aff & national screenwriters' conference
The last few weeks have seen a few milestones as we work towards our next festival in February 09. In an announcement this week, South Australian Premier, the Hon Mike Rann, confirmed funding for the National Screenwriters’ Conference (NSC) – a project of the Australian Writers’ Guild – to run concurrently and in partnership with the Adelaide Film Festival.
This exciting new partnership will create opportunities to explore the latest developments in writing and its processes through the Conference and complementary programming within the festival. The 2009 AFF will have factual and fictional bookends with the Australian International Documentary Conference, to be held over the festival’s opening days [18-20 Feb], and the National Screenwriters’ Conference over the final weekend [26-28 Feb].
AFF staff news
Our livewire Marketing Manager Nick Zuppar has decided its time to expand his repertoire and try new things. We’re all sorry to see him go as he has brought a unique spark to our marketing campaigns and a lively presence in the office. Our best wishes go with him. Meanwhile our 2009 team is taking shape, with Ruth Cross, who is currently working as a documentary maker in UK but previously was known to many for her work at the Media Resource Centre, appointed Program Co-ordinator and Mat Kesting, formerly from Brisbane International Film Festival as Programming Assistant and Freight Co-ordinator.
another kind of summiteer
You would have had to be living in Antarctica to miss out on the news that AFF Chair Cheryl Bart and her daughter Nikki had reached the summit of Mt Everest. 4:50am Kathmandu time, on 24 May they summited Mt Everest, making Cheryl and her daughter the first Mother/Daughter team to ever summit the world's tallest mountain team and to complete the Seven Summits. It is a truly amazing feat and along with so many others Australians we congratulate them. Their blog has been fascinating reading telling stories of watching lightening storms from above, the crowds of mountaineers at the summit and the struggle to recover after being oxygen deprived for so long.
http://www.bigpondeverest.com/everest/dispatches/index.htmlSUBSCRIBER OFFERS!
On offer to our lucky subscribers this month are double in-season passes galore to the following films:
To win your tickets, CLICK HERE and fill in ALL of your details, and the name of the film. Tickets are limited, and will fly out the door, so be quick!
For those of you who hankered to go to the opening of the Sydney Film Festival this week, we have tickets to their opening night film, Mike Leigh’s Happy Go Lucky, which won a Silver Bear at Berlin for actress Sally Hawkins.
Happy- Go- Lucky dir: Mike Leigh (M)
Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is an irrepressibly cheerful primary school teacher who won't let anyone or anything get her down Living with her flatmate Zoe (Alexis Zegerman), Poppy has a gift for making the most of life. Determined to learn to drive, she finds herself matched with Scott (Eddie Marsan), an uptight driving instructor who is everything she is not. Happy-Go-Lucky is a laugh-out-loud comedy about having fun, looking for love and getting on with life.
The Band’s Visit dir: Erin Kolirin (M)
Once, not long ago, a small Egyptian Police band arrived in Israel. They came to play at an initiation ceremony but, due to bureaucracy, bad luck, or for whatever reason, they were left stranded at the airport. They tried to manage on their own, only to find themselves in a desolate, almost forgotten, small Israeli town, somewhere in the heart of the desert. A lost band in a lost town. Winner of over 30 International Film Awards, The Band’s Visit has captivated audiences and critics around the world. Witty and wise, this Tati-esque comedy is a true gem.
Unfinished Sky dir: Peter Duncan (M)
A unique Australian romantic drama about the nature of loss and the language of love. It’s about finding the courage to trust again, the risks we take to protect those close to us and the devastating consequences of small town secrets. Farmer John Woldring (William McInnes, Look Both Ways, Sea Change) discovers a troubled woman miles from home, injured and unable to speak English. Somewhat reluctantly, John restores Tahmeena (Monic Hendrickx) to health, slowly gaining her trust and learning more about her past, whilst coming to terms with his own.
My Brother is an Only Child dir: Daniele Luchetti (M)
Already a smash hit in its native Italy, My Brother Is An Only Child, was presented at the Cannes and Toronto film festivals in 2007. Accio (Elio Germano) is irritable, explosive and a trouble maker. He fights every battle like a war and his parents despair. His brother Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio) is handsome, charismatic and loved by all, although underneath he is equally as dangerous. My Brother is an Only Child follows the adventures of these two passionate brothers in small town Italy in 1960s and 70s as they fight over politics and over the same woman. Fifteen years of Italian history pass by as these brothers realise that despite their differences, they’re really alike.
20 double sneak passes valid June 13-June 15
ADELAIDE CINEMATHEQUE
The John Sayles: Godfather of Independent Cinema season will be running 16-30 June with screenings of Limbo, Sunshine State, The Secret of Roan Inish and Baby It's You.
Men with Guns (M) Dir: John Sayles US 1997
Humberto Fuentes is a wealthy, urban doctor from an unnamed Latin American country. Recently widowed, he takes a trip to visit his former students who now work in impoverished villages in the mountains. Fuentes journeys deeper. The devastation that he finds is always preceded by men, men with guns.
The first 3 people to email info@mrc.org.au with AFF JOHN SAYLES in the subject header will receive double passes to Men with Guns
7:30pm Monday 16 June Mercury Cinema
AFF Investment Fund News
Documentary director Anna Broinowski has had a brilliant month too. She won the $30,000 NSW Premier’s Script Writing Award for Forbidden Lie$. This came soon after news that the film had been awarded the Special Jury Prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Both she and producer Sally Regan were in San Francisco to collect the award.
call for entries
2008 SHORTS Film Festival
Deadline of 1 August for the 2008 Shorts Film Festival, for a chance to win the coveted first prize trip to Cannes Film Festival.
Download an entry form at www.shortsfilmfestival.com
CINETIC / South Australian Dance Film Showcase 2008
As part of the AntiStatic Reeldance Festival 2008, there will be a specially curated session of local dance film work. Eligible films need to be submitted by Friday 11 July.
To download and entry form, go to http://www.silvertrace.com
FLICKERFEST 2009
Application deadline for Australian Films is Friday 29th September 2008. Entry forms are downloadable from website- www.flickerfest.com.au
