by GREG KING In October 2017 a party was held at Melbourne Town Hall for the elders of the city’s LGBTI community. The Coming Back Out Ball was a celebration for many of the now ageing people who’d lived through the “dark ages” of the 60s and 70s when their sexual identity was often treated as a crime. Filmmaker Sue Thomson made this poignant documentary about the preparations for the event and the actual ball itself. Sue spoke to Greg about the three years she spent working on the film and the reaction to many of Melbourne’s gay community to seeing their stories on Continue reading
MORTAL ENGINES – interview with Menik Gooneratne
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by GREG KING Mortal Engines is based on a YA novel written by Philip Reeve and set in a dystopian future world. The novel has been filmed in New Zealand under the auspices of Peter Jackson, of the Oscar winning Lord Of The Rings trilogy, and marks the feature directorial debut of Christian Rivers, who has worked extensively with Jackson on the visual effects. The film stars Hugo Weaving. One of the stars of the film is London born actress Menik Gooneratne, who spent three years on Neighbours. Greg chatted to Menik about working on this epic film, the special effects, Continue reading
PARACINEMAFEST 2018 – interview with Ben Buckingham
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by GREG KING A new film festival has claimed space in Melbourne's thriving and busy film festival calendar. Paracinema Fest hopes to open the city's film lovers' eyes to new boundary-pushing genre films embracing the wonderfully weird. Embracing all forms of transgressive visual media culture, Paracinema Fest is the mutation of high and low art, conjoining cinema academia with (not) guilty pleasure films and everything inbetween. Highlights include the Melbourne premiere of An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn starring Aubrey Plaza, Jemaine Clement, and Craig Robinson; Continue reading
STAR WARS IDENTITIES EXHIBITION – interview with curator Damian McDonald
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by GREG KING A must for Star Wars fans, this unique exhibition is at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney until June 2019. Follow Luke and Anakin Skywalker, cinema’s preeminent father and son duo, from their origins on Tatooine, to the friends and mentors they meet during adolescence, through the choices they make that will define them as adults. A stunning collection of Star Wars costumes, models, props, and artwork allows you to see these two heroes and all the other unforgettable characters of Star Wars in a whole new way. And at the same time, a unique interactive Continue reading
RUSSIAN RESURRECTION FILM FESTIVAL 2018 – interview with Nicholas Maximow
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by GREG KING The Russian Resurrection Film Festival has established itself as an important event showcasing a rich and diverse program. This year the festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary and opens with the sports themed drama The Coach, from director and star Danila Kozlovsky. The festival is screening 16 contemporary films, as well as a retrospective of films celebrating the centenary of Lenfilm Studios in St Petersburg and a restored print of the 1958 Cannes winning drama The Cranes Are Flying. Greg speaks with the festival’s artistic director to learn more Continue reading
