Rachael Turk

Last Ride
On the road with Glendyn Ivin

Glendyn Ivin dazzled the world with his Cannes winning short Cracker Bag. This week at Friday On My Mind we trace his journey from there through his collaborations with Magic Dirt to his debut feature Last Ride, starring Hugo Weaving.

Date: Friday, June 26
Time: 5-6pm
Entry: Free (2-hr free parking)

* Q&A followed by free screening of Last Ride

Friday On My Mind is AFTRS‘ weekly event bringing you face to face with the industry’s brightest thinkers.

A regular and brand spanking new showcase of cutting-edge short films and music clips is set to launch in Melbourne on July 3.

Red Hot Shorts is a venture by a Gus Berger, whose track record spans music and film industry. I like his style.

First session includes Nash Edgerton’s Sundance hit Spider, as well as Bertie Blackman’s ‘Heart’ clip and Bjork’s ‘Human Behaviour’.

Studio 1, Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Federation Square, Melbourne
From 7.30pm

$10 Adult / $8 Conc. Tickets from the ACMI Box Office

For details on submitting your film, email
films@redhotshorts.com.au

Director: Robert Connolly
Writers: David Williamson, Robert Connolly
Producer: John Maynard

[in Australian cinemas August 13 through Footprint Films]

Robert Connolly and John Maynard (The Bank, Three Dollars) are renowned for their films with social conscience. Their latest, Balibo – sympathetic portrait of the invasion of East Timor (then Portuguese Timor) in 1975 and the six journalists who died reporting its leadup – is their bravest to date.

The film unfolds through devices organic to its themes – recorded interview, news clippings, reportage and documentary – as three different stories unfold ahead of each other: The narrative thread relating to the “Balibo Five” (Australians Greg Shackleton and Tony Stewart, New Zealander Gary Cunningham and Britons Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie) is demarcated by a visual treatment typical of footage of the time. In their wake, is the story of the Australian journalist Roger East; and, bookending these, a modern day revisiting of events. Beneath all three storylines, none of which get ahead of the characters thanks to the great restraint shown by editor Nick Meyers, is the unrelenting sense of unease which owes much to the work of sound designers Emma Bortignon (Noise) and Sam Petty (The Boys), who are unparalleled in this country.

LaPaglia, who also starred in The Bank, plays the reluctant hero with understated grit, well supported by a talented group in Gyton Grantley, Damon Gameau and Simon Stone. David Williamson (The Year of Living Dangerously) does the story justice in a script of insight and ardor.

The film has an innate integrity. Whilst shying away from neither the violence nor the politics, nor does it exploit them. Whilst conceding the muddiness of political reporting, it seeks a purer truth; like an ANZAC myth from the ’70s. With its ongoing relevance, this film is one the world should see. With the craftsmanship of its delivery, thankfully it will.

My latest story for Screen Hub:

The Tree to blossom with Gainsbourg

Australian/French co-production project The Tree has secured acclaimed French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg (The Science of Sleep, Lemming), its executive producer Rosemary Blight announced today.

To read in full (and subscription-free!), click here.

Friday’s story for Screen Hub:

Boutique Euro business bodes well for Aust film sales

While specialty divisions such as Fox Searchlight and Focus Features shift their focus from foreign film acquisitions to highly packaged movies with major talent and a marketable pitch, this has paved the way for new players – and therefore new opportunities for independent Australian film.

To read in full (and subscription-free!), click here.

My short film Feeling_Lonely? (produced with Melissa Beauford), which toured LA Shortsfest, Manhattan Short Film Festival, Sydney, Brisbane and Rome Film Festivals before winning Best Short Drama at the WOW Film Festival, will screen at ACMI, Melbourne this Saturday at 4pm.

New life for TV drama
In conversation with John Edwards

With the healthy state of Pay TV and increased drama funding for the ABC, we talk to award-winning producer John Edwards (Love My Away, The Secret Life of Us) about his two upcoming series Spirited (with Claudia Karvan and Jacquelin Perske) and Tangle, and the new opportunities for Australian television.

Venue: AFTRS Theatrette, Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park
Date: Friday, May 29
Time: 5-6pm
Entry: Free (2-hr free parking)

Friday On My Mind is AFTRS‘ weekly event bringing you face to face with the industry’s brightest thinkers.

Acts of Courage
In conversation with Ian David

From Blue Murder to Rowan Woods’ 3 Acts of Murder, we look at Ian David’s career, his commitment to the craft and how he’s been spending his Kit Denton Fellowship.

Venue: AFTRS Theatrette, Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park
Date: Friday, May 15
Time: 5-6pm
Entry: Free (2-hr free parking)

Friday On My Mind is AFTRS‘ weekly event bringing you face to face with the industry’s brightest thinkers.

My latest story for Screen Hub:

Peter Weir makes his way back to Australia for post

It has been confirmed that Australian director Peter Weir will complete his next film The Way Back in New South Wales through a substantial post-production and digital visual effects component.

EFilm and Stage One Sound will conduct the sound mix and the DI (digital intermediate), having had their senior colorist Olivier Fontenay working alongside DOP Russell Boyd on the shoot in Bulgaria.

Rising Sun Pictures is the sole provider of the film’s 81 visual effects shots. It was through this clustering of work that the $5m threshold for the 15% PDV rebate was triggered.

To read in full (and subscription-free!), click here.

Adapting Current Affairs
Balibo‘s Tony Maniaty

In their innate drama, current affairs can make great film material. But not without struggles of their own. In the context of films like The Year of Living Dangerously and The Killing Fields, journalist Tony Maniaty – who covered the 1975 war in East Timor for ABC TV and experienced the shelling at Balibo – talks about his consulting role in adapting news stories to the screen for Robert Connolly’s new film Balibo, and the changing role of the journalist.

Venue: AFTRS Theatrette, Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park
Date: Friday, May 1
Time: 5-6pm
Entry: Free (2-hr free parking)

Friday On My Mind is AFTRS‘ weekly event bringing you face to face with the industry’s brightest thinkers.