RIVIERA SET TO REVEL IN ANTIPODEAN FILM ARTISTRY

Cinema works from Australasia descend upon the French Riviera for the 15^th annual Recontres Internationales du Cinema des Antipodes, a celebration of the diverse film cultures of the South Pacific. The celebration kicks of today in Saint Tropez.

Bernard Bories, President of the Cinema des Antipodes organising committee, has used his welcoming address to cite the many qualities that distinguish the cinema of the region. “This window opening on the far ends of the world will once again reveal diversity, uniqueness, harshness, poetry, humour, sensitivity, and a love of wide open spaces,” he states.

The seven-day event, comprises 14 feature films, 9 documentaries and 16 shorts, launches with the French premiere of Drift, co-directors Morgan O’Neill and Ben Nott’s account of Australian surf culture in the 1970s starring Xavier Samuel, Myles Pollard and Sam Worthington (pictured, right). The festival will wrap on October 20 with Nadia Tass’ Fatal Honeymoon, the made-for-TV account of the true-life investigation into the diving death of an American newlywed on Australia’s Barrier Reef; starring Harvey Keitel and Garry Sweet, the film premiered on US TV in 2012 but has earned a rare big-screen slot at the fest.

Australian actress Radha Mitchell (pictured, left) has been appointed President of 2013 Jury, and will oversee the judging of six features with Australian-born/London-based director Daniel Nettheim (Angst; The Hunter) and French thespians Patrick Braoude, Vahina Giocante and Frederic Gorny. The Australian films in competition are Ivan Sen’s Mystery Road, David Pulbrook’s Last Dance and Catriona McKenzie’s Satellite Boy; the Kiwi industry is represented by Dean Hewison’s How to Meet Girls from a Distance, Tim van Dammen’s Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song and Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland’s Shopping.

Non-competitve screenings include Craig Lahiff’s road-movie thriller Swerve; Miro Bilborough’s romantic drama Being Venice; Lawrence Johnston’s account of the making of On the Beach, Fallout; Nicolas Brike’s NZ surfing doco Sewn; and, Alyx Duncan’s familial tearjerker The Red House. Two rock-umentaries focus on the music that has been influential to Down Under culture – Ian Darling’s Paul Kelly Stories of Me and Ray Argall’s Rock of the Antipodes: The 80s.

A retrospective showing of Mario Andreacchio’s much-loved 1995 family pic Napoleon is the centerpiece of Antipodes Junior, a programming directive featuring films both for and about children; notable amongst the selection is Paora Joseph’s Maori ancestral odyssey, Tatarakihi: Children of Parihaka.  

The sector’s smaller but no less potent film industries are addressed via a strand of two Indonesian features, Kamila Andini’s acclaimed The Mirror Never Lies and the omnibus project, Rectoverso (pictured, top), a collection of five shorts from first-time women directors based upon the writings of Dewi Lestari. Elsewhere, Nune Luepack’s hour-long sociological thinkpiece Imulal, Une Terre des Racines et des Reves indicates that the filmmaking pool of New Caledonia is a richly talented one.

Recontres Internationales du Cinema des Antipodes runs October 14 to 20. Full details can be found at the Festival’s website.