FIVE MUST-SEE MIFF MOVIES

The 2020 Melbourne International Film Festival is not letting Stage 4 restrictions in its home state of Victoria and a nation coping with COVID-19 to get in the way of presenting one of the most diversely curated programs on the Australian calendar. MIFF 68½ will offer 60 feature films and bundles of short works via their digital platform from August 6 through 23, leading off with Kelly Reichardt's First Cow and wrapping up with Pablo Larraín’s Ema. SCREEN-SPACE offers up five features that are on our Must-See list; capacity is limited, so jump on the Official Website without delay....

ROSE PLAYS JULIE (100m • Directed by Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor • English • Ireland, UK • Australian Premiere) 
From the MIFF Program: “Rose, an Irish veterinary student, tracks down her birth mother, successful actress Ellen. When they meet, however, Rose learns something terrible about her biological father, celebrity archaeologist Peter (played by Game of Thrones’ Aidan Gillen). Methodically, she decides to approach him ‘in character’ using the name Ellen gave her at birth, Julie – but, as she soon discovers, she’s playing a dangerous game.” 

THE GO-GO’S (97m • Directed by Alison Ellwood • English • UK, USA • Australian Premiere) 
From the MIFF Program: “They sprang, fierce and fresh, from the Los Angeles punk scene, determined to make music their way. Their 1981 debut album spent six weeks at number one, and they’re still the bestselling all-female band of all time. Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Jane Wiedlin, Gina Schock and Kathy Valentine are the Go-Go’s, and they got the beat!”

WENDY (1h 51m • Directed by Benh Zeitlin • English • USA • Australian Premiere) 
From the MIFF Program: “In this reimagining of Peter Pan, Wendy hails from a rural town in the American South. One day, she catches a boy hopping onto a train and, lured by mystery and a chance to escape her monotonous life, she jumps aboard, her two brothers in tow. Soon enough, she meets Peter and his island of verdant foliage, forever-young mischief-makers and a glimmering, gigantic underwater creature called ‘Mother’.”

SHIVA BABY (76m • Directed by Emma Seligman • English • USA • Australian Premiere) 
From the MIFF Program: “For twentysomething student Danielle (played by comedian and performer Rachel Sennott), funeral customs and courtesies are a minefield. But when her older lover and an ex-girlfriend-turned-frenemy both turn up to the shiva, too, the screwball stakes are raised. To get out of this alive, Danielle has to survive neurotic parents, nosy relatives, passive-aggressive jibes with her ex, and the baby for whom her sugar daddy is an actual daddy.”

NO HARD FEELINGS (92m • Directed by Faraz Shariat • German, Farsi, with English subtitles • Germany • Australian Premiere)
From the MIFF Program: “Parvis spends his nights hitting the clubs or hooking up with Grindr randoms. But his hedonism – and his shame around his Iranian heritage – is challenged when petty theft sentences him to community service in a refugee shelter. There, he meets Iranian refugee Amon and his sister Banafshe, and as love blossoms between the two young men, a renewed love for their shared origins likewise grows.”

VIRTUAL INDIGENOUS FILM FESTIVAL TO LAUNCH IN RECONCILIATION WEEK

The burgeoning online film festival landscape expands further with the launch of the 2020 Virtual Indigenous Film Festival this week. In conjunction with National Reconciliation Week, streaming provider Fanforce TV will present in-home content that speaks directly to the history, culture and society of Australia’s indigenous people.

National Reconciliation Week aims to teach all Australians about our shared histories, cultures and achievements. This year's theme, #InThisTogether, reminds us that we all shape our country’s journey towards an equitable and reconciled nation. National Reconciliation Week is held annually from 27 May to 3 June, as these dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey - respectively, the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision. 

The programming of the Virtual Indigenous Film Festival highlights narratives that address the intertwined ancient and contemporary indigenous experience. The six films to screen are Maya Newell’s In My Blood it Runs (pictured, right), a coming-of-age story pitting the traditions of the Arrernte/Garrwa people against state education; Daniel Gordon’s account of footballer Adam Goodes’ journey, The Australian Dream; Paul Williams’ biography of the late singer/songwriter, Gurrumul; Nicholas Wrathall’s Undermined: Tales From the Kimberley, an insight into the industrial exploitation of First Nation’s sacred land; Sera Davies’ chronicle of a family fighting for the return of their patriarch’s legacy, Namatjira Project; and, Aaron Petersen’s moving account of a disenfranchised Aboriginal youth and his rite-of-passage to manhood, Zach’s Ceremony (pictured, top).

In addition to the feature films, Fanforce TV enables audiences to ask questions and discuss topics in real time with the guest speakers and community leaders via live chat and live streaming features. Speakers and panelists include Zach and Alec Doomadgee, the stars of Zach’s Ceremony; Elke Smirl, from Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place; and, representatives from such bodies as the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, Reconciliation S.A. and Mallee District Aboriginal Services.

"It will be a great opportunity for us to speak directly to people everywhere about our film and its educational programs that have been making a real impact,” says Zach Domadgee (pictured, right), via press release. “This is what Reconciliation Week is about."

“We are hoping that the Festival will inspire lots of discussion with audiences right across Australia and New Zealand.” says Fanforce founder Danny Lachevre. “At most festivals it is difficult or intimidating for the audience to ask questions or join the conversation. This will remove those barriers and enable everyone to join in from the privacy of their homes.”

The 2020 VIRTUAL INDIGENOUS FILM FESTIVAL will run May 27 to June 3. Ticket sales and further information are available at FANFORCE TV. 

SCREEN-SPACE acknowledges and pays respect to past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that the festival may contain images or names of people who have passed away.