REVELATION 2014 PERTH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW

Bold new ventures from the likes of Robin Wright, Nicholas Cage and Tom Hardy mingle seamlessly with the latest in socio-political commentary and underground edginess at Revelation 2014, as the west coast film festival kicks off its 17th year with a staggering 116 film screening schedule.

Scattered throughout the 10-day event are works that suggest cinema’s A-list stars are growing increasingly frustrated with Hollywood’s reliance upon comic properties and effects-heavy tentpoles. Several works featured at Revelations indicate a return to the indie film heyday, when a wave of offbeat works emerged in the wake of Tarantino’s game-changer, Pulp Fiction, many bankrolled by name players.

Launching the event on July 3 at Perth’s arthouse cinema mecca, the Luna, will be Jonathon Glazer’s hypnotic earth-bound sci-fi drama, Under the Skin. Starring Scarlett Johansson (pictured, right) in a mesmerising turn as a predatory alien scouring the Scottish countryside for men to consume, the film is a challenging sensory and intellectual vision from the director many are positioning as the rightful heir to Kubrick’s legacy.

Other marquee names that are sure to pique interest include Gia Coppola’s Palo Alto, featuring Emma Roberts, Val Kilmer and James Franco (upon whose 2010 short stories the coming-of-age drama is based); David Gordon Green’s Joe, with Nicholas Cage garnering serious awards buzz in the title role; Cold in July, which saw director Jim Mickle honoured with a Cannes Director’s Fortnight slot and stars Sam Shephard, Don Johnson and ‘Dexter’ star Michael C Hall; Steven Knight’s psycho-drama Locke, starring Tom Hardy; and, Ari Folman’s follow-up to Waltz with Bashir, the trippy meta-heavy The Congress (pictured, top), starring Robin Wright.

Perhaps no bigger personality will grace Revelation screens than the original Mr Sulu himself, George Takei, the subject of Jennifer M Kroot’s endearing and incisive bio, To Be Takei. Though certainly the highest-profile factual film in the 2014 schedule, the 19 other docos slated will just assuredly engage and, occasionally, enrage audiences, amongst them John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s Finding Vivian Maier; Hilla Medalia and Shosh Shlam’s study into internet addiction, Web Junkie; Toby Amies intimate character study, The Man Whose Mind Exploded; Pan Nalin’s religious epic, Faith Connections; and, Daniel T Skaggs’ tag-along railroad expose, Freeload.

The very best in international cinema is represented by David Wnendt’s body-image German blockbuster Wetlands, based upon Charlotte Roche’s corporeal-obsessed coming-of-age tale. The film’s graphic, often humourous depiction of a young woman (the adorable and fearless Carla Juri) and how she embraces the sights, smells and tastes of her blossoming womanhood guarantees to both shock and entertain the festival crowd. Other countries earning a prized Revelation showing include Canada (Matthew Kowalchuk’s pitch-black ‘anti-buddy’ comedy, Lawrence and Holloman; pictured, right), New Zealand (Anthony Powell’s breathtaking documentary, Antarctica: A Year on Ice), Finland (the bleak naturalism of Prijo Honcasalo’s Concrete Night), Kosovo (Lendita Zeqiraj’s short Ballkoni) and Iraq (Nesma’s Birds, a fascinating glimpse of the country from the female perspective from directors Najwan Ali and Medoo Ali). The haunting, sparse uneasiness of Lucia Puenzo’s Wakaldo (The German Doctor) highlights the benefits of the co-production, bringing together creative elements from the industries of Argentina, France, Norway and Spain.

Returning after a hugely successful run at the 2013 festival is a sidebar dedicated to the cinema of Iran, one of the global community’s most impassioned filmmaking territories. Six features will screen, including Rouholla Hejazi’s The Wedlock, Payman Maadi’s Snow on Pines and Bahman Ghobadi’s APSA winning Rhino Season. A retrospective special event will be a rare screening of Bahram Beyza’s iconic 1972 work Downpour, having been digitally restored with the support of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation.

Revelation's reputation as a supporter of home-grown film culture continues in 2014 with the program strand Get Your Shorts On! (showcasing Western Australia’s finest short film productions), three of the four films in the genre showcase Slipstream Quartet (including Joshua Tanner’s The Landing, direct from the Fantaspoa Film Festival where it scored the Best International Live Action Short award; pictured, right) and two features - the world premiere of Samantha Rebillet’s The Last Goodbye and Jason Sweeney’s bracing arthouse odyssey, The Dead Speak Back.

In addition to the screenings, academic and film culture conferences will allow guest speakers and industry professionals to both network and share their experiences with the savvy Perth film buff. Primary amongst these events is RevCon, a screen sector conference that fosters passionate creative exchange on all matters of the film production cycle and that has grown into a series of must-attend sessions over the course of the festival.

Revelation Perth International Film Festival runs from July 3 to 13 at venues in and around Perth. For full details, include the complete program and ticket sales, visit the official website.