A well-meaning but underwhelming documentary that fails to paint a compelling portrait of its quirky Maori subjects.
Continue readingJames & Isey (2021)
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Sisters with Transistors (2020)
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An interesting documentary about the female pioneers of electronic music that succeeds in elevating their names without necessarily providing a context for their work within the wider genre or their impact on contemporary music.
Continue readingPhil Lynott: Songs For While I’m Away (2020)
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The Irish Film Festival Australia is streaming online; a glorious chance to drink Guinness, cook Irish food and immerse ourselves in Irish culture and stories. Emer Reynolds’ warm-hearted hagiography of Thin Lizzy front man Phil Lynott is a welcome elevation of his music and the difficulties of being “the only black boy in Dublin in the 50s” rather than the tragic ignominy of his death.
Continue readingWoodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)
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First-time feature documentary director Kier-La Janisse gives us a fascinating deep dive into the world of ‘folk horror’ films and what they say about fear, colonialism and the ‘other’.
Continue readingPalazzo Di Cozzo (2021)
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It’s hard not to like this unashamed hagiography of furniture salesman and Melbourne icon, Franco Cozzo.
Continue readingThe Nowhere Inn (2020)
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Messy, arty and wry, this mockumentary by Bill Benz weaves the true-life friendship of Carrie Brownstein and Annie Clark, stage-name St. Vincent, with a rumination on fame, identity and artifice.
Continue readingBandar Band (2020)
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This simple and joyful film, ostensibly about a young band trying to navigate flood waters to get to Tehran for an audition, hides a deeper meaning about the challenges for young Iranians.
Continue readingGaza Mon Amour (2020)
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A bitter-sweet romance that, by stealth, will show you the precariousness of living in Palestine.
Continue readingPlaylist (2021)
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Like a black and white Amelie (2001) without the whimsy, French director and graphic novelist Nine Antico’s first feature tracks the travails of hapless Sophie (Sara Forestier) as she searches for love.
Continue readingGirls/Museum (2020)
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Director Shelly Silver takes a simple premise – to interview young women about the art they are seeing in a gallery – and creates an absorbing commentary on female representation and its effects.
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