The arid landscape of the fictional Australian town Kiewarra lends the 2020 mystery thriller “The Dry” its name and identity. It’s the type of place filled with interpersonal tension, which frequently reflects onto a barren, sun-scorched environment itching to go up in flames.
When federal agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) returns to his hometown to look into the double murder-suicide supposedly perpetrated by his childhood best friend, he’s thrust back into the town’s powder-keg energy. Everyone looks at him with suspicion because they suspect he was responsible for the drowning of his high school girlfriend twenty years prior, with their resentment exacerbated by his off-the-books investigation. Adapted from Jane Harper’s procedural mystery novel by the same name, “The Dry” marinates in buried backcountry secrets and childhood trauma, both of which unfortunately never transcend their generic function or presentation on screen.
Four years later, the awkwardly titled sequel...
When federal agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) returns to his hometown to look into the double murder-suicide supposedly perpetrated by his childhood best friend, he’s thrust back into the town’s powder-keg energy. Everyone looks at him with suspicion because they suspect he was responsible for the drowning of his high school girlfriend twenty years prior, with their resentment exacerbated by his off-the-books investigation. Adapted from Jane Harper’s procedural mystery novel by the same name, “The Dry” marinates in buried backcountry secrets and childhood trauma, both of which unfortunately never transcend their generic function or presentation on screen.
Four years later, the awkwardly titled sequel...
- 5/10/2024
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Australian writer-director Robert Connolly had a domestic hit in 2021 with The Dry, a slow-burn murder mystery built around Eric Bana’s somber performance as a pensive city cop drawn back to the remote town of his childhood in the middle of a prolonged drought. Bana returns as Aaron Falk in Force of Nature: The Dry 2, which is otherwise a sequel in name alone. The setting this time is a lush and very wet mountain rainforest, drenched by a massive thunderstorm at a key point in the narrative. That makes half the title a complete misnomer.
This is a handsomely produced, solidly acted thriller that’s certainly watchable, though the perplexing subtitle is not its only issue. Unlike its riveting predecessor, it’s absorbing but never quite gripping.
Connolly sticks to novelist Jane Harper’s template from the first book in her Aaron Falk trilogy, in which the Australian Federal Police...
This is a handsomely produced, solidly acted thriller that’s certainly watchable, though the perplexing subtitle is not its only issue. Unlike its riveting predecessor, it’s absorbing but never quite gripping.
Connolly sticks to novelist Jane Harper’s template from the first book in her Aaron Falk trilogy, in which the Australian Federal Police...
- 5/6/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Australia’s answer to the 2022 Oscar Best Picture winner Coda is here. I’m only half-joking. Blueback is a bit better than the movie that most recently won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but it employs a similar sort of lightweight treatment of banner issues. Blueback has two major characteristics in its favor: the aquatic cinematography by Andrew Commis and Rick Rifici and that it’s satisfied with being a message movie for kids. It would be perfect to show in a middle school or elementary school classroom during substitute teacher day, like Free Willy, a choice selection when I was a kid. It’s completely inoffensive but also lacking emotional heft, a result of sloppy story structure and flashback-heavy plotting that may have worked well in the source novel by Tim Winton (who also wrote the screenplay), but drains the tension in this adaptation.
Abby and Dora (Radha Mitchell...
Abby and Dora (Radha Mitchell...
- 9/18/2022
- by Soham Gadre
- The Film Stage
“Take a good close look at what we’re fighting for,” says Mia Wasikowska’s oceanographer in “Blueback,” as she scans the Australian bay where she grew up. She’s talking to a colleague, even as writer-director Robert Connolly (“Paper Planes”) is really saying the same thing to us.
Connolly has turned Tim Winton’s 1997 novella into his own environmental cri de coeur — premiering at the Toronto Film Festival — and while the specifics can get a bit clunky, his passion drives our interest all the way to the end.
The end is where we begin, actually, with Wasikowska’s Abby getting a call while she’s working. Her aging mother, Dora (Liz Alexander), has had a stroke, and Abby has to rush back to remote Longboat Bay (Western Australia’s Bremer Bay stands in for the fictional coast) to care for her.
Also Read:
‘Judy & Punch’ Film Review: Provocative...
Connolly has turned Tim Winton’s 1997 novella into his own environmental cri de coeur — premiering at the Toronto Film Festival — and while the specifics can get a bit clunky, his passion drives our interest all the way to the end.
The end is where we begin, actually, with Wasikowska’s Abby getting a call while she’s working. Her aging mother, Dora (Liz Alexander), has had a stroke, and Abby has to rush back to remote Longboat Bay (Western Australia’s Bremer Bay stands in for the fictional coast) to care for her.
Also Read:
‘Judy & Punch’ Film Review: Provocative...
- 9/16/2022
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
Twenty-seven of Australia’s top cinematographers last night launched a social media campaign aimed at boosting the number of women employed in camera teams and, more broadly, encouraging greater diversity across the screen industry.
Using the hashtag #whoisinyourcrew, the six-week campaign is designed to reach all heads of department as well as directors and producers.
The initiative was conceived by Dop Bonnie Elliott on behalf of the Australian Cinematographers Society’s Diversity Committee, the reconfigured Acs Women’s Advisory Panel.
Appointed to Screen Australia’s Gender Matters task force this year, Elliott has led the way by maintaining gender equity across her own camera teams for the last four years.
“I am keen to empower my fellow cinematographers to help make change in the industry through their hiring practices,” says Elliott, whose recent credits include Stateless, The Furnace, Palm Beach, The Hunting, H is for Happiness and Daina Reid’s upcoming Run Rabbit Run.
Using the hashtag #whoisinyourcrew, the six-week campaign is designed to reach all heads of department as well as directors and producers.
The initiative was conceived by Dop Bonnie Elliott on behalf of the Australian Cinematographers Society’s Diversity Committee, the reconfigured Acs Women’s Advisory Panel.
Appointed to Screen Australia’s Gender Matters task force this year, Elliott has led the way by maintaining gender equity across her own camera teams for the last four years.
“I am keen to empower my fellow cinematographers to help make change in the industry through their hiring practices,” says Elliott, whose recent credits include Stateless, The Furnace, Palm Beach, The Hunting, H is for Happiness and Daina Reid’s upcoming Run Rabbit Run.
- 7/27/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
There’s a version of Babyteeth that could have been made which would have overplayed the quirk and cuteness factor. Luckily, no one involved in this movie is looking to do that. There are times where that method is needed, but here, it’s all about the heart of the matter. Babyteeth has a ton of ambition, keeps you on your toes, and showcases again that not only is Ben Mendelsohn a deeply underrated actor, but that Eliza Scanlan is one of our more exciting up and coming actresses. Despite a few hiccups along the way, everyone involved makes this work something that truly stands out. Come Friday, when it release, you’ll understand why. The film is a dramedy, centered on Milla (Scanlan) a seriously ill teenager. When she meets and falls in love with drug dealer and all-around troubled Moses (Toby Wallace), it’s as equally what she...
- 6/17/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
There’s a hint of John Ford to “High Ground,” a sinewy, sun-baked faceoff between indigenous and invading armies in the Arnhem Land wilderness of Australia, though by now we probably need a better word than “western” for films that situate the tensions and tropes of Hollywood operas in their own distinct geographical context. Handsomely mounted and absorbing, even if its action never quite ascends from a canter to a gallop, Stephen Maxwell Johnson’s long-brewing sophomore feature arrives nearly two decades after 2001’s “Yolngu Boy,” and continues that film’s mission to elevate the stories and voices of the Aboriginal population in the country’s Northern Territory.
Given how “High Ground” fits into Australia’s ongoing cultural reckoning with its violent colonial legacy, this Berlinale premiere is guaranteed a high domestic profile — though its mostly classical genre adherence, plus the presence of Simon Baker as the most morally upright...
Given how “High Ground” fits into Australia’s ongoing cultural reckoning with its violent colonial legacy, this Berlinale premiere is guaranteed a high domestic profile — though its mostly classical genre adherence, plus the presence of Simon Baker as the most morally upright...
- 2/23/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Milla is not the first terminally stricken teen girl to grace a coming-of-age film, nor will she be the last. She may, however, be the most precocious: kitted out in oversized ‘80s woodland animal shirts and Day-Glo colors, and with a revolving cast of hairdos (for obvious reason), she enlivens and emboldens the new film Babyteeth with a punky energy that–try as lesser directors might–is not often seen in such things. Indeed, we’re not kissing Ansel Elgort in Anne Frank’s house anymore, Dorothy.
The film opens on the image of Milla, spaced out and medicated, gazing woozily at a train track. It recalls Laura Jeffers in Brief Encounter–except that poor Laura’s unhealthy romance had come to an end, whereas Milla’s is just beginning. The character is played with fabulous gusto by Eliza Scanlen, an Australian actress who held her own beside Amy Adams...
The film opens on the image of Milla, spaced out and medicated, gazing woozily at a train track. It recalls Laura Jeffers in Brief Encounter–except that poor Laura’s unhealthy romance had come to an end, whereas Milla’s is just beginning. The character is played with fabulous gusto by Eliza Scanlen, an Australian actress who held her own beside Amy Adams...
- 11/23/2019
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
And so it was that on the eighth day of the Venice Film Festival, after eighteen official lineup’s entries unveiled, I shed my first tears. They came at the end of the competition’s only directorial feature debut, Shannon Murphy’s lacerating, humorous, and achingly beautiful Babyteeth. This adaptation of a 2012 stage play by actress and playwright Rita Kalnejais—whom Murphy recruited as script writer—follows a teenage girl forced to reckon with her mortality while on the cusp of feeling more alive than she’s ever felt. In a lineup that offered few surprises, Babyteeth swept across the festival like a belated and much-needed breath of fresh air, moving me in a way few other films this year did. The girl is Milla (Eliza Scanlen), a 15-year-old with a baby tooth still lodged among her molars—a “medical aberration,” as she sardonically describes herself, living in an unidentified...
- 9/6/2019
- MUBI
Single mom Lizzie (Noomi Rapace) carpools through an idyllic Melbourne neighborhood with the hedgerows in a blur, which is “Angel of Mine” director Kim Farrant’s way of establishing that this woman on the verge of a suburban breakdown can’t see past her nose. Between her divorce, her constant crying, her mental hospital stays and her dead-end job as a makeup clerk, Lizzie’s young son (Finn Little) needs more of her affection. “He feels your darkness,” warns her ex Mike (Luke Evans), who’s threatening to file for full custody. Yet, Lizzie only has eyes for acquaintance Claire’s (Yvonne Strahovski) 7-year-old daughter Lola (Annika Whiteley), a perfect moppet who could be Lizzie’s own daughter, if her infant hadn’t died in a hospital fire — a plot point that screenwriters Luke Davies and David Regal delay until we’re itchy for the script to blurt it out,...
- 8/30/2019
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
A standout performance from Rapace as a mother looking for her dead daughter lifts a psychological thriller that otherwise strains credulity
Maternal longing is a key theme in director Kim Farrant’s psychological thriller Angel of Mine, which takes what could have been a simple stalker movie premise and fills it out with an intense array of emotions. The film hinges on a head-turning, knife edge performance from Noomi Rapace, whose startled eyes and haunted countenance have an apparitional quality – destined to be burned into the audience’s psyche like a hot iron.
In this Melbourne-set feature, an adaptation of the 2008 French film L’Empreinte de L’Ang, Rapace plays Lizzie, whose young daughter died in a fire several years ago but who begins to entertain the possibility that she is still alive. Best-known for playing Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Rapace radiates a sense...
Maternal longing is a key theme in director Kim Farrant’s psychological thriller Angel of Mine, which takes what could have been a simple stalker movie premise and fills it out with an intense array of emotions. The film hinges on a head-turning, knife edge performance from Noomi Rapace, whose startled eyes and haunted countenance have an apparitional quality – destined to be burned into the audience’s psyche like a hot iron.
In this Melbourne-set feature, an adaptation of the 2008 French film L’Empreinte de L’Ang, Rapace plays Lizzie, whose young daughter died in a fire several years ago but who begins to entertain the possibility that she is still alive. Best-known for playing Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Rapace radiates a sense...
- 8/15/2019
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
Anthony Hayes.
Anthony Hayes will direct and co-star with Sam Worthington in Gold, a thriller about two guys who discover the world’s biggest gold nugget in the Australian desert.
Due to shoot in South Australia in September, the film will be produced by Deeper Water Films’ John and Michael Schwarz and Hayes’ Rogue Star Pictures.
Hayes co-wrote the script with his partner, former costumer Polly Smyth, her first writing credit.
The plot sees the men hatch a plan to excavate the gold as one leaves to secure equipment while the other stays behind to protect the discovery.
Saboteur Films, which reps Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan produced by Red Dune Productions’ Martin Walsh and the Schwarz brothers, is pitching the project at the Cannes film market.
Hayes tells If: “Polly and I wanted to come up with a smart film with few cast and one location.
Anthony Hayes will direct and co-star with Sam Worthington in Gold, a thriller about two guys who discover the world’s biggest gold nugget in the Australian desert.
Due to shoot in South Australia in September, the film will be produced by Deeper Water Films’ John and Michael Schwarz and Hayes’ Rogue Star Pictures.
Hayes co-wrote the script with his partner, former costumer Polly Smyth, her first writing credit.
The plot sees the men hatch a plan to excavate the gold as one leaves to secure equipment while the other stays behind to protect the discovery.
Saboteur Films, which reps Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan produced by Red Dune Productions’ Martin Walsh and the Schwarz brothers, is pitching the project at the Cannes film market.
Hayes tells If: “Polly and I wanted to come up with a smart film with few cast and one location.
- 5/15/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Stephen Page and Bonnie Elliott on location (photo credit: Jacob Nash).
Australia.s best DPs are gearing up for the 46th National awards for Cinematography, to be held at Nsw Parliament House this Saturday, May 6.
Again hosted by Ray Martin, the awards will recognize work across 18 categories — student projects, documentary, music videos, TV news and the return of the kids category, CineKids.
.We.re trying to encourage primary-school children up to the age of 15 to get involved, and these kids are coming along in leaps and bounds,. says Acs president Ron Johanson. .I think we have 30-40 members all around Australia — these fantastically talented young kids..
Last year.s expo will not be repeated, says Johanson. .We spoke to the sponsors and they felt they.d give it a miss this year because it.s close to Smpte, so we.ll probably have one next year..
Instead the Acs is...
Australia.s best DPs are gearing up for the 46th National awards for Cinematography, to be held at Nsw Parliament House this Saturday, May 6.
Again hosted by Ray Martin, the awards will recognize work across 18 categories — student projects, documentary, music videos, TV news and the return of the kids category, CineKids.
.We.re trying to encourage primary-school children up to the age of 15 to get involved, and these kids are coming along in leaps and bounds,. says Acs president Ron Johanson. .I think we have 30-40 members all around Australia — these fantastically talented young kids..
Last year.s expo will not be repeated, says Johanson. .We spoke to the sponsors and they felt they.d give it a miss this year because it.s close to Smpte, so we.ll probably have one next year..
Instead the Acs is...
- 5/3/2017
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Stephen Page and Bonnie Elliott on location (photo credit: Jacob Nash).
Australia.s best DPs are gearing up for the 46th National awards for Cinematography, to be held at Nsw Parliament House this Saturday, May 6.
Again hosted by Ray Martin, the awards will recognize work across 18 categories — student projects, documentary, music videos, TV news and the return of the kids category, CineKids.
.We.re trying to encourage primary-school children up to the age of 15 to get involved, and these kids are coming along in leaps and bounds,. says Acs president Ron Johanson. .I think we have 30-40 members all around Australia — these fantastically talented young kids..
Last year.s expo will not be repeated, says Johanson. .We spoke to the sponsors and they felt they.d give it a miss this year because it.s close to Smpte, so we.ll probably have one next year..
Instead the Acs is...
Australia.s best DPs are gearing up for the 46th National awards for Cinematography, to be held at Nsw Parliament House this Saturday, May 6.
Again hosted by Ray Martin, the awards will recognize work across 18 categories — student projects, documentary, music videos, TV news and the return of the kids category, CineKids.
.We.re trying to encourage primary-school children up to the age of 15 to get involved, and these kids are coming along in leaps and bounds,. says Acs president Ron Johanson. .I think we have 30-40 members all around Australia — these fantastically talented young kids..
Last year.s expo will not be repeated, says Johanson. .We spoke to the sponsors and they felt they.d give it a miss this year because it.s close to Smpte, so we.ll probably have one next year..
Instead the Acs is...
- 5/3/2017
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Russell Boyd (r) with Peter Weir (l) shooting Master and Commander.
On May 6, the Acs National Awards for Cinematography will be held at Nsw Parliament House, the 46th edition of the annual awards..
This year, the work of the nominees was judged by a panel of five Acs members — president Ron Johanson plus Russell Boyd, Anna Howard, Ernie Clark and Andrew Taylor — over a three-day period..
Feature nominees this year include Denson Baker (The Dark Horse), Andrew Commis (The Daughter), Katie Milwright (Looking for Grace) and Bonnie Elliott (Spear).
Judging feature work can be a tricky proposition, says Boyd. .We.re there to judge the cinematography, not the story or the direction, although that can influence your decisions..
Boyd may be a veteran, with credits ranging from The Last Wave to Liar Liar, but he has well and truly embraced the digital revolution. .I really only shoot commercials these days and they.re all digital,...
On May 6, the Acs National Awards for Cinematography will be held at Nsw Parliament House, the 46th edition of the annual awards..
This year, the work of the nominees was judged by a panel of five Acs members — president Ron Johanson plus Russell Boyd, Anna Howard, Ernie Clark and Andrew Taylor — over a three-day period..
Feature nominees this year include Denson Baker (The Dark Horse), Andrew Commis (The Daughter), Katie Milwright (Looking for Grace) and Bonnie Elliott (Spear).
Judging feature work can be a tricky proposition, says Boyd. .We.re there to judge the cinematography, not the story or the direction, although that can influence your decisions..
Boyd may be a veteran, with credits ranging from The Last Wave to Liar Liar, but he has well and truly embraced the digital revolution. .I really only shoot commercials these days and they.re all digital,...
- 4/6/2017
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
After a 17-year hiatus from directing feature length films, Alison Maclean returns to the screen with The Rehearsal, an adaptation of Eleanor Catton‘s acclaimed 2008 novel. On its surface, it looks like other films in a specific, youthful sub-genre that rarely produces particularly insightful or interesting dramas. However, its visual precision elicits a unique mood that elevates the film from the normal, self-important teenage tale.
The most fascinating moments play out as we’re shown the inner workings of the fine arts academy that Maclean places us in. The Head of Acting, Hannah (played masterfully by Kerry Fox) commands a lot from her young students in terms of acting prowess and also building an intimate, familial environment in the institute. This is examined through intense and personal acting classes interspersed throughout the greater narrative. Maclean works with cinematographer Andrew Commis to make these scenes feel claustrophobic and weighty while also...
The most fascinating moments play out as we’re shown the inner workings of the fine arts academy that Maclean places us in. The Head of Acting, Hannah (played masterfully by Kerry Fox) commands a lot from her young students in terms of acting prowess and also building an intimate, familial environment in the institute. This is examined through intense and personal acting classes interspersed throughout the greater narrative. Maclean works with cinematographer Andrew Commis to make these scenes feel claustrophobic and weighty while also...
- 9/11/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Tilda Cobham-Hervey in Girl Asleep (photo credit: Shane Reid).
I know this was originally a piece of theatre; what made you want to adapt it for the screen?
When we made the play we always knew we were going to make the film. The play is a standalone play, but it was a great chance to test the story out really thoroughly and learn about the storytelling before we shot the film.
Why did you decide to write a play to make a film?
We were doing a trilogy of works for teenagers in the Adelaide Festival, and Katrina [Sedgwick] and Amanda [Duthie] had seen some of that work and thought it would be a very interesting audience to make a Hive project for. The writer Matthew Whittet and I were in the very first Hive workshop. We started developing it as a film, pitched it to the Hive and we knew...
I know this was originally a piece of theatre; what made you want to adapt it for the screen?
When we made the play we always knew we were going to make the film. The play is a standalone play, but it was a great chance to test the story out really thoroughly and learn about the storytelling before we shot the film.
Why did you decide to write a play to make a film?
We were doing a trilogy of works for teenagers in the Adelaide Festival, and Katrina [Sedgwick] and Amanda [Duthie] had seen some of that work and thought it would be a very interesting audience to make a Hive project for. The writer Matthew Whittet and I were in the very first Hive workshop. We started developing it as a film, pitched it to the Hive and we knew...
- 8/2/2016
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
The launches of Matt Saville.s A Month of Sundays and Simon Stone.s The Daughter at international film festivals are paying off with critical acclaim for both.
Saville.s dramedy, which stars Anthony Lapaglia as a real estate agent whose life takes an unexpected turn when he receives a call from his dead mother, sending him on a journey of redemption, premiered in the contemporary world cinema section of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Stone.s re-imagining of Ibsen.s The Wild Duck, which features Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Ewen Leslie, Paul Schneider, Anna Torv, Miranda Otto and newcomer Odessa Young, which had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival,. screened at the Venice Film Festival.s Venice Days followed by its North American premiere at Tiff.s special presentations sidebar.
The Hollywood Reporter.s Jordan Mintzer hailed A Month of Sundays as a .modest, warm hearted character...
Saville.s dramedy, which stars Anthony Lapaglia as a real estate agent whose life takes an unexpected turn when he receives a call from his dead mother, sending him on a journey of redemption, premiered in the contemporary world cinema section of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Stone.s re-imagining of Ibsen.s The Wild Duck, which features Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Ewen Leslie, Paul Schneider, Anna Torv, Miranda Otto and newcomer Odessa Young, which had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival,. screened at the Venice Film Festival.s Venice Days followed by its North American premiere at Tiff.s special presentations sidebar.
The Hollywood Reporter.s Jordan Mintzer hailed A Month of Sundays as a .modest, warm hearted character...
- 9/14/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The Railway Man.s Garry Phillips won the Gold Tripod for best feature at the Australian Cinematographers Society (Acs) national awards, an event dedicated to the memory of Andrew Lesnie. Phillips also got the Acs.s highest honour, the Milli Award, for which all Golden Tripod recipients were eligible.
Ben Nott received an award of distinction in the feature category for Predestination. Adam Arkapaw.s True Detectives episode 4 was feted for best telefeature, miniseries, TV drama or comedy, and Andrew Commis got the award. of distinction for Devil's Playground. Best dramatised documentary was Jim Frater.s The War That Changed Us episode 1. Joel Lawrence won the best international news award for Tsunami Anniversary. The audience at the awards, which were presented on Saturday night at Moma, stood for a minute's silence for Oscar-winner Lesnie, 59, who died last Monday. . National president Ron Johanson said, .We need to acknowledge the love and...
Ben Nott received an award of distinction in the feature category for Predestination. Adam Arkapaw.s True Detectives episode 4 was feted for best telefeature, miniseries, TV drama or comedy, and Andrew Commis got the award. of distinction for Devil's Playground. Best dramatised documentary was Jim Frater.s The War That Changed Us episode 1. Joel Lawrence won the best international news award for Tsunami Anniversary. The audience at the awards, which were presented on Saturday night at Moma, stood for a minute's silence for Oscar-winner Lesnie, 59, who died last Monday. . National president Ron Johanson said, .We need to acknowledge the love and...
- 5/3/2015
- by Inside Film Correspondent
- IF.com.au
Ivan Sen.s Mystery Road and Kim Mordaunt.s The Rocket shared the best film honours at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards presented last night.
The Great Gatsby collected four awards followed by The Rocket with 3 and Mystery Road and The Turning with 2 awards each.
Naomi Watts was named best actress for her role in the little-seen Adoration and Aaron Pedersen was best actor for Mystery Road. Sen was best director.
There was another tie for the supporting actor prize: The Great Gatsby.s Joel Edgerton and Mystery Road.s Hugo Weaving. The Turning.s Rose Byrne was best supporting actress. The Rocket.s Sitthiphon Disamoe was on hand to receive the gong for best young performer.
Best script award went to The Railway Man.s Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson. Haydn Keenan's Persons of Interest was named best documentary.
An Acknowledgment Award was presented to...
The Great Gatsby collected four awards followed by The Rocket with 3 and Mystery Road and The Turning with 2 awards each.
Naomi Watts was named best actress for her role in the little-seen Adoration and Aaron Pedersen was best actor for Mystery Road. Sen was best director.
There was another tie for the supporting actor prize: The Great Gatsby.s Joel Edgerton and Mystery Road.s Hugo Weaving. The Turning.s Rose Byrne was best supporting actress. The Rocket.s Sitthiphon Disamoe was on hand to receive the gong for best young performer.
Best script award went to The Railway Man.s Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson. Haydn Keenan's Persons of Interest was named best documentary.
An Acknowledgment Award was presented to...
- 3/11/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Ivan Sen.s Mystery Road. won six of the eight awards for Australian films at the Australian Film Critics Association 2014 film and writing awards.
The murder mystery produced by David Jowsey was feted as best film and for Sen.s direction, screenplay and cinematography, lead actor Aaron Pedersen and supporting actor Hugo Weaving.
Nicole Kidman was named best actress for The Railway Man and Rose Byrne took the supporting actress prize for Tim Winton's The Turning.
Tarantino's Django Unchanged was judged best international film and Michael Haneke.s Amour best foreign-language international film. Best documentary went to Sarah Polley.s Stories We Tell.
The Afca has about 75 members. .All our members voted on the Awards and the majority clearly felt Ivan Sen's gripping outback noir was the best Australian film from the last 12 months,. said Afca chair Richard Haridy, whose outlets are ABC Radio Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast,...
The murder mystery produced by David Jowsey was feted as best film and for Sen.s direction, screenplay and cinematography, lead actor Aaron Pedersen and supporting actor Hugo Weaving.
Nicole Kidman was named best actress for The Railway Man and Rose Byrne took the supporting actress prize for Tim Winton's The Turning.
Tarantino's Django Unchanged was judged best international film and Michael Haneke.s Amour best foreign-language international film. Best documentary went to Sarah Polley.s Stories We Tell.
The Afca has about 75 members. .All our members voted on the Awards and the majority clearly felt Ivan Sen's gripping outback noir was the best Australian film from the last 12 months,. said Afca chair Richard Haridy, whose outlets are ABC Radio Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast,...
- 3/2/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The Great Gatsby dominated. Aacta.s technical and short films awards today, collecting gongs in all six craft categories for which it was nominated, plus the Aacta award for outstanding achievement in visual effects.
The co-production Top of the Lake bagged two TV trophies while Matchbox Pictures. Nowhere Boys, created by Tony Ayres, was named best children.s TV series.
The TV documentary prize went to Redesign My Brain, which explores the revolutionary new science of brain plasticity, written and directed by Paul Scott and produced by Isabel Perez and Scott for ABC TV.
Writer-director Nick Verso's The Last Time I Saw Richard, produced by John Molloy, was honoured as best short fiction film. Developed and funded through Screen Australia.s Springboard program, the short is a prequel to the upcoming feature film Boys In The Trees, tracing the friendship between two teenagers in a mental health clinic in...
The co-production Top of the Lake bagged two TV trophies while Matchbox Pictures. Nowhere Boys, created by Tony Ayres, was named best children.s TV series.
The TV documentary prize went to Redesign My Brain, which explores the revolutionary new science of brain plasticity, written and directed by Paul Scott and produced by Isabel Perez and Scott for ABC TV.
Writer-director Nick Verso's The Last Time I Saw Richard, produced by John Molloy, was honoured as best short fiction film. Developed and funded through Screen Australia.s Springboard program, the short is a prequel to the upcoming feature film Boys In The Trees, tracing the friendship between two teenagers in a mental health clinic in...
- 1/28/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
There’s some seductively primeval scenery decorating Aussie director Kim Mordaunt’s “The Rocket,” which is Australia's Oscar entry, if only because its setting -- Laos -- has so seldom appeared on western screens. The film opens in New York City on January 10 and in Los Angeles on January 17 at the Nuart Theatre.Stirring landscapes, however -- and the occasional flash of cinematographic virtuosity from Dp Andrew Commis -- will only get you so far, something Mordaunt obviously knows, as he goes about creating a primitivist parable with an anti-corporate message replete with plucky preteens, a James Brown impersonator, ripely symbolic mangoes, unexploded landmines and a tone that roams from Italian post-war neo-realism (think an Asian “Stromboli”) to the magical conjuring of that elusive Vietnamese genius, Tranh Anh Hung. However: Mordaunt makes a more than adept fiction debut with a story that picks scabs off a number of sore subjects,...
- 1/8/2014
- by John Anderson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Great Gatsby has been nominated in 14 categories and The Rocket is in contention for 12 at the third annual Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts Awards.
In TV, Top of the Lake top scored with 10 nominations ahead of eight apiece for Mrs Biggs, Power Games: The Packer- Murdoch Story and Redfern Now series 2.
Gatsby and The Rocket are vying for best film with Dead Europe, Mystery Road, Satellite Boy and Tim Winton.s The Turning.
A total of 50 productions has been nominated across 39 awards categories. The Nsw Government announced today it would renew its partnership agreement for a further three years, from 2015-2017.
Aacta has signed a three-year deal with Foxtel which entails pay-tv rights and further collaborations. Aacta/AFI CEO Damian Trewhella tells If that in future years this may take the form of deeper coverage on Foxtel before or after the awards, spotlighting creative talent.
The Gatsby remake...
In TV, Top of the Lake top scored with 10 nominations ahead of eight apiece for Mrs Biggs, Power Games: The Packer- Murdoch Story and Redfern Now series 2.
Gatsby and The Rocket are vying for best film with Dead Europe, Mystery Road, Satellite Boy and Tim Winton.s The Turning.
A total of 50 productions has been nominated across 39 awards categories. The Nsw Government announced today it would renew its partnership agreement for a further three years, from 2015-2017.
Aacta has signed a three-year deal with Foxtel which entails pay-tv rights and further collaborations. Aacta/AFI CEO Damian Trewhella tells If that in future years this may take the form of deeper coverage on Foxtel before or after the awards, spotlighting creative talent.
The Gatsby remake...
- 12/3/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
With a promise to be back next year, bigger and better, the final day of the 15th Mumbai Film Festival presented by Reliance Entertainment and organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (Mami) unfolded.
After a week of celebrating cinema, the final few films screened today included Red Wedding directed by Guillaume Suon and Lida Chan, Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, Saving General Yang directed by Ronny Yu, Hiroshi Toda’s Seventh Cat, Five Years by Stefan Schaller, Costa Gavras’s Amen and the much acclaimed Z, A Few Days More by Om Prakash Srivastava among others.
The last of the 15th Mumbai Film Festival’s master classes was conducted by the legendary director Bruce Beresford, on Preparation by the Director. “I thought I would talk about the necessity of story boarding. These days, with tight budgets and short schedules, if you don’t plan them, you’ll...
After a week of celebrating cinema, the final few films screened today included Red Wedding directed by Guillaume Suon and Lida Chan, Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, Saving General Yang directed by Ronny Yu, Hiroshi Toda’s Seventh Cat, Five Years by Stefan Schaller, Costa Gavras’s Amen and the much acclaimed Z, A Few Days More by Om Prakash Srivastava among others.
The last of the 15th Mumbai Film Festival’s master classes was conducted by the legendary director Bruce Beresford, on Preparation by the Director. “I thought I would talk about the necessity of story boarding. These days, with tight budgets and short schedules, if you don’t plan them, you’ll...
- 10/26/2013
- by Pooja Rao
- Bollyspice
Diego Quemada-Diez scoops top prize; Nagraj Manjule wins jury award.Scroll down for full list of winners
Mexican film A Golden Dream (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, A Golden Dream (fka The Golden Cage)follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us.
The film debuted at Cannes in May where it won the Talent award in the Un Certain Regard section. It recently won the Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s [link...
Mexican film A Golden Dream (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, A Golden Dream (fka The Golden Cage)follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us.
The film debuted at Cannes in May where it won the Talent award in the Un Certain Regard section. It recently won the Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s [link...
- 10/25/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Diego Quemada-Diez scoops top prize; Nagraj Manjule wins jury award.Scroll down for full list of winners
Mexican film The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, The Golden Cage follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us.
The film debuted at Cannes in May where it won the Talent award in the Un Certain Regard section. It recently won the Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo continued its successful festival...
Mexican film The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, The Golden Cage follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us.
The film debuted at Cannes in May where it won the Talent award in the Un Certain Regard section. It recently won the Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo continued its successful festival...
- 10/25/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Marathi-language film Fandry directed by Nagraj Manjule won the Jury Grand Prize for the Second best film in International Competition at the 15th Mumbai Film Festival which concluded on Thursday. The film won a Silver Gateway trophy and a cash prize of ₹25 lakhs. [Read Nagraj Manjule's interview]
La Jaula de Oro (The Golden Cage) won the Best Film (Golden Gateway award) in International section.
Katiyabaaz (Powerless) by Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar won the Best Film (Golden Gateway award) in the India Gold Category while Qissa directed by Anup Singh won the Silver Gateway Award for Second Best film. Ko:Yad (A silent way) won the Silver Gateway Special Jury Award in the India Gold category.
Anthony Chen won the Best Director award for Ilo Ilo. Yan Yann Yeo won the Best Actor (Female) award for the same film.
Vincent Macaigne won the Best Actor award for his performance in the French film Tonnerre.
Cinematographer of The Rocket,...
La Jaula de Oro (The Golden Cage) won the Best Film (Golden Gateway award) in International section.
Katiyabaaz (Powerless) by Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar won the Best Film (Golden Gateway award) in the India Gold Category while Qissa directed by Anup Singh won the Silver Gateway Award for Second Best film. Ko:Yad (A silent way) won the Silver Gateway Special Jury Award in the India Gold category.
Anthony Chen won the Best Director award for Ilo Ilo. Yan Yann Yeo won the Best Actor (Female) award for the same film.
Vincent Macaigne won the Best Actor award for his performance in the French film Tonnerre.
Cinematographer of The Rocket,...
- 10/24/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
m
Mexican film The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, The Golden Cage follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us. The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo continued its successful festival sweep by winning best director and best actress for Yann Yann Yeo. Best actor went to Vincent Macaigne for his role in Tonnerre, directed by France’s Guillaume Brac.
The jury also gave a special prize for “Best Work in Cinematography” to Australia-Laos-Thailand co-production The Rocket, directed by [link...
Mexican film The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, The Golden Cage follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us. The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo continued its successful festival sweep by winning best director and best actress for Yann Yann Yeo. Best actor went to Vincent Macaigne for his role in Tonnerre, directed by France’s Guillaume Brac.
The jury also gave a special prize for “Best Work in Cinematography” to Australia-Laos-Thailand co-production The Rocket, directed by [link...
- 10/24/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Exposure at numerous festivals including Berlin, Tribeca, Melbourne and Sydney combined with rave reviews continues to pay off for Kim Mordaunt.s Laos-set feature The Rocket.
Tine Klint of international sales agent LevelK has concluded a slew of sales after negotiating a Us deal with Kino Lorber during the Cannes film market.
Among the territories that have acquired the film are the UK (Eureka), China (Jy Entertainment), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Middle Eastern countries (Moving Turtle), Taiwan (Flash Forward Entertainment), Slovenia (Rtv Slovenia), Poland (Spectator) and Turkey (Kurmaca Films).
.I am very proud of The Rocket . a brilliant film. It keeps winning everywhere it shows,. she tells If. The film, which is Australia.s submission for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards, has earned a healthy $240,000 in its first two weeks in Oz, playing on 13 screens.
Kino Lorber plans a November launch in Us cinemas. The plot revolves around a boy,...
Tine Klint of international sales agent LevelK has concluded a slew of sales after negotiating a Us deal with Kino Lorber during the Cannes film market.
Among the territories that have acquired the film are the UK (Eureka), China (Jy Entertainment), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Middle Eastern countries (Moving Turtle), Taiwan (Flash Forward Entertainment), Slovenia (Rtv Slovenia), Poland (Spectator) and Turkey (Kurmaca Films).
.I am very proud of The Rocket . a brilliant film. It keeps winning everywhere it shows,. she tells If. The film, which is Australia.s submission for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards, has earned a healthy $240,000 in its first two weeks in Oz, playing on 13 screens.
Kino Lorber plans a November launch in Us cinemas. The plot revolves around a boy,...
- 9/13/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The Australian Cinematographers Society has announced the 2012 award winners for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Held on November 17 at new venue, the Masonic Centre, Sydney, the 2012 Nsw & Act Annual Awards attracted more than 180 members, sponsors and guests.
The 19 different award categories included student cinematography, current affairs, telefeatures, TV drama and mini-series, music videos and features cinema.
The Ross Wood Snr Acs Memorial Judges Award for 2012 Best Entry was awarded to Toby Oliver.for his work on Beaconsfield.
A list of all winners.can be found.below.
1 - Student Cinematography presented by the Aftrs Bronze Patrick Jaeger "Maquisard" Silver Damian Smith GetUP "It's Time" Gold Tim Barnsley "Inferno" Gold Dimitri Zaunders "Look At Me"
2 - Experimental & Specialised presented by Adept Turnkey & Airview Xtreme Silver Zoe White Gail Sorronda "Oh My Goth" Gold Judd Overton "Door Chair Bed Stair"
3 - John Bowring Acs TV Station Breaks & Promos presented by...
Held on November 17 at new venue, the Masonic Centre, Sydney, the 2012 Nsw & Act Annual Awards attracted more than 180 members, sponsors and guests.
The 19 different award categories included student cinematography, current affairs, telefeatures, TV drama and mini-series, music videos and features cinema.
The Ross Wood Snr Acs Memorial Judges Award for 2012 Best Entry was awarded to Toby Oliver.for his work on Beaconsfield.
A list of all winners.can be found.below.
1 - Student Cinematography presented by the Aftrs Bronze Patrick Jaeger "Maquisard" Silver Damian Smith GetUP "It's Time" Gold Tim Barnsley "Inferno" Gold Dimitri Zaunders "Look At Me"
2 - Experimental & Specialised presented by Adept Turnkey & Airview Xtreme Silver Zoe White Gail Sorronda "Oh My Goth" Gold Judd Overton "Door Chair Bed Stair"
3 - John Bowring Acs TV Station Breaks & Promos presented by...
- 11/18/2012
- by Emily Blatchford
- IF.com.au
The Australian Cinematographers Society has announced the 2012 award winners for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Held on November 17 at new venue, the Masonic Centre, Sydney, the 2012 Nsw & Act Annual Awards attracted more than 180 members, sponsors and guests.
The 19 different award categories included student cinematography, current affairs, telefeatures, TV drama and mini-series, music videos and features cinema.
The Ross Wood Snr Acs Memorial Judges Award for 2012 Best Entry was awarded to Toby Oliver.for his work on Beaconsfield.
A list of all winners.can be found.below.
1 - Student Cinematography presented by the Aftrs Bronze Patrick Jaeger "Maquisard" Silver Damian Smith GetUP "It's Time" Gold Tim Barnsley "Inferno" Gold Dimitri Zaunders "Look At Me"
2 - Experimental & Specialised presented by Adept Turnkey & Airview Xtreme Silver Zoe White Gail Sorronda "Oh My Goth" Gold Judd Overton "Door Chair Bed Stair"
3 - John Bowring Acs TV Station Breaks & Promos presented by...
Held on November 17 at new venue, the Masonic Centre, Sydney, the 2012 Nsw & Act Annual Awards attracted more than 180 members, sponsors and guests.
The 19 different award categories included student cinematography, current affairs, telefeatures, TV drama and mini-series, music videos and features cinema.
The Ross Wood Snr Acs Memorial Judges Award for 2012 Best Entry was awarded to Toby Oliver.for his work on Beaconsfield.
A list of all winners.can be found.below.
1 - Student Cinematography presented by the Aftrs Bronze Patrick Jaeger "Maquisard" Silver Damian Smith GetUP "It's Time" Gold Tim Barnsley "Inferno" Gold Dimitri Zaunders "Look At Me"
2 - Experimental & Specialised presented by Adept Turnkey & Airview Xtreme Silver Zoe White Gail Sorronda "Oh My Goth" Gold Judd Overton "Door Chair Bed Stair"
3 - John Bowring Acs TV Station Breaks & Promos presented by...
- 11/18/2012
- by Emily Blatchford
- IF.com.au
Beautiful Kate is one of those rare films that offer rather controversial and taboo subject matter while at the same time, remaining tasteful and classy. An Australian production based on Newton Thornburg’s novel of the same name, Beautiful Kate is an honest portrayal of dysfunctional family life.
The film opens with Ned Kendall (Ben Mendelsohn), a man in his early 40s who is driving to see his ailing father played with much grumpiness by Bryan Brown. Along for the ride is Ned’s sexy and much younger fiancée, Toni (Maeve Dermody). They stay with Ned’s younger sister, Sally (Rachel Griffiths), at the Kendall family home located in a remote part of rural Australia. While they are there, Ben has flashbacks of when he was a teenager and the scandalous relationship he had with his twin sister, Kate, played by the lovely Sophie Lowe.
The majority of the film...
The film opens with Ned Kendall (Ben Mendelsohn), a man in his early 40s who is driving to see his ailing father played with much grumpiness by Bryan Brown. Along for the ride is Ned’s sexy and much younger fiancée, Toni (Maeve Dermody). They stay with Ned’s younger sister, Sally (Rachel Griffiths), at the Kendall family home located in a remote part of rural Australia. While they are there, Ben has flashbacks of when he was a teenager and the scandalous relationship he had with his twin sister, Kate, played by the lovely Sophie Lowe.
The majority of the film...
- 1/3/2011
- by Randall Unger
- JustPressPlay.net
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