PREVIEW: 2019 REVELATION PERTH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

When the minds behind Perth’s fearless international film soiree Revelation announced that their 2019 event would take us to another dimension…well, none of us doubted they could pull it off. The festival that has pushed the creative envelope since its formation in a Perth jazz club in 1997 as a 16mm showcase has never baulked at embracing cinema’s cutting edge.

Right now, that cutting edge new dimension is the world of the virtual, immersive movie reality and Revelation will be presenting one of the most extensive programs of the latest tech that Australian audiences have ever seen. From July 6 to 14, the specialised strand XR:WA will unveil sessions of Virtual Reality and augmented visual experiences, live team VR gameplay, workshops, talks, screenings and 360 degree films. Says respected Festival Director Richard Sowada, “It is a truly innovative program structured around ideas of possibility and opportunity”. (Pictured, below; a scene from the 360 degree film, Rone)

The 22^nd Revelation Perth International Film Festival will unspool in its entirety from July 4^th, with the Opening Night honours falling to Scandi director Thomas Vinterberg’s true-life submarine thriller, Kursk. In its wake will be a roster of 144 films, including 18 world and international premieres and 60 Australian premieres. “Film is often said to be in crisis, that people don’t go to the movies,” says Program Director Jack Sargeant, “but this isn’t our experience. Cinema remains a living medium; our audiences, and the local film communities, serve as a testament to the power of watching film.”

One of Australia’s premiere curators, Sargeant cites a typically eclectic mix as his personal 2019 favourites – Luke Lorentzen’s riveting Mexico City-set verite-doc Midnight Family; the gripping jungle-set child-soldier thriller Monos, from Brazilian Alejandro Landes; James Newitt’s remote survivalist/existential drama I Go Further Under; the racially-charged small-town coming-of-age drama Savage Youth, from filmmaker Michael Johnson; Memory The Origins of Alien, the latest deconstructionist essay on filmmaking by Alexandre O. Phillipe (The People vs George Lucas, 2010; 78/52, 2017); and, Letters to Paul Morrissey, an anthology love letter to the longtime Andy Warhol collaborator.

In addition to his opening night choice, Richard Sowada has favoured All the Gods in the Sky, mono-monikered French director Quarxx’s unsettling mash-up of drama, horror, fantasy and sci fi; documentarian Chris Martin’s thrilling profile of renowned war correspondent Marie Colvin, Under the Wire; the Indian/Swedish co-production Tumbbad (pictured, below), hailed a folk-horror masterpiece after its Best Film win at genre fest Sitges; and, Viktor Kossokovsky’s Aquarela, a rapturous ode to the might and magnificence of the globe’s most precious resource.

The Festival Director’s other favourite is Aaron Schimberg’s stirring, unique and deeply involving film-within-a-film narrative, Chained for Life. Direct from its official placement at the London Film Festival, Schimberg’s work stars Adam Pearson as the malformed star of a B-horror pic who falls for his stunning leading lady. Pearson, a sufferer of Type 1 Neurofibromatosis, came to prominence opposite Scarlett Johansson in Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin (2013); the actor, an outspoken advocate for disability awareness, will be present for the Revelations screening of the film, a vision that had Variety reviewer Dennis Harvey pondering, “What if the ‘freaks’ had made Tod Browning’s Freaks?”

Other works certain to draw audiences to the myriad of Rev-venues are Don Argott and Sheena M Joyce’s Framing John DeLorean, the docu-drama re-enactment of the wild times of the American automobile titan (featuring Alec Baldwin as the entrepreneur); the rousing, crowdpleasing expose Hail Satan?, director Penny Lane’s insider’s take on The Satanic Temple movement; and, Tim Travers Hawkins’ XY Chelsea, a forthright and revealing insight into whistleblower Chelsea Manning, both as a fighter for freedom of information and as she transitions into her new self.

Also featured in 2019 is a vast selection of short films from across the globe (in addition to Australia, America and The U.K., Revelations welcomed works from Belgium, Canada, France, Mexico, Uruguay and Japan, to name just a few); a retrospective celebrating science fiction films with screenings of classics The Quiet Earth, Things To Come, The Andromeda Strain and Alien; family friendly free sessions of animated short films under the banner International Family Animation Explosion; the popular Industrial Revelations strand, featuring festival guests exploring key aspects of the industry at dedicated panels and workshops; the music video sidebar Blind Date, spotlighting works created by local filmmakers; and, Screenwest’s annual showcase of emerging W.A. filmmaking talent in Get Your Shorts On!

REVELATIONS PERTH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL runs July 4^th-17^th. Full program and ticketing information can be found at official website.

TEN ‘FIRST GLANCE MUST-SEE’ FILMS FROM THE SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM LAUNCH

With 307 films from 55 countries rostered to unfold from June 5, it would be madness to try to tackle all of the Sydney Film Festival’s program the day it goes go public. Even Festival Director Nashen Moodley, presenting his 8^th program this morning at Sydney’s Town Hall, could only snapshot the mammoth line-up. “This year’s program holds a mirror to titanic shifts culturally and politically,” he said, highlighting qualities certainly on offer amongst the ten films that stuck in our minds after our first glance at the 2019 program. That, and so much more… 

PALM BEACH (pictured, above; l-r, Bryan Brown, Jacqueline McKenzie and Richard E. Grant)
OPENING NIGHT; WED 5 JUN 7.30 PM
Director: Rachel Ward | Screenwriters: Joanna Murray-Smith, Rachel Ward | Cast: Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Greta Scacchi.
FROM THE PROGRAM: “In Rachel Ward’s funny, uplifting drama/comedy a group of lifelong friends reunite
for a party at Sydney’s Palm Beach; but tension mounts when deep secrets emerge.
With a fantastic cast including Bryan Brown, Sam Neill, Richard E. Grant, Greta Scacchi, Jacqueline McKenzie and Heather Mitchell, Palm Beach is an exuberant and life-affirming celebration of friendship. “
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: You loved The Big Chill.

SLAM
SAT 15 JUN 2.05PM | SUN 16 JUN 4.00 PM | SUN 16 JUN 7.15 PM
Australia, France | 2018 | 115 mins | In English and Arabic with English subtitles | Australian Premiere | Director, Screenwriter: Partho Sen-Gupta | Cast: Adam Bakri, Rachael Blake, Rebecca Breeds
FROM THE PROGRAM: “A young Muslim activist and slam poet goes missing in this tense Sydney-set mystery with a sharp perspective on Islamophobia by Partho Sen-Gupta (Sunrise, SFF 2015).”
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: Partho Sen-Gupta is one of the great unheralded talents of Australian cinema. His incendiary study of intolerance and bigotry will be one of THE hot-button films of 2019.

MONOS
MON 10 JUN 6.20PM | TUE 11 JUN 4.00PM | SAT 15 JUN 6.45PM
Colombia, Argentina, The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Uruguay | 2019 | 102 mins | In English and Spanish with English subtitles | Australian Premiere |
Director: Alejandro Landes | Screenwriters: Alejandro Landes, Alexis Dos Santos | Cast: Julianne Nicholson, Moises Arias, Julian Giraldo.
FROM THE PROGRAM: “Alejandro Landes’ incendiary allegory follows child soldiers holding a female doctor hostage in a remote jungle location. A film of lush visuals and raw emotion, Monos adopts the personality of a twisted fairy-tale (commenting) on the dehumanising effect of war and the seemingly endless cycles of violence in many South American nations.”
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: Stunning locations in the service of a film that captures the horrors of close-quarters jungle warfare and psychological torment. Best trailer of the fest, too.

DIVINE LOVE
WED 5 JUN 8.30 PM | THU 13 JUN 6.00 PM  
Brazil, Uruguay, Denmark, Norway, Chile, Sweden 2018 | 100 mins | In Portuguese with English subtitles | Australian Premiere |
Director: Gabriel Mascaro | Screenwriters: Gabriel Mascaro, Rachel Ellis, Esdras Bezerra, Lucas Paraízo | Cast: Dira Paes, Julio Machado, Emílio De Melo
FROM THE PROGRAM: “Religion in Brazil in 2027 is a little strange.
Raves, drive-through churches and group sex sessions are all part and parcel of the evangelical Christian group Divino Amor.
 An unsettling, futuristic look at faith and sexuality, Divine Love is wildly imaginative, visually spectacular and entrancing, with a sharp political edge.
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: Our favourite film of SFF 2018 was Gaspar Noe’s Climax; this looks cut from the same cloth.

HER SMELL
FRI 7 JUN 8.30PM | SUN 9 JUN 6.45PM |
WED 12 JUN 8.05 PM  
USA | 2018 | 135 mins | In English | Australian Premiere | Director, Screenwriter: Alex Ross Perry | Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Dan Stevens, Cara Delevingne
FROM THE PROGRAM: “Channelling the infamous Courtney Love in her role as Becky Something, Moss is a rock star whose band has reached its use-by date. A self- destructive narcissist, Becky’s coke-fuelled tirades alienate her bandmates, partner and manager as she hurtles towards impending doom.”
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: Elizabeth Moss is on an Oscar-bound career trajectory. She’s America’s most versatile and fearless young actress.

ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH
WED 5 JUN 6.45 PM | TUE 11 JUN 6.45 PM
Canada | 2018 | 87 mins | In English, Russian, Italian, German, Mandarin, and Cantonese with English subtitles | Australian Premiere
 | Directors: Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Edward Burtynsky | Screenwriter: Jennifer Baichwal | Narrator: Alicia Vikander
FROM THE PROGRAM: The striking images demonstrate how humans are shaping our planet at an ever-increasing rate; hence the title, for this is the age in which human activity is the dominant influence on the environment. De Pencier’s epic cinematography and Alicia Vikander’s narration capture the immense power and terrible beauty of our endeavours.
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: We are the virus.

AMAZING GRACE
SUN 9 JUN 4.45 PM | MON 10 JUN 4.15 PM
USA | 2019 | 87 mins | In English | Australian Premiere | Realised and Produced by Alan Elliott
FROM THE PROGRAM: “Over two days at L.A.’s New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, accompanied by
the Southern Californian Community Choir, Aretha Franklin sang from the heart and her astounding performance was captured by filmmaker Sydney Pollack. The resulting recording, Amazing Grace, became her most successful album, but the film of her performance – for multiple reasons – was never released...until now.”
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: There has never been, and will never be, a singer like 29 year-old Aretha Franklin.

DARK PLACE
SAT 15 JUN 8.45 PM | SUN 16 JUN 6.30 PM  
Australia | 2019 | 75 mins | In English | World Premiere
Directors and Screenwriters: Björn Stewart, Perun Bonser, Kodie Bedford, Liam Phillips, Rob Braslin | Cast: Clarence Ryan, Charlie Garber, Leonie Whyman
FROM THE PROGRAM: “Australian genre cinema takes an exciting leap forward with Dark Place, a quintet of tales
that approach post-colonial Indigenous history through the lenses of horror and fantasy.”
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: The horrors endured by Australia’s indigenous population since European settlement seem entirely appropriate inspiration for a (long overdue, frankly) genre film deconstruction.

SHORT FILMS BY AGNÈS VARDA
Screening with the feature presentations as part of the sidebar VIVA VARDA.
FROM THE PROGRAM: “Across six decades Agnès Varda made over twenty short films. The titles represented in this season are perfect capsules of the times in which she lived and showcase the vast creativity that she brought to films – large and small.”
BLACK PANTHERS | FRANCE | 1968 | 30 MINS | Varda's observational doco captures the essence and impetus behind the Black Panther movement.
RÉPONSE DE FEMMES | FRANCE | 1975 | 8 MINS | Varda assembled a group and asked, “what it means to be a woman”. This is their reply.
SALUT LES CUBAINS | FRANCE | 1963 | 30 MINS | Agnès Varda travelled to Cuba to photograph life under Fidel Castro: a celebration of culture, rhythm and the women of the revolution.
UNCLE YANCO | FRANCE | 1967 | 19 MINS | Agnès Varda’s encounter with a long-lost relative brims with joy and playfulness.
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: It is a rare opportunity to see some of the finest film works from the most influential period in the history of the artform.

DEPRAVED
WED 5 JUN 8.15PM | MON 10 JUN 8.15PM
USA | 2019 | 114 mins | In English | Australian Premiere | Director, Screenwriter: Larry Fessenden | Cast: David Call, Joshua Leonard, Alex Breaux
FROM THE PROGRAM: “Mary Shelley’s classic has inspired countless
films since 1910. It’s to the enormous credit of indie horror king Larry Fessenden that Depraved feels so fresh. A scary, tense and darkly comic tale laced with hallucinatory imagery and driven by powerful emotion.”
SEE THIS BECAUSE…: Frankenstein + Fessenden (Fessenstein…?) is too good a concept to resist.

PREVIEW: GOLD COAST FILM FESTIVAL 2019

Any notions that the Gold Coast Film Festival (GCFF) is still the ‘little festival that could’ on Australia’s film event calendar are well and truly dispelled with the announcement on Friday of the 17^th annual program. Boasting a roster of 107 films, including three world, ten Australian and four Queensland premieres, the 12-day event can proudly stand alongside its fellow film celebrations in the nation's capital cities; the 2019 edition launches April 3 amongst the sun, sand and surf of the east coast tourist mecca.

In recent years, the GCFF has confirmed its status as a unique cultural event with a broad audience focus, ambitious programming and globally recognised brand. “I’m a firm believer that the best film festivals offer the public so much more than just the chance to watch movies and we have once again raised the bar on that front,” said Festival Director Lucy Fisher (via press release). “From unique pop-up cinemas on the water, in the bush and on urban streets to daily workshops for children, our massive program of events and screenings allows people to immerse themselves in film and have a little fun along the way.”

The Opening Night slot has gone to the speculative docu-drama 2040, actor/director Damon Gameau’s highly anticipated follow-up to his 2014 hit That Sugar Film. Envisioning a future in which all the right decisions about making a better society were implemented 20 years prior, 2040 will have its Australian premiere on the Gold Coast following its World Premiere at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival earlier this month.

The Gold Coast Film Festival’s own global firsts include Caitlin Farrugia and Michael Jones’ Maybe Tomorrow, a crowdpleasing comedy/drama about young filmmakers balancing the urge to create with the responsibilities of a newborn; Locusts, a noirish outback thriller from writer/director Heath Davis (Book Week, 2018); and, Storm Ashwood’s Escape and Evasion, a powerful portrayal of wartime horrors and PTSD, which was shot on the Gold Coast and has secured Closing Night honours for the young director.

Amongst the Australian premieres are David Robert Mitchell’s Cannes entrant Under the Silver Lake, the director’s follow-up to his cult horror hit It Follows and starring Andrew Garfield (pictured, top); the family drama Mia and The White Lion, director Gilles de Maistre’s remarkable account, three years in the making, of a friendship between a lonely girl (Daniah De Villiers) and the titular beast; and, the animated Brazilian film, Tito and The Birds, a story of courage and faith in the face of a global threat that employs CGI, traditional cell animation and oil painting techniques from directors Gabriel Bitar, Andre Catoto and Gustavo Steinberg.

Also debuting for local audiences will be Tony D’Aquino’s The Furies (pictured, right), an Aussie bushland spin on the classic ‘slasher in the woods’ genre. The Odin’s Eye acquisition will be the centerpiece of ‘Horror in The Hinterland’, an outdoor screening event that plonks daring horror-hounds in front of a pop-up screen somewhere on Springbrook Mountain; Drew Goddard’s 2011 cult-horror classic The Cabin in The Woods, with Chris Hemsworth, will also contribute to a new kind of horror film-watching experience for the stout-of-heart.

Other high profile titles across the 2019 line-up include Wayne Blair’s rom-com Top End Wedding, starring Miranda Tapsell, fresh from its triumphant Sundance sessions; Imogen Thomas’ heartwarming Emu Runner, the story of an indigenous girl who seeks out the spirit of her late mother by befriending her totem animal, an emu; French director Claire Denis’ first English language film, the sci-fi thriller High Life, starring Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche; surf cameraman Tony Harringtion’s spiritual saltwater odyssey, Emocean; and, Yen Tan’s Texas-set coming home/coming out drama 1985, with Virginia Madsen and Michael Chiklis.

The GCFF values the history of cinema, with several retro-screening events scheduled. The ‘Laneway Cinema’ initiative combines Asian cuisine with two Jackie Chan films, Karate Kid (2010) and Drunken Master (1978); Lady Parts podcast hosts Aimee Lindorff and Sophie Overett, with guest Maria Lewis, will dissect Wes Craven’s landmark horror pic, Scream (1996); the luxurious Spirit of Elston riverboat will host this year’s Floating Cinema event, with a romantic rooftop session of the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore flick, 50 First Dates (2004); and, the Burleigh Brewing Co. are lending their profile to a special event screening of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997).

Insider events include the Screen Industry Gala Awards, a ticketed evening hosted at the Movie World theme park/studio complex, during which the achievements of all nominees across feature films, short films, webseries and screenwriting will be celebrated. During the awards, iconic Australian actress Sigrid Thornton (pictured, right) will be presented with the 2019 Chauvel Award in recognition of her significant contribution to the Australian screen industry. Also, the festival in conjunction with Screen Queensland, will host the fifth annual Women in Film Luncheon, welcoming Greer Simpkins, producer and Head of Television at Bunya Productions, as the guest speaker.

The Gold Coast Film Festival will run April 3-14 at various locations across The Gold Coast. It is supported by its major partners Screen Queensland, the City of Gold Coast, Tourism and Events Queensland and HOTA, Home of the Arts. For all events, sessions details and ticketing visit the official website.

FORM, BEAUTY, AMBITION CELEBRATED IN MELBOURNE DESIGN WEEK FILM FESTIVAL

The third annual Melbourne Design Week will this year examine how cinema and design co-exist as art forms with a screening program of films celebrating vision, invention and ambition. The unique festival-within-a-festival has been constructed by Richard Sowada, a programmer whose status as one of our best curatorial minds was honed overseeing Perth’s Revelation and Sydney’s American Essentials seasons. “There's some real spirituality in many of the titles and they're filled with beautiful clean lines and wonderful philosophy,” he told SCREEN-SPACE, ahead of the 10-day schedule set to unfurl in Australia’s first UNESCO City of Design…

“The brief for this program was ‘experimentation’ and that's precisely what these films are about,” says Sowada (pictured, below), who has chosen films from such fields as architecture, photography, industrial and product innovation, futurism, urban planning and the history of design, as well as the aesthetics of the natural world. “They're about experimentation with space, philosophy, mechanics, texture, people, psychology and colour. With those parameters, cinema and design exist in the same space and place.”

Among the 11 films that will screen as part of the Melbourne Design Week Film Festival are Adrian McCarthy’s Portrait of a Gallery, an all-access insight into The National Gallery of Ireland’s enormous refurbishment project; Rob Lindsay’s Relics of the Future, photographer Toni Hafkenscheid’s study of iconic 1960s architectural structures once considered ‘futuristic’; Mies on Scene. Barcelona in Two Acts, a stirring account of the history of the iconic Barcelona Pavillon from directors Xavi Camprecios and Pep Martin; and, Chad Friedrich’s The Experimental City, which explores the plans to construct a full-size eco-friendly city from scratch in the isolated woods of northern Minnesota.

“The films have a different kind of character to other documentaries and they by and large marry style and content very well,” says Sowada. “They are works of art/design in their own right, filled with light, space and texture.” He points to two examples in particular as most synonymous with his programming objectives – Mark Lewis’ Inventions, a whirling tour of cityscapes that pays homage to the City Symphony films of the 1920s; and, Homo Sapiens (pictured, top), a breathtaking, heartbreaking testament to forgotten structures from Austrian visualist Nikolaus Geyrhalter. “No dialogue, true symphonic pieces that demand to be seen on the big screen in the highest fidelity,” he say, noting, “This is one of the things I think films in this genre embrace - scale.”

Further emphasizing the theme of scale and mankind’s relationship to both the natural world and landscapes of our own creation are Jennifer Baichwal’s Watermark, a visual essay on our often tenuous co-existence with water, as shot by the great photographer Edward Burtynsky; Mark Noonan’s biographical feature on arguably America’s greatest living structuralist, Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect; and, In Between the Mountains and The Oceans (trailer, below), a chronicle of the building of the great Japanese temple Ise Jingu as captured by acclaimed photographer Masa-aki Miyazawa. (Pictured, above; a still from Rob Lindsay's Relics of the Future)

Richard Sowada hopes that his line-up of films will strengthen and more clearly define the common bond between cinema and design construction. “Ultimately, they're about emotion and connection with the viewer/user,” he says. “If they're to have a lasting effect they need to come from an authentic place and have a reason to be. These deeper connections cut across time and borders - they are understandable in a universal way. They’re so clean and pure but also are filled with drama and challenge.”

The MELBOURNE DESIGN WEEK FILM FESTIVAL will run from March 14-24 at the Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn, and Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick. Full session and ticketing details can be fount at the official website.

PREVIEW: 2019 SCREENWAVE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The strengthening of Coffs Harbour as a thriving film culture hub continues on January 10 when the 2019 Screenwave International Film Festival (SWIFF) rolls out the sandy red carpet. One of New South Wales’ most prestigious yet relaxed screening events, SWIFF has crafted a rigorously challenging roster, both artistically and intellectually, with bold new works from such fearless filmmakers as Lars Von Trier, Michael Moore, Lynne Ramsay and Gaspar Noé.

The two-pronged festival directing team of Dave Horsley and Kate Howat signal this year’s direction from Opening Night, with the hot-button social satire Terror Nullius kicking off the 16-day festival. A coarse, canny and brutally funny skewering of racism, patriarchy and social injustice, it is the work of Melbourne creative team Soda Jerk (pictured, below; Soda Jerk's Dan and Dominique Angeloro) who employ montage technique to rework classic Australian film scenes into fresh contemporary commentary. Closing Night honours have been bestowed upon Julian Schnabel’s At Eternity’s Gate, featuring a Golden Globe nominated Willem Dafoe as painter Vincent van Gogh.

The 2019 program statistics are impressive -60 films from 20 countries, including 14 Australian works and 30 films from women directors. Female identity and gender politics are addressed in the strand ‘Women of Action’, which highlights five films shot through the lens of women filmmakers. These include ¡Las Sandanistas!, documentarian Jenny Murray’s account of Nicaraguan warrior women; Stephanie Wang-Breal’s Blowin’ Up, an insider’s perspective of the lawyers fighting for the rights of sex workers in America’s broken justice system; and, Maysaloun Hamoud’s In Between, an Israeli-French co-production examining the clash of old and new cultures for three Palestinian women.

The vast World Cinema line-up fully justifies SWIFF’s standing on the international festival circuit, with 21 films set to unspool. Arriving uncut after inspiring shocked walkouts at its Cannes screening is Lars Von Trier’s serial killer saga, The House That Jack Built; bad boy Gaspar Noé captures a drug-addled descent into dance-party hell in Climax (pictured, top); and, the enigmatic Lynne Ramsay explores the nature of violence with leading man Joaquin Phoenix in her hitman thriller, You Were Never Really Here.

Some of the most acclaimed films from our global region will screen in World Cinema, with Ana Urushadze’s Scary Mother (Georgia/Estonia), Hirokazu Koreeda’s Palme d’Or winner Shoplifters (Japan) and Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum (Lebanon) all earning kudos from the Asia Pacific Screen Academy’s award body. Other countries represented include The Netherlands (Lukas Dhont’s Cannes FIPRESCI prize winner, Girl); Kenya (Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki; pictured, right); Bulgaria (Milko lazarov’s Aga); and, Poland (Spoor, from the directing team of Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik).

Of course, Australian filmmakers are at the fore with strands covering fiction and non-fiction features. Heath Davis’ crowd-pleaser Book Week, Jason Raftopoulos’ father/son drama West of Sunshine starring the late Damian Hill, and Ted Wilson’s Tassie-set drama Under The Cover of Cloud are set to screen. The documentary sector will be represented by such acclaimed works as Ben Lawrence’s riveting Ghosthunter, Gabrielle Brady’s heartbreaking Island of The Hungry Ghosts, and Ben Randall’s teen-girl trafficking expose, Sisters For Sale, as well as the World Premiere of local filmmaker Ian Thompson’s Becoming Colleen.

International factual films will be presented under the banner ‘Pop Docs’, including Fahrenheit 11/9, the latest from political agitator Michael Moore, and Daniel J Clark’s flat-earther think piece, Behind the Curve. Mixing up fact and fiction will be the always popular ‘Music and The Makers’ line-up, which this year features Brett Haley’s feel-good hit Hearts Beat Loud, with Nick Offerman; Mantangi/Maya/M.I.A, Stephen Loveridge’s fly-on-the-wall coverage of the controversial UK rap sensation; and, Stephen Schible’s mesmerizing profile on the great Ryuichi Sakamoto, Coda.

SWIFF understand the breadth of its local audience and has ensured upmarket film festival types and the North Coast cool kids will be able to connect through the program. The surf film strand ‘Call of The Surf’ features the latest in ocean-themed cinema, including the late Rob Stewart’s final shark industry exposé Sharkwater Extinction and The Zimbalist Brothers profile of the Hawaiian surfing ‘new wave’ of the 1990s, Momentum Generation (pictured, right). And the amusingly-titled skater line-up, ‘Make America Skate Again’, will present three films including Bing Lui’s universally acclaimed Minding the Gap, a look at three friends who bond over their boards in America’s rust belt interior.

Two retrospective special presentations will delight cinema purists. The Coen Brothers’ cult classic O Brother, Where Art Thou? will screen accompanied by live music supplied by renowned local musos The Mid North Damn; and, in honour of the 130^th birthday of the late master of cinema Charlie Chaplin, SWIFF with screen his timeless political satire The Great Dictator.

Indicative of the festival’s commitment to regional cinema and support of young filmmakers, SWIFF will screen the work of the 20 finalists in the Nextwave youth filmmaking contest. A year-long statewide high-school and community initiative which has seen 50 workshops held in 11 New South Wales’ regions will culminate with the award ceremony on January 18 at the C.ex Coffs Auditorium, where $40,000 prize money will be distributed amongst the next generation of Australian filmmaking talent. (Pictured, right; SWIFF festival director Dave Horsley)

Read the SCREEN-SPACE interview with Scary Mother director Ana Urushadze and star Nato Murvandze here.

Read the SCREEN-SPACE review of Book Week here.

The 2019 Screenwave International Film Festival will run January 10-25 at two locations, The Jetty Memorial Theatre in Coffs Harbour and the Bellingen Memorial Hall. Full session and ticket information can be found at the official SWIFF website.