 25 countries including Australia
TICKETS: FREE, registration required
LANGUAGE(S): Japanese with English subtitles
Stay up to date with JFF:
JFF Australia website: www.japanesefilmfestival.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/japanesefilmfest
Instagram: www.instagram.com/japanesefilmfest
Twitter: www.twitter.com/japanfilmfest
EUROPA! EUROPA: AUSTRALIA’S NEWEST FILM FESTIVAL IS SET TO SHOWCASE EUROPEAN CINEMATIC DELIGHTS DOWN UNDER
Europa! Europa, a new film festival, will present a spectacular selection of European cinema to audiences in Melbourne and Sydney from February 4 - 27 2022.
For the first time, the world’s best new European films come to cinemas across Australia for three weeks of inspiring and entertaining Australian premiere screenings, live music and special events.
Europa! Europa will reveal their inaugural program with a screening of Dutch auteur Paul Verhoeven’s erotically charged thrille Benedetta; on January 16 in Melbourne at Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick and the film’s Sydney Premiere at Ritz Cinema, Randwick.
“From the countries who have defined arthouse and world cinema, to regions where the film industry is still small and emerging, European cinema is so incredibly rich and diverse. Europa! Europa will present a selection of dynamic films that represent the entire continent in all its complexity and wonder to Australian audiences,” said Europa! Europa's Artistic Director, Thomas Caldwell.
Program Launch tickets ($24-$28) are on sale Friday 26 November. Tickets include holy water and wafer on arrival.
Stay tuned for further announcements on the full program and ticket sales.
Stay up to date with Europa! Europa:
Website: europafilmfestival.com.au
Facebook: facebook.com/europafilmfest
Instagram: instagram.com/europafilmfest/
FROM SEOUL AND BEYOND
Celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and South Korea, the Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA), returns into cinemas in 2021 with a line-up of exquisite new Korean films, from across all genres.
Taking place in, Brisbane (16-19 Sept), Sydney (14-23 Oct), Canberra (3-7 Dec) and Melbourne (10-16 Dec) the Festival program features 22 of the finest films from Korea’s world-class film industry.
Presented by the Korean Cultural Centre Australia, KOFFIA showcases the very best of Korean culture through film, from haunting arthouse dramas, heart-pumping action, animations, thrillers and more, the Festival presents a stellar program of films from Korea’s top filmmakers.
KOFFIA Programmer Francis Lee says “Korea has always had one of the best filmmaking industries in the world, and with films like Parasite and Minari taking the western world by storm in recent years, we’re seeing a growing appreciation for the incredible artistry of Korean cinema.”
“KOFFIA provides an opportunity for Australian audiences to discover cutting-edge filmmaking by some of Korea’s greatest cinematic storytellers,” said Lee.
KOFFIA is a cinematic experience for people of all tastes, ages and cultural backgrounds. As such, every film presented at the Festival screens with English subtitles.
The program includes:
DRAMA
K-Dramas are celebrated the world over for their rich stories and quite poignancy. So it’s no wonder that the 2021 KOFFIA program features a slew of these masterful pieces of cinema.
The winner of multiple awards since its debut at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival including the Golden Globe for Best Film in a Foreign Language, Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari is a beautifully shot heartfelt drama of one family’s experience after moving from Los Angeles to Arkansas to start a farm in the early 1980’s.
Life, death, mortality and family responsibilities are at the heart of director KOH Hoon’s feature film Paper Flower which follows the life of an old mortician, his unwell son and the events that take place when a new family moves next door.
Korean box office smash Waiting for Rain is a highly anticipated addition to the Festival program. Directed by CHO Jin-mo, Waiting for Rain is an old-fashioned tale of a long-distance relationship conducted by written letter between two strangers. A man sends a love letter to his past love, but she is sick and the woman’s sister replies as her instead.
Way Back Home is about a housewife who receives a call from the police alerting her that they have arrested the man who raped her 10 years prior. Reluctant to tell her husband, her past is slowly revealed little by little, throwing married life off balance.
A debut feature film by director LEE Tae-Gyeom, I Don’t Fire Myself, is a sobering social drama that highlights the discriminatory and dark side of a modern capitalist society as a one woman faces a desperate struggle for her life and existence.
Kids are Fine is a fun-filled yet sentimental film following the adventure of three 9-year-old kids who set out on a daring journey to find one of their ailing mothers after she is transferred to a faraway hospital.
Other dramas in the Festival program include director KIM Hyun-tak’s compelling and emotional I; Somewhere in Between which follows a young man who returns home without a hope for his future and finds hope and comfort; musical film Spring Song; and the romantic dramas Double Patty, Josée and Shades of the Heart.
DOCUMENTARY
In a heart-warming ode to family and the healing power of food, director PARK Hye-Ryoung, The Wandering Chef, embarks on a journey with Korean celebrity chef IM Jiho as he travels the Korean peninsula in search of the most authentic and unique ingredients with medicinal properties.
FAMILY
A fun family adventure with a strong message of “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is the animated film Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs. The film is a parody of Snow White and follows seven dwarfs, once seven princes, who can only break their curse by kissing the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.
ACTION
Action-packed with thrillingly choreographed fight scenes, The Swordsman is set in the 17th-century during a time when ruling dynasties in Korea and China were in significant transition.
Pipeline is a gripping crime film following six thieves who hope to change their lives planning an oil heist by drilling into Korea’s biggest pipeline.
COMEDY
A surprisingly funny, smart and deep story, More Than Family, follows university student To-il who gets pregnant while dating her 19-year-old tutoring student and embarks on a journey to find her biological father.
Samjin Company English Class is a classic David and Goliath story where three talented women who are trapped in roles as mere office assistants, eventually become key drivers against an unethical corporate scheme.
Action Comedy flick, The Golden Holiday, follows a detective on holiday with his family in the Philippines who becomes entangled in an investigation of a local murder case.
THRILLER
Suspenseful mystery thriller Recalled is about a woman who wakes up one day and learns that she’s lost her memory and begins to experience hallucinations that she feels portend future murderous events. Her doting husband cares for her at home but things are not what they seem.
Deliver Us From Evil is a frenzied hit-man thriller following an assassin who goes to Thailand to solve a kidnapping case, only to find himself being chased by a man whose sibling he killed.
ADVENTURE
An adventurous fun-filled film, Collectors is a heist film that documents the journey where a team of grave robbers set out to claim an ancient king’s treasure buried in the royal tomb located in the heart of Seoul.
Tickets to the Korean Film Festival in Australia are on sale now at www.koffia.com.au
2021 KOFFIA screening dates and locations:
Brisbane: September 16 - 19 | Elizabeth Picture Theatre
Sydney: October 14 - 23 | Event Cinema George St
Canberra: December 3-7 | Palace Electric Cinema
Melbourne: December 10-16 | ACMI
Stay up to date with KOFFIA:
Website: www.koffia.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/koreanfilmfestival
Instagram: www.instagram.com/koreanfilmfestival
Twitter: www.twitter.com/koffiafilmfest
From epic fantasies to spine-tingling thrillers and avant-garde features from modern mavericks in contemporary cinema, the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) returns to Canberra, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney for its historic 25th year from 29 October to 5 December.
The 2021 Festival program will screen 15 films from the hottest newly-released feature titles spanning a diverse selection of genres from action to anime, drama, documentaries and much more.
“In celebration of JFF’s 25th year, we’re thrilled to return to cinemas and share the very best in Japanese cinema with Perth audiences,” said Japanese Film Festival Director, Yurika Sugie. “This year film connoisseurs can look forward to a stellar selection of contemporary works, international film festival favourites and award winners, alongside an incredible online program.”
Opening the Festival is Hokusai, Hajime Hashimoto’s biopic about the wildlife of legendary Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai. The star-studded cast features Yūya Yagira (Nobody Knows), Hiroshi Abe (The Crimes That Bind, JFF 2018) and Min Tanaka (Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura, JFF 2018).
Award-winning dramas include Best International Feature Audience Choice Award winner at Chicago International Film Festival Under the Open Sky, about a hardened ex-yakuza who sets out to find his long-lost mother after thirteen years behind bars; and Japan’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards True Mothers, an emotionally charged family drama directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Naomi Kawase.
The Deer King, an epic fantasy story about a world plagued by a deadly ‘Black Wolf’ disease and the two survivors believed to hold the cure for the epidemic; and Poupelle of Chimney Town, the tale of a young chimney sweep who embarks on an adventure in search of the stars beyond his grimy steampunk-esque town, are also showing. Both films were recent nominees for Best Animated Feature at the 2021 Fantasia Film Festival.
Lovers of the thriller genre will enjoy Masked Ward, a spine-tinglingly tense hostage thriller based on a popular medical mystery novel; Al Amok, a tech nightmare in which a benevolent medical AI malfunctions with deadly consequences; and The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, an occult mystery following a crime-solving duo who investigate grisly murders both human and otherworldly.
Other program highlights include Sumodo ~ The Successors of Samurai ~, an eye-opening documentary that delves into the intimate workings of what it means to be a professional sumo wrestler in modern Japan; The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn’t Kill, the action-packed sequel to Kan Eguchi’s (Riding Uphill, JFF 2019) live-action manga adaptation of The Fable; and Not Quite Dead Yet, an offbeat comedy about a metalhead singer whose wish for the demise of her disapproving father is realised with chaotic results.
JFF will also screen an online program of five films over seven days for audiences across Australia in November (15-21). The free online program of films includes Little Nights, Little Love, Dance with Me, Tora-san in Goto, The Great Passage and Gon, The Little Fox.
The full program can be found at: www.japanesefilmfestival.net.
2021 Japanese Film Festival screening dates:
CANBERRA: 29 October - 2 November
Palace Electric Cinema
PERTH: 4 - 7 November
Palace Raine Square
BRISBANE: 11 - 21 November
Palace Barracks & Palace James Street
MELBOURNE: 18 November - 5 December
The Kino Cinema & Australian Center for Moving Images
SYDNEY: 25 November - 5 December
Palace Cinemas Norton Street, Chauvel, Central, Verona
ONLINE: 15-21 November
Stay up to date with JFF:
Website: www.japanesefilmfestival.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/japanesefilmfest
Twitter: www.twitter.com/japanfilmfest
Instagram: www.instagram.com/japanesefilmfest
Screening from 20 October (with Canberra and Melbourne to follow on 17 and 19 November respectively) Palace and ST. ALi coffee are thrilled to announce the full line up for the 2021 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival. After another disrupted year, it is with great anticipation that this hallmark event celebrating Italian culture, stories and language hits screens around the country just in time to provide a much-needed escape and the chance to become immersed
in another world.
As previously announced, new cinema locations have been added for this year’s festival which will be screening in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Byron Bay and tickets will be on sale from today, Thursday 30 September. The ST. ALi Italian Film Festival will open with the Australian premiere of Daniele Luchetti’s THE TIES (Lacci) which opened last year’s Venice Film Festival and is a sumptuous marriage in crisis drama spanning several decades.
Closing the 2021 Festival will be the Roberto Rossellini classic ROME, OPEN CITY in a stunning 4K restoration. The film, which was conceived and directed amid the ruin of World War II in Rome, will be part of the Rossellini Retrospective presented by the Italian Cultural Institute Sydney alongside screen gems AMORE, JOURNEY TO ITALY, PAISAN and STROMBOLI. In addition to this retrospective the programme will also feature a celebration of classic Italian screen goddesses Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida and Claudia Cardinale with some of their most loved performances in MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE, BUONA SERA, MRS. CAMPBELL and THE LEOPARD.
The Centrepiece selection is recent winner of the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, TO CHIARA (A Chiara). Jonas Carpignano’s searing drama tells the gripping story of a 15-year-old girl from Calabria, whose family life starts to unravel when she discovers her beloved father may have criminal ties.
This year’s Special Festival Presentation is acclaimed director Nanni Moretti’s (Mia Madre, The Son's Room) latest film THREE FLOORS (Tre piani). Featuring a tremendous ensemble cast, the film traces the disparate lives of three families who reside in the same apartment block in Rome's stylish Prati neighbourhood.
Family films also feature in the programme with GLASS BOY, a heartwarming tale of courage and adventure for all ages about a young boy usually confined to his bedroom setting out to prove he can live like a normal kid, plus WHEN MUM IS AWAY...WITH THE FAMILY (10 giorni con Babbo Natale). A Christmas-themed sequel to the 2019 Festival hit 10 Days Without Mamma, the misadventures of the Rovelli family are back in this entertaining road movie, starring Fabio De Luigi and Valentina Lodovini.
For kids fifteen years and older is CAM’S WAR a tale of survival and the challenge between Good and Evil which follows a young boy and his sister on a dangerous journey through an apocalyptic world.
CAM’S WAR is also part of The Female Lens sidebar, presented by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Melbourne, which features contemporary films from female directors. The other is SIRLEY (Maledetta primavera) from upcoming director Elisa Amoruso and is a highly personal story, based upon her adolescence and a special friendship she forms when she moves to the outskirts of Rome.
Other highlights for the 2021 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival include:
EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT (Cosa sarà)
A sudden revelation about his state of health leads a man to reevaluate his relationships with his family in this personal story from director Francesco Bruni, starring Kim Rossi Stuart.
HIDDEN AWAY (Volevo nascondermi)
Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear winner Elio Germano delivers a powerhouse performance in this multi award-winning biopic about the troubled life of celebrated artist Antonio Ligabue.
IF YOU CARE FOR ME (Se mi Vuoi Bene)
A man with a knack for accidentally setting off catastrophes decides to help out the people around him but proceeds to cause them even more trouble in this entertaining comedy about friendship starring Claudio Bisio.
LIKE A CAT ON A HIGHWAY 2 (Come un gatto in tangenziale - Ritorno a Coccia di Morto)
The sequel to the comedy smash hit Like a Cat on a Highway, Paola Cortellesi and Antonio Albanese return as Monica and Giovanni, whose lives become intertwined again three years later.
PADRENOSTRO (Presented by MIFF)
A 10-year-old boy witnesses an assassination attempt on his father (Pierfrancesco Favino in a Venice Best Actor-winning role) in Claudio Noce’s personal drama, inspired by his own family trauma.
PAOLO CONTE, VIA CON ME
An enthralling documentary following the life and work of Italian singer and composer Paolo Conte, interwoven with concert footage, interviews, and reflections of the singer by other friends and colleagues such as Roberto Benigni and Isabella Rossellini.
THE PREDATORS (I predatori)
Winner of Best New Director at the 2021 David di Donatello Awards, Pietro Castellitto’s black comedy takes aim at class antagonism in contemporary Italy when two Italian families on opposite ends of the social ladder collide.
TIGERS (Tigrar)
Tigers is the enthralling true story of former Inter Milan player Martin Bengtsson's rollercoaster ride through the cutthroat world of professional soccer.
THREE PERFECT DAUGHTERS (È per il tuo bene)
Marco Giallini (Perfect Strangers, God Willing) is back - alongside Vincenzo Salemme and Giuseppe Battiston - with a comedy hit that sees three friends try to hinder the love affairs of their daughters.
YOU CAME BACK (Lasciami andare)
The Closing Night film of the 2020 Venice International Film Festival, this dramatic thriller set against a backdrop of Venice’s mysterious lagoons stars Stefano Accorsi as a man who finds himself torn between the past and the future.
And at selected theatres, FELLINI FORWARD: FROM THE CREATIVE GENIUS OF FEDERICO FELLINI presented by Campari. Direct from its Venice premiere, this pioneering project explores Fellini’s creative genius using new technology to emulate the works of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time in a new and unique movie set in Rome.
For the second year running, the ST. ALi Italian Film Festival eTicket Bundle (5 eTickets for $65 or 10 eTickets for $125) will be available as a pre-sale offer exclusive to Movie Club members and valid at all Palace Cinemas locations.
ALL TICKETS NOW ON SALE. For more information visit: www.italianfilmfestival.com.au
The 2021 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival presented by Palace screens in the following locations:
Brisbane 20 October – 14 November, Palace James Street, Palace Barracks
Adelaide 20 October – 14 November, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Perth 20 October – 14 November, Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville, Luna on SX and Windsor Cinema
Byron Bay 22 October – 7 November, Palace Byron Bay
Sydney 27 October – 21 November, Palace Norton, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinema and Palace Central
Canberra 17 November – 12 December, Palace Electric
Melbourne 19 November – 12 December, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema, The Astor and Cinema Nova
For information and updates, please visit italianfilmfestival.com.au and sign up or follow us on Facebook @ItalianFF and Instagram @ItalianFilmFest for all the latest news.
Presented by Palace, the British Film Festival’s full programme has been revealed, celebrating the best of British in a remarkable line up of 31 films, a number of which are screening for the first time in Australia.
Excellent performances from Festival favourites and brilliant newcomers will delight audiences and ignite their senses in a line up which includes the best contemporary cinema, documentaries and the chance to experience some of the most significant British films of the 1970s on the big screen.
The Festival opens with the highly anticipated Australian Premiere of THE DUKE, a heart-warming tale based on a 1961 true story of 60-year-old taxi driver Kempton Bunton who steals Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London, featuring beautiful performances from Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren.
Kenneth Branagh has written and directs BELFAST, a personal eulogy to his hometown. Starring Jamie Dornan and Judi Dench, the film is a poignant story of love, laughter and loss in one boy’s childhood, set amidst the music and social turmoil of the late 1960s Northern Ireland.
Edgar Wright’s psychological horror fantasy LAST NIGHT IN SOHO starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie, follows an aspiring fashion designer who is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer. The director has issued a message for patrons, urging them not to divulge the plot so as not to spoil it for others.
Premiering at this year’s Cannes Film Festival’s Directors Fortnight, writer-director Clio Barnard’s ALI & AVA is a compelling contemporary love story set in multi-cultural Bradford. Enveloped in music and imbued with humour, the film stars Adeel Akhtar and Claire Rushbrook.
Documentary highlights include MY FATHER AND ME, a personal film from acclaimed documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield about his relationship with his father, renowned industrial photographer Maurice Broomfield.
For music lovers ERIC CLAPTON: LOCKDOWN SESSIONS, is an intimately staged concert film from Clapton and his band, following the recording of a new live album and featuring acoustic renditions of past hits, filmed in the English countryside during the pandemic.
The amazing life story of legendary author and sister of Joan, Jackie Collins, is told in LADY BOSS: THE JACKIE COLLINS STORY which reveals the untold story of a ground-breaking author and her mission to build a one-woman literary empire.
Food and wine lovers will rejoice in SPARKLING: THE STORY OF CHAMPAGNE, a documentary exploring the world behind the pop of the cork, narrated by Stephen Fry, plus high drama over one evening in a restaurant in BOILING POINT which follows an emotionally scarred London chef who struggles to keep it together, starring Stephen Graham.
Comedy drama BEST SELLERS stars British icon Sir Michael Caine as a cranky, retired author who reluctantly embarks on a final book tour. The hilarious OFF THE RAILS (sadly Kelly Preston’s last film) follows three female friends in their 50’s as they attempt to recreate an inter-rail journey across Europe they made three decades earlier, with their friend’s 18-year-old daughter taking her mother’s place. Also starring Sally Phillips.
This year’s Festival features a special sneak preview of the highly anticipated OPERATION MINCEMEAT starring Colin Firth and Matthew McFadyen, based on the Allies’ deception effort to keep the Allied invasion of Italy hidden and outwit German troops in WW2. Also based on true events, but during WW1, is THE WAR BELOW which centres on a group of British miners called upon to dig a strategic tunnel in no man's land.
This year’s not be missed retrospective, ‘7 FROM THE 70s’ features a sublime selection of the best British films from the 1970s, four of which celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2021. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971), Stanley Kubrick’s cult classic has been described as a disturbing and thought-provoking sci-fi film and will be presented in 4K restoration where possible; also from Kubrick, BARRY LYNDON (1975), set in 18th century England stars Ryan O’Neal as an Irish rogue who wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position.
John Schlesinger’s multi award winning SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY (1971), charts the complications of a romantic relationship between a middle-aged doctor (Peter Finch), a divorcee (Glenda Jackson) and a hip, young mod artist (Murray Head). STRAW DOGS (1971), a psychological thriller directed by Sam Peckinpah, stars Dustin Hoffman as a young American who comes to rural England with his English wife and faces increasingly vicious local harassment.
Loosely based on The Who’s 1973 rock opera of the same name and directed by Franc Roddam QUADROPHENIA (1979) is both an invigorating coming-of-age tale and depiction of the defiant, drug-fueled mod subculture of early 1960s London. Directed by Joseph Losey with a screenplay by Harold Pinter, THE GO-BETWEEN (1971), depicts a torrid tale of love and forbidden love and stars Julie Christie and Alan Bates. The wonderful family film, THE RAILWAY CHILDREN (1970), adapted from Edith Nesbit's much-loved 1906 novel of the same name, follows the adventures of the Waterbury Children.
Previously announced, THE LAST BUS is a touching adventure across Britain starring Timothy Spall, which follows the journey of a pensioner who travels from Britain's most Northerly to its most Southerly point, using only local buses.
Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Josh O’Connor and Australian star Odessa Young star in MOTHERING SUNDAY, a romantic period drama set in post-World War I England about a maid who secretly plans to meet with the man she loves before he leaves to marry another woman.
FALLING FOR FIGARO from acclaimed director Ben Lewin, is a romantic comedy starring Danielle Macdonald and Joanna Lumley about a young woman who quits her job and ends things with her long-term boyfriend to chase her lifelong dream of becoming an opera singer in the Scottish Highlands.
A powerful and emotional drama starring Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes, TO OLIVIA tells the story of the tribulations behind best-selling novelist Roald Dahl's marriage to Academy Award winning actress Patricia Neal.
From revered filmmaker Terence Davies, BENEDICTION is a sumptuous portrait of 20th-century English poet and soldier Siegfried Sassoon, starring Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi.
MISS MARX is the story of Karl Marx’s youngest daughter Eleanor who followed in his footsteps fighting for social justice and starring the mesmerising Romola Garai.
Timothy Spall stars in IT SNOWS IN BENIDORM about a man searching for his missing brother and THE OBSCURE LIFE OF THE GRAND DUKE OF CORSICA whichis an intriguing meditation on life, love and architecture set during a pandemic in two different eras.
For Bowie fans, the biopic STARDUST follows a young David Bowie, played by Johnny Flynn, on a 1971 road trip across America when he was developing his Ziggy Stardust persona; NOWHERE SPECIAL is a poignant drama starring James Norton as a terminally ill man searching for the perfect family for his son; THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy, is a historic drama depicting the extraordinary true story of the eccentric British artist who transformed the public’s view of cats.
The 2021 British Film Festival is proud to partner with the UK/Australia Season, a partnership between the British Council and the Australian Government. The largest ever culture exchange between the two nations, the Season features over 200 live and digital events, asking the question ‘Who Are We Now?’, and includes the British Film Festival.
The full programme and tickets for the British Film Festival are now on sale, including the limited pre-Festival release of specially priced eTicket Bundles, exclusively at Palace Cinemas.
The British Film Festival will take place nationally from 3 November in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, and Byron Bay. In Melbourne the Festival opens on 5 November, when cinemas are allowed to re-open.
www.britishfilmfestival.com.au
The British Film Festival presented by Palace screens in the following locations:
Sydney: 3 Nov – 1 Dec, Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinemas, Palace Central
Canberra: 3 Nov – 1 Dec, Palace Electric Cinemas
Melbourne: 5 Nov – 1 Dec, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Kino Cinemas, Pentridge Cinemas and The Astor Theatre
Brisbane: 3 Nov – 1 Dec, Palace Barracks and Palace James Street
Adelaide: 3 Nov – 1 Dec, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Perth: 3 Nov – 1 Dec, Palace Raine Square, Luna on SX, Leederville and Windsor
Byron Bay: 3 – 21 Nov, Palace Byron Bay
KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE FESTIVAL:
Instagram and Facebook @BritishFilmFest
#BFF21 #BestofBritish
Showcasing a preeminent selection of contemporary French cinema, the Alliance Française French Film Festival is poised to return to Palace Cinemas for its spectacular 30th season!
Screening nationally across 7 cities and 3 satellite locations throughout March until mid-April, the Festival, which is presented by the Alliance Française in association with the Embassy of France in Australia and Unifrance Films, will be celebrating this momentous birthday edition with a thrilling selection of 54 feature films and documentaries that are guaranteed to enthral and entertain.
The full programme will be available from today at: www.affrenchfilmfestival.org
In keeping with such a momentous landmark in this sprightly Mademoiselle’s venerable history, we’re delighted to announce the proud support of several leading figures from Australia’s own film industry who will serve as esteemed Festival Patrons for 2019.
David Stratton, arguably Australia’s most beloved film critic, will once again lend his considerable expertise to this honorary role, and will be accompanied by renowned producers Liz Watts (Animal Kingdom) and Rosemary Blight (The Sapphires), both of whom have been champions of cinema for many years. Filmmakers Wayne Blair, Greg McLean and Phillip Noyce, who between them have directed an incredible slate of internationally feted film and television projects, will also be Patrons. And in a nostalgic nod to the Festival’s inaugural 1989 season, for which the Sydney Film Festival (SFF) was a partner, SFF’s current director, Nashen Moodley, will join them.
Launching this momentous 30th birthday edition nationally will be The Trouble With You (En liberté!), directed by Pierre Salvadori (Beautiful Lies, Priceless) and starring Adèle Haenel, Pio Marmaï, Audrey Tautou and Damien Bonnard. Screening courtesy of Palace Films, this sparkling comedy set on the French Riviera, premiered as the centrepiece of Directors’ Fortnight at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it emerged as a huge audience hit. An irresistible blend of laughs, action and romance, the story follows detective Yvonne, the principled young widow of the local police chief, who is horrified to learn that an innocent man has been languishing in jail for crimes committed by her late husband. Without a doubt, The Trouble With You is poised to weave its spell upon Australian audiences as it did in France, where it was a huge critical and box office success.
Although the conclusion of each season is a sad occasion for the Festival’s many devotees, this year we will say ‘au revoir’ with another wonderful comedy, Kiss & Tell (Voyez comme on danse) In this portmanteau of loosely connected storylines helmed by actor/writer/director Michel Blanc, a superb ensemble cast, including Karin Viard, Carole Bouquet and Charlotte Rampling, beguile with familial chaos, mystery, drama, deception and adultery. How will it end? The answer…in hilarious chaos!
The programme highlights of the 2019 Alliance Française French Film Festival are too numerous to include in their entirety, but here’s a taste of what’s to come:
A MAN IN A HURRY (Un home pressé)
Director: Hervé Mimran Cast: Fabrice Luchini, Leïla Bekhti, Rebecca Marder
When Alain, the powerful CEO of a car manufacturer, whose work has always come first, suffers a major stroke, he finds he must completely rebuild his life and family relationships, in this surprisingly amusing take on physical rehabilitation.
AT WAR (En guerre)
Director: Stéphane Brizé Cast: Vincent Lindon, Mélanie Rover, Jacques Borderie
After promising 1,100 employees that their livelihood would be safe if they made heavy financial sacrifices, the managers of a factory decide to close shop, sparking a ‘call-to-arms’ by the workers determined to do whatever it takes to reverse this brutal decision and save their jobs.
BY THE GRACE OF GOD (Grâce à Dieu)
Director: François Ozon Cast: Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud
By chance, a family man discovers that the priest who abused him as a youth is still working with children. Determined to see justice served, he re-establishes contact with his fellow boyhood victims who vow to see the truth be told, no matter the consequences.
CELEBRATION: YVES SAINT LAURENT
Director: Oliver Meyrou Cast: Yves Saint-Laurent, Catherine Deneuve
Go behind-the-scenes to witness the one and only Yves Saint Laurent, as he prepares his final collection. Surrounded by icons of the fashion industry we meet this larger than life, yet incredibly complex man whose legend lives on.
CLAIRE DARLING (La dernière folie de Claire Darling)
Director: Julie Bertuccelli Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, Alice Taglioni
On the first day of summer, reclusive millionaire Claire, impulsively decides to sell all her possessions, echoes of her tragic and flamboyant life, on the front lawn of her mansion – an act which sees her long-estranged daughter return home, determined to stop her mother’s ‘madness.’
DUMPED (Larguées)
Director: Eloïse Lang Cast: Miou-Miou, Camille Cottin, Camille Chamoux
Two wildly different sisters decide to take their recently ‘dumped’ 60 year-old mother, Françoise, for a getaway on a beautiful tropical island. But when they plot to boost her morale by arranging for the suave Thierry to court her, events swiftly spiral out of control.
GIRL
Director: Lukas Dhont Cast: Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter, Oliver Bodart
An adolescent transgender girl from Belgium struggles not so much with her gender identity, but with her passion to become a professional ballerina. Supported by her family, she commences her journey into gender reassignment, yet her teenage impatience and the immense pressures of ballet, push her to the brink.
HIGH LIFE
Director: Claire Denis Cast: Juliette Binoche, Robert Pattinson, André Benjamin
Far beyond our solar system, Monte and his infant daughter, Willow, the sole survivors of a prison crew where they were treated as human guinea pigs by the deranged Dr Dibs, drift closer to a black hole where all time and space cease to exist.
I FEEL GOOD
Director: Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern Cast: Jean Dujardin, Yolande Moreau
In this hilarious tale, Jacques, an unstable ne’er-do-well with perennial delusions of grandeur, reappears in the life of Monique, his long-suffering sister, to try and persuade her to join him in an outlandish plan that he’s convinced will make them both rich.
IN SAFE HANDS (Pupille)
Director: Jeanne Herry Cast: Sandrine Kiberlain, Gilles Lellouche, Éodie Bouchez
When baby Theo’s birth mother surrenders him for adoption, we are thrown deep into the milieu of the French social assistance services, exposing the conflicting conundrums faced by many woman – those giving up their babies and those desperate to have their own.
IN YOUR HANDS (Au bout des doigts)
Director Ludovic Bernard Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Lambert Wilson, Karidja Touré
Mathieu, a housing project kid who is falling into petty theft, crosses paths with Pierre, director of a prestigious music conservatory, who hears him playing piano at a railway station. Using his influence to secure private lessons for the boy, Pierre has a secret agenda: to enter Mathieu into a prestigious, international piano competition.
JEAN PAUL GAULTIER: FREAK & CHIC (Jean Paul Gaultier fait son show)
Director: Yann L’Hénoret Cast: Jean Paul Gaultier, Stéphane Bern, Daphné Bürki
Documentarian Yann L’Hénoret immerses us in the eccentric universe of this iconic genius by following the ambitious conception of the ultra-glamorous Fashion Freak Show cabaret, shooting the film’s footage across a six-month period in intimate and extravagant detail.
KNIFE+HEART (Un couteau dans le coeur)
Director Yann Gonzalez Cast: Vanessa Paradis, Kate Moran, Nicolas Maury
During a steamy 1979 Parisian summer, Anne, a gay porn producer, recently shunned by her girlfriend and editor, Loïs, strives to regain her love by shooting her most ambitious film yet. But when one of the actors is brutally murdered, she finds herself implicated in a strange and twisted investigation.
LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD (L’anée dernière à Marienbad)
Director: Alain Resnais Cast: Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha Pitoëff
As powerful today as when it first screened in 1961, this para-surrealist masterpiece from director Alain Resnais follows a group of unnamed aristocrats whose romantic interactions at a sumptuous château result in an enigmatic tale told partially in flashback.
LE GRAND BAL
Director: Laetitia Carton
Each summer, in an idyllic countryside estate south of Paris, several thousand people converge to dance over seven days and eight nights. Le Grand Bal chronicles this extraordinary annual event, where participants defy fatigue and gradually lose all sense of time as they lose themselves in the magic of dance.
NON-FICTION (Doubles vies)
Director: Olivier Assayas Cast: Guillaume Canet, Juliette Binoche, Vincent Macaigne
This slyly seductive tale of sex, lies and literature, traces the romantic and emotional fallout when a controversial writer blurs the line between fact and fiction, using his real-life love affairs - including a passionate fling with an actress who happens to be married to his editor - as fodder for his explosive new novel.
PROMISE AT DAWN (La promesse de l’aube)
Director: Eric Barbier Cast: Pierre Niney, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Didier Bourdon
From his childhood in Poland to his adolescence in Nice, to his years as a student in Paris and arduous training as a pilot during World War II, this tragi-comedy tells the story of famed French novelist and diplomat, Romain Gary, whose relationship with his endearing yet eccentric mother shaped the man he ultimately became.
RÉMI, NOBODY’S BOY (Rémi sans famille)
Director: Antoine Blossier Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Maleaume Paquin, Virginie Ledoyen
An enchanting family epic, this is the story of Rémi, a ten year-old orphan, snatched from his gentle adoptive mother and entrusted to the care of Signor Vitalis, a mysterious, itinerant musician. As they journey across the France of a bygone era, their adventures lead Rémi to ultimately discover the secret of his origins.
REVENGE
Director: Coralie Fargeat Cast: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe
In this feminist thriller, Jen is enjoying a romantic desert getaway with her wealthy, married boyfriend until his two sleazy friends arrive unannounced. Mounting tension culminates in a brutal act that sees her left for dead. But she survives and begins a relentless quest for bloody revenge.
SINK OR SWIM (Le grand bain)
Director: Gilles Lellouche Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Guillaume Canet, Benoît Poelvoorde
An uplifting comedy about a group of disenchanted middle-aged men, who, in the face of scepticism and ridicule, discover fresh self-esteem and a new purpose when they form their local pool’s first-ever all-male, synchronized swimming team.
SORRY ANGEL (Plaire, aimer et courir vite)
Director: Christophe Honoré Cast: Vincent Lacoste, Pierre Deladonchamps
Memory, longing and regret linger throughout this romantic drama set in early 90s Paris. Jacques, a worldly writer and Arthur a much-younger man, on the verge of acknowledging his true sexuality, find themselves falling for each other, but must first navigate several hurdles in this this life-affirming celebration of love and friendship.
THE FALL OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE (La chute de l’empire américain)
Director: Denys Arcand Cast: Maxim Roy, Éric Bruneau, Vincent Leclerc
In this provocative comedy, a listless loser with a wasted PhD in Philosophy finds his dull life turned upside down when he’s saddled with a fortune in stolen cash. Enlisting the help of two dubious associates, he ponders his next move whilst trying to outmanoeuvre the heisters who want ‘their’ money back.
THE IMAGE BOOK (Le livre d’image)
Director: Jean-Luc Godard Cast: Jean-Luc Godard, Dimitri Basil, Buster Keaton
This incredible work by Jean-Luc Godard, one of the luminaries of the French New Wave, is a wonder of audio-visual poetry that examines civilization, teetering on the precipice, through a provocative potpourri of cinema clips, news footage and narration, resulting in a stunning aural and visual collage.
THE NIGHT EATS THE WORLD (La nuit a dévoré le monde)
Director: Dominique Rocher Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Golshifteh Farahani, Denis Lavant
On waking in his ex-girlfriend’s apartment following a raging party, Sam is horrified to discover that zombies have invaded the streets of Paris, and he is one of the lone survivors. Petrified, he barricades himself inside the building to survive. Can he bear the solitude or will he learn that he’s not alone after all?
THE SISTERS BROTHERS
Director: Jacques Audiard Cast: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal
It's 1851, and Charlie and Eli Sisters, both brothers and assassins, accept a contract to kill a mysterious chemist that sends them on a fraught journey through the Northwest to the gold fields of California, on an adventure that tests the deadly family ties that bind.
WHO YOU THINK I AM (Celle que vous croyez)
Director: Safy Nebbou Cast: Juliette Binoche, François Civil, Guillaume Gouix
Recovering from the betrayal of her ex-husband who cast her aside for a much younger partner, Claire, a 50ish university lecturer and mother, impulsively creates a fictional Facebook profile, posing as a 24 year-old woman. But what seems like titillating fun soon leads both of her identities into increasingly dangerous territory.
Returning to Palace Cinemas for its fabulous 32nd incarnation, the Alliance Française French Film Festival, will beguile and engage audiences nationally from March 2 until mid-April at 25 locations, all of which will be adhering to stringent Covid protocols to guarantee Festival patrons a safe cinema experience.
Awash with high-octane drama, seductive romance, nail-biting suspense, historical tales that will enthral and comedies guaranteed to elevate your spirits, the 2021 Alliance Française French Film Festival will showcase multiple Première screenings and special events to be revealed today when the Festival’s website goes live at: http://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org
Presented by the Alliance Française in association with the Embassy of France in Australia and the wonderful support of their Presenting Sponsor, Peugeot Australia, this year’s choice line-up of 37 features has something to delight the most discerning cinephile.
And we’re delighted to announce that the effervescent Catriona Rowntree, one of the country’s most popular television presenters, will be our 2021 Festival Patron. Catriona, who is known to audiences throughout Australia as the host of Nine Network’s long-running travel show Getaway, has harboured a love for France and French cinema since childhood. Indeed, her passion for French culture has led to her to the Alliance Française, where she’s currently a French-language student!
Courtesy of StudioCanal Australia, the Festival will launch with the World Premiere of Eiffel, a sumptuous, romantic, costume drama which explores the passionate love affair between celebrated engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built France’s iconic Eiffel Tower, and Adrienne, a mysterious woman from his past. Portraying these ardent lovers will be French superstar Romain Duris, and the magnetic Emma Mackey.
And for Closing Night the Festival will screen #Iamhere (jesuislà) an endearing culture-clash comedy from director Éric Lartigau (The Bélier Family), starring Alain Chabat as an eminent French chef who travels to the other side of the world after he falls in love via Instagram.
What lies between is a myriad of delights, including a newly restored 4K edition of director Jean-Luc Godard’s masterpiece, Breathless (À bout de souffle) (1960), acknowledged as one of the earliest and most potent examples of French New Wave (nouvelle vague) cinema.
With a screenplay by Jean-Luc Godard and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg as a pair of narcissistic young lovers on the run from authorities following a violent and impulsive crime, no debut film since Citizen Kane (1942) has had as great an influence on cinematic trends and styles.
Some of the manifold highlights of this year’s line-up include:
ALINE
Directed by Valérie Lemercier
Cast: Valérie Lemercier, Sylvain Marcel & Martine Fontaine
Inspired by the extraordinary life of singing sensation Céline Dion, Aline is the story of a teenager from Quebec whose powerful voice propels her onto the world stage to become the darling of millions.
ANTOINETTE IN THE CÉVENNES (Antoinette dans les Cévennes)
Directed by Caroline Vignal
Cast: Laure Calamy, Benjamin Lavernhe, & Olivia Côte
School teacher Antoinette’s holiday plans are thwarted when her secret lover’s wife organises a surprise family trekking holiday in the Cévennes National Park, prompting Antoinette to follow their track, by herself, with Patrick, a protective donkey.
APPEARANCES (Les apparances)
Directed by Marc Fitoussi
Cast: Benjamin Biolay, Karin Viard, Lucas Englander & Laetitia Dosch
The wickedly entertaining new film from writer/director Marc Fitoussi, Appearances is a sexy, Chabrol-esque marital thriller, set against a luxe Vienna backdrop.
ARAB BLUES (Un divan à Tunis)
Directed by Manele Labidi
Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Majd Mastoura, & Aïcha Ben Miled
When Parisian psychotherapist Selma returns to her hometown in Tunisia, she is met with an eclectic town of locals that are both bewildered by her practice, and in desperate need of her help.
BLACK BOX (Boîte noire)
Directed by Yann Gozlan
Cast: Pierre Niney, Lou de Laâge & André Dussollier
Uncovering secrets carries a devastating toll in this thrilling story about one man’s determination to get to the bottom of what caused a horrifying plane crash.
THE BIG HIT (Une triomphe)
Directed by Emmanuel Courcol
Cast: Kad Merad, Marina Hands & David Nelo Ayala
Inspired by remarkable true events, multi-award-winning writer Emmanuel Courcol’s rousing, Cannes-selected directorial debut follows a dedicated out-of-work actor whose life takes an unexpected career turn.
BYE BYE MORONS (Adieu les cons)
Directed by Albert Dupontel
Cast: Albert Dupontel, Virginie Efira & Nicolas Marié
In this audacious dark comedy, a seriously ill woman tries to find her long-lost child with the help of a man in the middle of a bureaucratic burnout, and a blind archivist prone to over-enthusiasm.
CALAMITY, A CHILDHOOD OF MARTHA JANE CANNARY (Calamity, une enfance de Martha Jane Cannary
Directed by Rémi Chayét
Voice Cast: Salomé Boulven, Alexandra Lamy & Alexis Tomassian
Before she was Calamity Jane, great American frontierswoman, she was a high-spirited 12-year-old girl named Martha, fiercely loyal to her family with a defiant streak. Stunningly animated, this film will delight children and their parents alike. Winner of the Cristal for a Feature Film at the 2020 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
DE GAULLE
Directed by Gabriel Le Bomin
Cast: Lambert Wilson, Isabelle Carré & Olivier Gourmet
Spectacularly mounted, this fine film stirringly depicts a crucial period in the life of one of the most famous figures of modern French history. Fans of biographical drama will not be disappointed.
DELETE HISTORY (Effacer l'historique)
Directed by Gustave Kervern & Benoît Delépine
Cast: Blanche Gardin, Corinne Masiero, Denis Podalydès & Vincent Lacoste & Benoît Poelvoorde
If the complexities of the online world leave you feeling lost, confused or furious, then this laugh-out-loud film is for you. Directed by renegade duo Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine, Delete History won the 70th Silver Bear Berlinale prize at Berlin International Film Festival.
DELICIOUS (Délicieux)
Directed by Eric Besnard
Cast: Grégory Gadebois, Isabelle Carré & Benjamin Lavernhe
The mouth-watering new film from director extraordinaire Éric Besnard is sure to delight, as it depicts France’s enduring love affair with gastronomy. Premiering internationally, this splendid 18th century comedy is a wildly enjoyable tale of reignited passion, mentorship and revenge.
FAHIM, THE LITTLE CHESS PRINCE (Fahim)
Directed by Pierre-François Martin-Laval
Cast: Ahmed Assad, Gérard Depardieu & Isabelle Nanty
Finished The Queen’s Gambit and looking to fill the chess-sized hole in your life? Try this inspirational underdog story about a Bangladeshi refugee boy who takes on the world of chess (with a charmingly gruff Gerard Depardieu by his side).
FINAL SET (5ème set)
Directed by Quentin Reynaud
Cast: Alex Lutz, Ana Girardot & Kristin Scott Thomas
A tense and nail-biting drama about the high-pressure world of professional tennis playing, which follows a once promising tennis player’s last shot at winning the French Open.
GAGARINE
Directed by Fanny Liatard & Jérémy Trouilh
Cast: Lyna Khoudri, Alséni Bathily & Finnegan Oldfield
When the housing project that he calls home is condemned for demolition, 16-year-old aspiring astronaut Youri knows there is no way it can go down without a fight. Premiering at Cannes in 2020, Gagarine is a powerful story of class, race, imagination and wonder.
THE GODMOTHER (La daronne)
Directed by Jean-Paul Salomé
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Hippolyte Girardot & Farida Ouchani
The magnificent Isabelle Huppert returns to the Festival with a triumphant performance in this laugh-out-loud, French noir comedy, where the gritty realism of Breaking Bad meets the stoner comedy of a Seth Rogen movie.
IBRAHIM
Directed by Samir Guesmi
Cast: Samir Guesmi, Abdel Bendaher & Luàna Bajrami
Selected for Cannes Film Festival, prolific French actor, Samir Guesmi, makes his directorial debut with this emotionally rewarding, coming-of-age story that explores the complex and intimate relationship between a young man and his father.
LOVE AFFAIR(S) (Les choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait)
Directed by Emmanuel Mouret
Cast: Camélia Jordana, Niels Schneider & Emilie Dequenne
When two strangers are left alone in the French countryside, they fill their time by regaling each other with stories of love gained and lost. Referred to as a “more serious Love Actually”, Love Affair(s) is an entertaining and surprising exploration of the complexities of modern love.
THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN (L'homme qui a vendu sa peau)
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
Cast: Yahya Mahayni, Monica Bellucci & Dea Liane
What would it take to convince somebody to become a living canvas? For Syrian refugee Sam Ali, it is the promise of being reunited with the woman he loves. Provocative and powerful, this modern Faustian tale is the most biting art-world satire seen since The Square.
MANDIBLES
Directed by Quentin Dupieux
Cast: Grégoire Ludig, Adèle Exarchopoulos, & India Hair
Cult comedy maestro, Quentin Dupieux, is back with another absurdist film about two lovable losers and a giant fly in this totally bewildering, yet sweet and sincere story that is sure to tickle the funny bones of Festival audiences.
MISS
Directed by Ruben Alves
Cast: Alexandre Wetter, Pascale Arbillot & Thibault de Montalembert
Starring androgynous model Alexandre Wetter as a young boy who dreams of conquering the Miss France pageant, Miss is an inspiring, though-provoking film that tears apart our preconceptions of gender and challenges us to rethink the status quo.
NIGHT SHIFT (Police)
Directed by Anne Fontaine
Cast: Virginie Efira, Omar Sy, Grégory Gadebois
Set over 24-hours, three world-weary cops start to question the moral complexities of their jobs when ordered to escort a man to a plane for deportation to a country that will kill him.
PERFUMES (les parfums)
Directed by Grégory Magne
Cast: Emanuelle Devos, Grégory Montel & Sergi López
This quintessentially French comedy pairs sad-sack divorced dad Guillaume (Call My Agent!’s charming Grégory Montel) with the egotistical, but highly talented perfumer Anne Walberg (Emmanuelle Devos) in a classic odd-couple story.
POLY
Directed by Nicolas Vanier
Cast: François Cluzet, Julie Gayet & Patrick Timsit
Travel back to the 1960s to meet Poly, the Shetland pony, who has inspired children ever since she jumped from the pages of Cécile Aubry’s much-loved novel. This visually splendid new feature film – set in the breath-taking Cévennes region – will delight and inspire a whole new generation.
THE ROSE MAKER (La fine fleur)
Directed by Pierre Pinaud Cast: Catherine Frot, Melan Omerta & Fatsah Bouyamed
The brilliant Catherine Frot takes centre stage as Eve, a world-renowned rose farmer on the verge of bankruptcy, who hires three workers with no horticultural skills and must train them to help save her business.
SKIES OF LEBANON (Sous le ciel d'Alice)
Directed by Chloé Mazlo
Cast: Alba Rohrwacher, Wajdi Mouawad & Isabelle Zighondi
A poetic blending of the personal and political, this Cannes selected film combines live action with animation to create a vivid picture of Lebanon and a heart-breaking story of love during wartime, inspired by the family history of filmmaker Chloé Mazlo.
SMALL COUNTRY: AN AFRICAN CHILDHOOD (Petit pays)
Directed by Éric Barbier
Cast: Jean-Paul Rouve, Isabelle Kabano & Djibril Vancoppenolle
Inspired by an incredible true story, this is the powerful story of a young boy growing up in Burundi during the 1990s, whose world was turned upside down by the tidal wave of violence and unrest from neighbouring Rwanda.
SUMMER OF 85 (Été 85)
Directed by François Ozon
Cast: Félix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin, & Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Told in flashback and reminiscent of a retro 80s teen movie, François Ozon’s latest film is a thrilling and hot-blooded tale of love and obsession. Blending sensuality with mystery, Summer of 85 is France’s edgier answer to Call Me By Your Name.
THE WEDDING SPEECH (Le Discours)
Directed by Laurent Tirard
Cast: Benjamin Lavernhe, Sara Giraudeau & Kyan Khojandi
35 year-old Adrian is stuck in a mid-life crisis. In addition to being a neurotic hypochondriac, tonight he’s trapped in an endless family dinner, his girlfriend is not answering his texts and his future brother-in-law asks him to prepare a speech for his wedding, even though he abhors public speaking. Could it get any worse?
National dates and venues for the 2021 Alliance Française French Film Festival are:
SYDNEY:
2 - 31 March
Palace Central, Palace Verona, Palace Norton Street, Chauvel Cinema & Hayden Orpheum Cremorne
MELBOURNE:
3 - 31 March
Palace Cinema Como, Palace Balwyn, Palace, Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, Astor Theatre, The Kino & Pentridge Cinema
CANBERRA:
4 - 31 March
Palace Electric Cinema
PERTH:
10 March - 7 April
Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville, Windsor Cinema, Luna on SX & Camelot Outdoor Cinema
HOBART:
11 - 20 March
State Cinema Hobart
BRISBANE:
17 March - 13 April
Palace Barracks & Palace James Street
ADELAIDE:
23 March - 20 April
Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas & Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
BYRON BAY:
24 March - 14 April
Palace Byron Bay
PARRAMATTA:
8 - 11 April
Riverside Theatres Parramatta
Follow the Festival on social media to keep up-to-date with the latest news and events:
Official website:
http://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AFFrenchFilmFestivalAus/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/af_fff_aus
Hash Tag:
#af_fff_aus
Photo Credit: Guy Ferrandis