Firouzeh Khosrovani constructs a surprisingly tender collage of her parents’ lives that shows the fractures caused by the Iranian Revolution.
Continue readingRadiograph of a Family (2020)
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The First 54 Years – An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation (2021)
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It is hard not to despair of the world and the depravities that humans will perpetrate as you watch this measured dissection of the mechanics of a military occupation. Avi Mograbi balances the message by having former Israeli soldiers dispassionately recount their part in the occupation of Palestine, illustrating a system that seeks to colonise, dehumanise and deconstruct a nation.
Continue readingStrong Female Lead (2021)
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I was unprepared for the visceral emotion of watching Tosca Looby’s deft collage of media representation of Australia’s first female Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s time in office.
Continue readingTall Poppy (2021)
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So much more than a sport documentary, Justine Moyle has managed to show the exquisite pain and beauty that is the coming of age of Australian park skateboarding star and all-round decent human being, Poppy Starr Olsen.
Continue readingJames & Isey (2021)
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A well-meaning but underwhelming documentary that fails to paint a compelling portrait of its quirky Maori subjects.
Continue readingSisters 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 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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