Melbourne International Film Festival

MIFF '12 Reviews: Miguel Gomes' 'Tabu' & Kim Nguyen's 'War Witch'

Simon Dang — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 18:05:03 GMT

"Tabu" (dir. Miguel Gomes, 2012)
Gomes' Berlin Film Festival sensation is an evocative, lyrical two-chapter love story separated by decades and continents that transcends what initially seems to be nothing more than an experiment in style over substance. Beginning in modern day-ish Lisbon, we are introduced to Aurora, an old woman mentally and physical deteriorating, in an equally frightening and hilarious performance by Laura Soveral. On her death bed, Aurora mentions a lover's name which is written off by two companions (her maid and an empathetic neighbour) as nonsense but, upon discovery of this man's actual existence and his arrival to the hospital, the film transports into a dreamy, fairytale-like flashback to the pair's African-set romance that audaciously couples the existing black and white, 4:3 and 16mm photography with a world where there's little-to-no spoken dialogue and narrated by Gian Luca (Carlotta Cotta with v.o. by Gomes himself) -- a character abrutly introduced only seconds before.

It's a bold and sudden move that pays off handsomely as the slow-burning romance draws audiences in with an almost Malick-like teaming of beautiful images and passive narration as Gian Luca details the inescapable magnetism between him and Aurora -- who, at this point, is the young, pregnant wife of a tea-farmer living in Colonial Africa. That's not to say the film wholly succeeds, though: the drama is intercut with a litter of oddities in the script that are entertaining but bafflingly out of place (recurring crocodiles, corny musical performances) with the final reel feeling a little over-indulgent. The charm Gomes brings to the core story, though, keeps it engrossing throughout, patricularly with the wonderous, illuminating aesthetics. [B+]

"War Witch" (dir. Kim Nguyen, 2011)
With the issue of child soldiers in Africa a hot topic courtesy of the whole KONY debacle earlier this year, this writer was fairly cautious walking into "War Witch," a film with said issue as a central theme from Canadian filmmaker Kim Nguyen. There was little to fear, though, with the harrowing, bleak tale sparing all sentimentality, centering on a 12 year old protagonist Komona as she is forced to kill her parents, initiated in and left with no choice but to adapt to life as a rebel soldier all within the first moments of the film.

Rather than meandering on this harsh reality and hamming up the cruelty, the issue of child soldier is simply a catalyst from here on in for what grows into a spiritual, redemptive coming-of-age journey for our lead as she faces the consequences not just of her actions but of her time and place. Framed throughout by Komona's reading of a letter to her unborn child, our lead is haunted by ghosts on the battle field and manages to escape death due to their appearances quickly earning her the titular "war witch" moniker and the army's respect. To emphasise the films ability to avoid preaching, our lead is actually treated fairly well by her fellow soldiers with the army's leader, the Great Tiger (Mizinga Mwinga), depicted as charismatic and gentle around her. Eventually growing tired of the lifestyle, Komona manages to escapes the rebel army with a fellow soldier as the movie falls into some heart-warming, comedic and humanistic moments before they are returned back to the truths of their society.

Thanks to the documentary style shooting and amateur actors in leading roles, the film is able to bring a stark realism to the issue with lead Rachel Mwanza remarkably fearless (she won the Best Actress award in Berlin) as is her albino soldier love interest, played by Serge Kanyinda. Traditional African music and chanting is littered throughout the pic offering audiences glimpses into a world so foreign, most would be inclined to write off as unnatural. This is also evidenced by violence in the film which is depicted with great speed, brutality and with value placed on a human life. Harrowing and unforgiving, the film offers so much more than a film about child soldiers, growing into a study of childhood and the loss of innocence in an war-ridden African nation. [B]

Four Film Festival Advertisements You Must Watch

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:55:43 GMT

In the annual movie-awards hoopla over who's got the best what, it's easy to overlook one of the best bests: Best Film Festival Advertisement.

They're tricky to produce: The ads must convey a sense of what the festival's about and what makes it unique while steering clear of the temptation to go the pomp-and-glam route. Because while festivals sound glamorous, and some can be, they're all going to look shabby next to what Hollywood can provide.

Better to highlight your quirks (festivals specialize in indie film, after all). And best of all if the festival has the courage to not take itself too damn seriously.

That last bit must be one of the hardest hurdles to overcome because festivals have many voices and it's easy for a great idea to be crushed in committee. Here's four that weren't.

Adweek highlighted three ads from the just-ended Whistler Film Festival, but this one is my favorite as it renewed my faith in princesses:

I wrote about this one, from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, in February. Festival director Roger Durling loved it, but apparently, some Santa Barbara board members were not amused to see this play in front of the 2011 films.

There's also John Malkovich in excellent form in this 2010 ad for the Karlovy Vary Film Festival:

And this one with a genius cameo by -- not going to spoil it.

"Michael" Nabs Melbourne International Film Festival Prize

Indiewire Staff — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:40:16 GMT

The 60th edition of the Melbourne International Film Festival concluded last night, and handed out a few awards.

Markus Schleinzer's "Michael" received the TeleScope Award for Best New Talent from the EU, with Saverio Costanzo's "The Solitude of Prime Numbers" receiving honorable mention.

The Age Critics’ Award for best Australian feature at MIFF 2011 was "The Eye of the Storm," Fred Schepisi's adaptation of Patrick White's acclaimed novel.

Following is a list of the shorts awards:

City of Melbourne Grand Prix for Best Short Film – "A Fine Young Man"

Film Victoria Erwin Radio Award for Best Australian Short Film – "The Palace"

Transmission Films Award for Emerging Australian Filmmaker – "At the Formal"

Cinema Nova Award for Best Fiction Short Film – "Green Crayons"

Holmesglen Award for Best Animation Short Film – "Nullarbor"

Swinburne Award for Best Documentary Short Film – "Leonids Story"

Melbourne International Film Festival Award for Best Experimental Short Film – "A History of Mutual Respect"

Melbourne Fest to Launch 60th Edition with "The Fairy"; Sets Lineup

Brian Brooks — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:46:54 GMT

It may be winter down under, but the Melbourne International Film Festival is gearing up for its 60th edition with Cannes Directors Fortnight opener "The Fairy" by Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy slated to launch the event July 21st. The film pays homage to Chaplin, Keaton and Jacques Tati, to which the filmmakers add a few contemporary socio-political twists. Overall, 300-plus films are on tap for this year's festival, running July 21 - August 7.

The festival’s largest program, International Panorama, will spotlight almost 60 films including MIFF guest Mike Mills’ "Beginners," a heartfelt film inspired by Mills’ own father’s decision to come out before his death; Festival guest Pia Marais’ "At Ellen’s Age," a frank, "insightful portrait of a life that might, quite pleasantly, be heading toward nowhere"; and Mike Cahill’s "Another Earth," a tale of love and redemption set against the philosophical quandary of a world that appears to be an exact mirror of our own.

Other highlights include a program of 12 films dubbed "Festival Scope," featuring "acclaimed new filmmaking out of the European Union." Among the films screening are "Finnesterrae," in which Spanish filmmaker and artist Sergio Caballero "blends high art and low comedy in a quirky modern-day"; and "The Solitude of Prime Numbers," adapted from the bestselling novel of the same name, a magical film that traces two decades in the lives of emotionally-scarred best friends Mattia and Alice.

Melbourne's doc highlights include a healthy dose of American fare, such as Morgan Spurlock’s "POM Wonderful: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,"about and made by product placement; Festival guest Alex Gibney’s "Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer"; "Exporting Raymond," an attempt to export the hit US TV show "Everybody Loves Raymond to Russia," making for a front row seat to a comedic culture-clash; and "Page One: A Year in the Life of the New York Times," directed by Andrew Rossi.

“'The Fairy' is that rare case of a festival-friendly film that is honorably humanist and inventive yet unapologetically accessible and comical," commented MIFF Artistic Director Michelle Carey in a statement. "That it is also whimsical and a little nostalgic makes it the perfect opening for the 60th MIFF."

[For more information and a full lineup, visit the festival's website.]

Melbourne International Film Festival To Screen "Drive," "Melancholia" And Other Cannes Titles

Indiewire — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:05:45 GMT

A total of 25 films which screened this May in Cannes will make their way down under for the 2011 Melbourne International Film Festival, including some of its most prominent successes. "Drive," a high-octane speed triller with Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan which won the Director's prize for Danish auteur Nicolas Winding Refn, will screen along with Lars Von Trier's "Melancholia," Julia Leigh's "Sleeping Beauty", Maiwenn le Besco's "Polisse," which won the Jury Prize, and "The Kid with the Bike," the latest from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.

The festival has also acquired films from outside of Cannes' main competition. From Un Certain Regard, MIFF will screen the Jury Prize-winning Russian film "Elena," Bruno Dumont's "Outside Satan" and Sean Durkin's "Martha Marcy May Marlene," which found acclaim at Sundance earlier this year.

From Director's Fortnight, MIFF will screen the much-praised Belgian coming of age film "The Giants," Natalia Almada's "El Velador" and "The Silence of Joan," the latest filmed adaptation of the Joan of Arc story, helmed by "Capitaine Achab" director Philippe Ramos.

The full program will be announced July 5, and the 2011 festival will run July 21 - August 7.

LaBruce's Gay Zombie Porn Blocked from Melbourne Film Fest

Bryce J. Renninger — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:35:55 GMT

After the film was officially announced as part of the program and published in the catalogue for the 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival (July 22 - August 8), Bruce LaBruce's latest film "L.A. Zombie" has been blocked from showing at the festival by the Office of Film and Literature Classification's Film Classification Board. The "Raspberry Reich" filmmaker submitted the softcore version of his zombie porn thriller to screen at the Melbourne festival, a version that includes no explicit anal penetration or non-prosthetic erect penises.

Commenting on the board's decision, LaBruce made the following statement: "Censorship in any form should not be tolerated, but to ban a film that one programmer at a major festival has called 'a masterpiece of melancholia' is truly beyond the pale." The film follows an alien zombie (French porn star François Sagat) who emerges from the ocean and continues on to find dead bodies in L.A. He proceeds to bring these dead bodies back to life by having sex with them. LaBruce's last film, "Otto; or, Up with Dead People," for which "L.A. Zombie" is somewhat of a sequel, screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and the 2008 Berlinale.

"L.A. Zombie" will debut at the Locarno International Film Festival on August 5. It is also slated to screen at Paris's L'Etrange Film Festival and the Sitges Fantasy Film Festival prior to other fall festival screenings.

Melbourne Film Festival Ripe With Local and Global Talent

Nigel M Smith — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:58:53 GMT

The 59th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) promises to be jam packed event this year with over 200 films screening, a crop of world premieres, and a special retrospective celebrating the work of director Joe Dante, who will be in town for the program. This year's MIFF runs from July 22 to August 8.

Opening the festival will be the world premiere of "The Wedding Party," from Melbourne bred first-time filmmaker Amanda Jane. The film, starring Isabel Lucas and Josh Laweson, follows the Thompson family as they deal with relationship issues leading up to a wedding. Meanwhile, Matt Whitecross's "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll," which played at this year's Tribeca, will serve as MIFF's closing night film.

Another Australian film making its world premiere at MIFF is Michael Henry's "Blame." First screening on July 30, the thriller uses a murder gone wrong scenario as a launching platform for a study of the ties that bond friends. Henry and his cast that includes Sophie Lower, Simon Stone and Ashely Zukerman will all be on hand for the premiere. August 4th will boast the world premiere of another Australian entry, "Summer Coda," from director Richard Gray. Shot in sun-drenched Midura, the drama centers around Heidi (Rachel Taylor) who returns to Australia in search of her family and friends.

From across the Tasman Sea comes Taika Waititi's "Boy," which holds the record as the highest grossing New Zealand film of all time at their country's box office. The film marks Waititi's follow up to indie darling "Eagle vs. Shark." Also making it out to MIFF this year will be Debra Granik, in town to present her Sundance winner "Winter's Bone," South Korea's Im Sang-Soo there to screen his Cannes entry "The Housemaid," and Hindi star Aamir Khan who will make an appearance to promote "Peepil Live," which he produced.

As previously mentioned, director Joe Dante will on hand to attend a tribute to his career, titled Dante's Inferno. Along with screenings of his work ("Gremlins," "Small Soldiers" to name a few), the program will present the Australian premiere of his very first film, the 4.5 hour "The Movie Orgy."

For more information, visit MIFF's official website.