SCREEN-SPACE'S SWIFF SIX-PASS

“It is the journey north that the Screen-Space team (i.e., me, with my +1) have undertaken six times. The pilgrimage to Coffs Harbour for the Screenwave International Film Festival, the ever-expanding regional film celebration that brings global cinema, old and new, to the N.S.W. F.N.C. If I had to pick only six, on the Festival’s popular ‘Six Pass’, here they are, but it’s academic, as I’ll be in town for two weeks and cramming my days and nights with SWIFF sessions. As should you.” - Simon Foster, Managing Editor. 

THE SPIRAL (Dir: Maria Silvia Esteve | Argentina, 20 mins)  + LUX AETERNA (Dir: Gaspar Noè | starring Beatrice Dalle, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Abbey Lee | France, 55 mins)
Sometimes cinema should be an assault on the senses, and nobody assaults like French agitator Gaspar Noè, whose oeuvre reads like a dictionary entry for ‘uncomfortable cinema’ - Climax (2018); Love (2015); Enter the Void (2009); Irreversible (2002). The pairing of his latest, Lux Aeterna, with Argentinian surrealist auteur Maria Silvia Esteve’s stream-of-subconscious nightmare The Spiral is inspired programming; a daring, disturbing descent into film as an extension of our darkest psyche.
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THE FLY (Dir: David Cronenberg | starring Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis | U.S.A, 96 mins)
As scientist Seth Brundle, whose matter transference device accidentally becomes a high-tech gene-splicer, with horrific results, Jeff Goldblum was a revelation. There was huge industry support for him in the 1986 Best Actor Oscar race, rewarding the humanity he brought to a performance mostly buried deep in prosthetic make-up (like the nomination they gave to John Hurt for The Elephant Man), but that did not eventuate. David Cronenberg’s The Fly is a near-perfect mash-up of nightmarish body-horror and heart-breaking romantic drama. Some argue that John Carpenter’s The Thing is Hollywood’s greatest remake; for me, it comes an admirable second.
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FINAL CUT (Dir: Michel Hazanavicius | starring Romain Duris, Bérénice Bejo | France, 112 mins)
The last time that Michel Hazanavicius paid homage to the wonderful world of cinema, he won the Best Picture Oscar, with 2011’s monochromatic mute musical, The Artist. That’s probably not going to happen again for Final Cut, what with The Academy’s largely poo-pooing all things horror, but the French director’s bloody, hilarious zom-com (which opened Cannes 2022) is no less an insider’s elevated spin on the giddy, ego-driven, tempestuous island that is a modern movie set. Very groovy, very gory; if you love those early Peter Jackson films, you’ll love the latest Michel Hazanavicius one.
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ENNIO: THE MAESTRO (Dir: Giuseppe Tornatore | Italy, 156 mins)
Charting the creative journey and cultural impact of the great film composer is pure cinephile catnip, and Giuseppe Tornatore’s rousing, deeply moving documentary works on that ‘fan service’ level for every second of its 156 minutes. But where it truly soars is in its study of the man’s influences and inspirations; the chords and melodies that captured his imagination then morphed into some of the greatest film soundtracks ever written. Just ask Quentin tarantino, Oliver Stone, Barry Levinson, Clint Eastwood, Terrence Malick, and many more; Tornatore did, and their answers shed a profound light on Ennio Morricone’s musical legacy.
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INFINITY POOL (Dir: Brandon Cronenberg | starring Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth | Canada, 131 mins)
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Cronenberg household, with son Brandon’s latest, Infinity Pool, plunging into the themes of psycho-sexual, body-horror gender conflict just as his father David did with works like Crash (1996) and Dead Ringers (1988). Cronenberg Jr. is a divisive talent - couldn’t gel with his feature debut, Antiviral (2012) but really dug his follow-up Possessor (2020) - and his latest looks to be more of the intellect-challenging, stomach-churning Canadian creepiness that we’ve come to expect from the Cronenberg clan.
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CORNERS OF THE EARTH: KAMCHATKA (Dirs: Spencer Frost, Guy Williment | Australia, 90 mins)
It’s not enough for directors Spencer Frost and Guy Williment, with surfers Letty Mortenson and Fraser Dovell along for the 3-day plane/helicopter/snowmobile ride, to seek out the most remote surfing conditions in the world. It also has to be on the east coast of Russia, in sub-arctic conditions…um, there was one more thing?...oh yeah! On the very day that their host country declares war on neighbouring Ukraine! The footage of the lads taking on the brutal cold, both on land and at sea, is breathtaking; their interactions with the surfing community of Kamchatka, heartwarming; and, the isolation from western influence as the war escalates and resources are compromised, engrossing.
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Full ticketing and session details can be found at the SWIFF Official Website.

PREVIEW: 2022 SWIFF

Screenwave International Film Festival (SWIFF) has unveiled its 2022 program, a mammoth undertaking that will bring over 130 sessions and exclusive events to the Coffs Harbour region over 16 jam-packed days, from Thursday 21st April to Friday 6th May, 2022.

Building on the success of its 2021 Festival, SWIFF has cemented itself on the Australian film festival circuit as the premiere regional film event. In addition to hosting over 80 different feature films in 2022, SWIFF is looking to break its attendance record with the addition of its new Storyland music festival, taking place on Saturday 23rd April at Park Beach Reserve, headlined by Courtney Barnett and Hiatus Kaiyote.

SWIFF Artistic Director, Kate Howat says, “People are ready to embrace shared arts experiences again. Seeing the enthusiasm for the festival has given us license to grow bolder though, both in the addition of Storyland, and in the comprehensive film line-up we’ve made for all the film tragics out there, just like us.”

SWIFF audiences will be among the first in Australia to witness The Northman (pictured, right), the latest epic cinematic masterpiece from the visionary director, Robert Eggers (The Witch, 2015; The Lighthouse, 2020), featuring an all-star line up of Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Claus Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe and, in an exciting return to the big screen after a 20-year absence, Icelandic superstar Björk.

Reinforcing its status as a truly international film event, works from 40 countries feature in this year’s World Cinema program, making it the most culturally rich line-up in SWIFF history. Highlights of the program include Kogonada’s trippy sci-fier After Yang, with Colin Farrell, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar frontrunner, Drive My Car, Sebastian Meise’s Venice Best Film winner, Great Freedom; Julia Ducornau's auto-erotica Palme d'Or winner Titane; and, the great Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes Grand Prix winner, A Hero.

Already established as a festival dedicated to local sector representation, SWIFF ‘22 will comprise a line-up of the very best in new Australian films. These include the AWGIE Award winner Ablaze, directed by Alec Morgan and Tiriki Onus, and Ithak, the story of John Shipton, father of imprisoned Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, in his fight to save his son. John Shipton, Gabriel Shipton and director Ben Lawrence are guests of the Festival.

Honouring one of the most audacious filmmakers of all time, Paul Verhoeven’s catalogue of films will take centre stage in a seven film retrospective at SWIFF. Among them are the groundbreaking 1992 blockbuster Basic Instinct; the nihilistic classic, Robocop; the rarely-seen early works Spetters (1980) and Flesh+Blood (1985, and starring festival patron, Jack Thompson); and, his latest shocker, the religious satire/nunsploitation pic, Benedetta. The strand offers a unique insight into the work of a pure provocateur whose heady cinematic cocktails mix violence, sexuality, and ambiguity, with lashings of social commentary.

The program will also showcase an extensive line-up of documentaries including the Oscar-nominated Flee, a thrilling vision fusing animation and archival footage to tell the story of a gay Afghan refugee; the Australian Premiere of Sam & Mattie Make a Zombie Movie (pictured, right), the story of two New England teenagers with Down syndrome who write and shoot their first feature film; and, the self-reflexive I Get Knocked Down, from Chumbawamba founder and anarcho-punk rocker, Dunstan Bruce.

Closing SWIFF’22 will be Everything Everywhere All At Once, by visionary filmmakers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels (Swiss Army Man, 2016; The Death of Dick Long, 2020), a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure starring acclaimed actress Michelle Yeoh and the iconic Jamie Lee Curtis.

SWIFF Live returns with two film screenings accompanied by live music on stage. In Beautiful Dark: The Music of Twin Peaks, the iconic music of David Lynch’s masterpiece will be performed by Beautiful Dark, a 7-piece ensemble band, taking audiences on a journey through Lynch’s strange and mysterious world. And in an exclusive partnership with The Surf Film Archive, SWIFF ‘22 will present the World Premiere of That Was Then, This is Now, collaborating with Australian director Jolyon Hoff alongside live music composers Headland, to screen on Saturday 30th April at the CHEC Theatre.

SWIFF’22 is proudly presented by Ashton Designs, with Storyland made possible by the Australian Federal Government’s RISE Fund, and the NSW State Government through the Regional Event Acceleration Fund, Create NSW, and Regional Arts NSW.