Adelaide Film Festival Board GETS ANIMATED!
It’s official, the newest member of the Adelaide Film Festival Board of Directors is Sam White, Managing Director of The People’s Republic of Animation (PRA).
“We are delighted that Sam White has agreed to join the Adelaide Film Festival Board. Sam’s involvement ensures the Festival will continue to benefit from a diversity of knowledge, skills and contacts. His youth, talent and absolute passion for the industry are all very important elements for us to have on the Board.
“Sam is also a perfect choice for a board member because of his international experience and proven track record - especially with his work in animation,” said Cheryl Bart, AFF Chairman.
Sam has guided PRA’s growth from a group of young, talented artists to a highly-professional and productive studio creating international award-winning short films, TV series, commercials, mobile content and 3D character animation for next-generation console games. Sam has produced and co-produced the PRA’s previous AFI nominated short film titles, Fritz gets Rich (2005) and Carnivore Reflux (2006) and is now leading the PRA’s expansion into Asian markets, having produced the first official Australian-Chinese animated co-production, Sweet & Sour (2007).
AFF Investment Fund Update
For Australia’s cinephiles the 12 August this year marked the end of the annual round of Australian film festivals, and back at the AFF office we’re been waiting to see how audiences have responded to the programs and what they voted for in the audience awards. Lists are always fun and we know from our own experience that only a couple of votes may separate some of these selections, so it’s more about being in the ballpark. We’re thrilled for the filmmakers that titles from the AFF Investment slate are getting such positive responses- Words From the City, the hip hop doc by Natasha Gadd and Rhys Graham was voted second at Melbourne, with Forbidden Lie$ (Anna Broinowski) checking in at 7. Up in Brisbane they took a huge shine to The Home Song Stories (Tony Ayers), voting it as second favourite, with an international panel also giving it a FIPRESCI Award. It’s also selected into the Toronto and Edinburgh Film Festivals.
In more good news, both Forbidden Lie$ and Words from the City are vying for Best Documentary, having both been nominated in the category for the AFI Awards. Forbidden Lie$ will be screening at the Vancouver Film Festival and the Sheffield Documentary Film Festival later in the year and has sold for theatrical distribution in Japan and the Middle East.
Congratulations also to Rolf de Heer and the Vertigo team for Dr Plonk’s selection into the Visions section of the Toronto Film Festival.
subscriber offer: free FILM tickets!!!
MORE FREE FILMS THAN YOU CAN POKE A STICK AT!
On offer to our lucky subscribers this month are double passes galore to the following films: Rolf de Heer's latest masterpiece: DR PLONK (Wed 29 August, 6.30pm, Wallis Mitcham CInemas) , the fabulous documentary: FORBIDDEN LIE$ (September 8 & 9, Palace Cinemas) , the Irish feature: ONCE (season pass) and one for music fans: STRUMMER : THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN (September 12, 6.30pm, Nova East End Cinemas).
To win your tickets, CLICK HERE and fill in ALL of your details. Make sure you type in the name of the film you want tickets for in the 'Which Film?' field. Tickets are limited, and will fly out the door, so be quick!
If you have trouble filling out the form, please CLICK HERE and email your contact details and film name.
DR PLONK
Palace Films presents Another Film by Rolf de Heer
A COMEDY ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD
It is the great year of 1907. Dr Plonk, eminent scientist and inventor, calculates that the world will end in exactly 101 years unless immediate action is taken. As befalls visionaries through the ages, Plonk is ridiculed for his beliefs, by politicians, by bureaucrats, even by his faithful manservant Paulus. Being the lateral thinker that he is, Plonk invents a time machine and sets out to collect the necessary proof from the very future that's ending.
But little about the year of 2007 makes sense to the intrepid doctor. His efforts to alert the appropriate authorities cause him to fall foul of the law and become a hunted man. With the nation's entire law-enforcement system arrayed against him, a scientific question is posed... can Dr Plonk run fast enough?
FORBIDDEN LIE$ (M)
20 double preview passes hanks to Palace Films
In July 2004, Norma Khouri, the best-selling author of Forbidden Love was exposed as a major literary fake. Her book, which had sold 250,000 copies world wide, purported to tell of her experiences in Jordan where a friend, Dalia, had been stabbed to death by her father after she had fallen love with a Christian man. Khouri claimed to have fled Jordan to Australia after being targeted with a fatwah over her campaign against honour killings. In reality she seems to have left Chicago in 1999 one step ahead of the FBI who wanted her for questioning over property transactions and other assorted frauds. Director Anna Broinowski, has been able to get remarkable access to Khouri (or rather Norma Bagain) who emerges as a charismatic and manipulative figure as well as to her victims and the law enforcement agencies she has left in her wake. A real-life literary thriller.
Saturday & Sunday September 8 & 9.
check daily papers or www.palacenova.com for session times.
ONCE (M)
20 double in season passes thanks to Icon Films
If you are fans of the group The Frames, the support act for the Bob Dylan concerts, you might be even more tempted to catch to the Irish feature film Once. Glen Hansard, their lead singer wrote ten songs for the film which evolved in tandem with the story, described as a modern love story, partly told through the songs. Written and directed by John Carney Once is a nod to the classic musicals of the past, about two kindred spirits who find each other on the bustling streets of Dublin.. Winner of Audience Awards at Sundance and Dublin Film Festivals.
STRUMMER : THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN
25 double preview passes thanks to Dendy Films
As the front man of the Clash from 1977 onwards, Joe Strummer changed people's lives forever. Five years after his death, his influence reaches out around the world, more strongly now then ever before. In "The Future is Unwritten", from British film director Julien Temple, Joe Strummer is revealed not just as a legend or musician, but as a true communicator of our times. Drawing on both a shared punk history and the close personal friendship which developed over the last years of Joe's life, Julien Temple's film is a celebration of Joe Strummer before, during and after the Clash.
SHORTS ON!
The Shorts Film Festival is on the move. Previously based at Garage Bar and held in October this feisty little fest with the seriously huge first prize of a trip to the Cannes Film Festival, will be happening early December in the historic Queens Theatre. They are calling for entries now in the genres of drama, comedy, documentary, animation, claymation and digital media. Deadline is Friday 12 October with forms available from their website www.shortsfilmfestival.com
VOTE IN THE IF AWARDS
There are only three weeks to go until scoring closes for the 2007 Inside Film Awards, at midnight on the 14th of September. All Australian films screened theatrically or at IF Accredited Festivals, which includes most of the Australian films you may have seen at AFF or since the 18th of September 2006 are eligible. They can be rated by registering at www.ifawards.com
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Scott Hicks Documentary in Toronto FF
While plenty of attention is being paid to Scott Hick’s new feature No Reservations, he again proves himself a man of many parts with the newly released line up for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival including his documentary Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts. Hicks followed Glass across three continents over 18 months with unprecedented access to Glass’ working process to create this intimate portrait.
Peace One Day TV
The intrepid director Jeremey Gilley, [AFF 05] who made the documentary Peace One Day is launching an interactive internet television channel on September 7- Peace One Day TV- to provide a platform for the global peacemaking community. They are looking for films of any length whose content or inspiration is related directly or indirectly to the theme of peace and non-violence, anything in fact that is related to the process of creating peace and sustainability around the world and within personal lives.
Contact info@peaceoneday.org or visit their website: www.peaceoneday.org.
Mercury Cinema – SPECIAL Ticket Offer
Five Double tickets offered to the first people to ring MRC on 8410 0979
Tom Zubrycki at the Mercury
The Media Resource Centre, in association with the Adelaide Film Festival are co-presenting this screening which will be followed by a Q&A session with Tom Zubrycki
Tom Zubrycki makes long-form documentaries about acutely relevant political topics illuminated by intimate personal portraits. His stellar career has featured memorable works such as The Diplomat and Molly and Mobarack and his latest film Temple of Dreams, had an extra sessions scheduled at Sydney FF due to audience demand. Temple of Dreams is a story told from the inside revealing Muslim Australians in a way that dispels stereotypes of a vilified and victimised minority. It’s main character is Fadi Rahman, one of a new breed of young Muslim leaders. Young, charismatic and politically ambitious, he runs a youth centre in Sydney's west in what was once a Masonic Temple. The Centre struggles in the face of council planning regulations and funding shortfalls so Fadi sets out to solve the Centre’s problems with the help of three determined but often argumentative young women Alyah, Amna and Zouhour.
7:30 pm Wednesday 12 September at Mercury Cinema, 13 Morphett St; As this is an MRC Karma Cup event it’s free for MRC members and $9 for non members. Bookings 8410 0979
Popcorn Taxi - Megan Spencer
Lovestruck: Wrestling’s No I Fan (M)
Q& A with Megan after the screening
This film by well known Triple J film critic and more recently Director of the Revelation Film Festival is a documentary about Australia's most obsessed fan of Professional Wrestling, Melbourne woman Sue Chuter. Taking ten years to make, it‘s an emotional and entertaining story about one woman's obsession and her place in the world.
"It's full of wrestling and testosterone, but it's almost like a legitimised chick flick for men because I've had men walking out at the end of the film just bawling their eyes out."
The 52-minute doco was cut from about 60 hours of footage as well as archival material and has had a theatrical release in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, so don’t miss it’s only Adelaide screening.
7:30pm Friday 31 August, Mercury Cinema $11/$9
Valley of the Flowers (M)
A sweeping adventure from the wilds of Northern Asia.
Directed by Pan Nalin- India 155 mins 2006.
