Welcome to our first enews post the festival. It’s loaded with fabulous freebies to a number of upcoming films, including a few that featured in the festival program, Gomorrah, A Film with Me in It and Closed for Winter.
Sampson & delilah
The line up for Cannes has recently been announced with two Australian feature films in the program, Jane Campion’s Bright Star and in Un Certain Regard, Samson and Delilah, written and directed by Warwick Thornton. As one of the AFF Investment Fund slate films for 2009 and winner of the BigPond Adelaide Film Festival Audience award, we are especially delighted for filmmakers Warwick Thornton and producer Kath Shelper. BAFF Director Katrina Sedgwick will be attending its screening in Cannes, hoping that it makes the same impression on judges there as it did on audiences here. It will release in cinemas on 7 May.
CLICK HERE for the Sampson and Delilah home page.
AFF INVESTMENT FUND NEWS
Hot on the heels of their Official Selection into the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, The People’s Republic of Animation (PRA) won the Creative Hotshop Award for Animation run by Australian Creative magazine for The Cat Piano.
The 2007 Opening Night film Lucky Miles is now available to be downloaded from the BigPond Movies site www.bigpondmovies.com
The wonderful opening night selection for 2009 Sarah Watt’s My Year Without Sex will be coming to cinemas on 28 May. The official website is http://www.myyearwithoutsex.com/
TICKET GIVEAWAYS!!
BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX
Dir: Uli Edel (MA) 
Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear ofthe enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation led by Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek) are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment.
In cinemas May 7
To win one of twenty double passes thanks to Icon Films, CLICK HERE and fill in ALL of your details, and type 'BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX' in the 'which film?' field.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED
Dir: Barry Levinson 
What Just Happened is a winningly sharp comedy about two nail-biting, back-stabbing, roller-coaster weeks in the world of a middle-aged Hollywood producer — as he tries to juggle an actual life with an outrageous series of crises in his day job. Based on producer Art Linson's best selling memoir "What Just Happened? director Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Wag The Dog) reunites with legendary actor Robert De Niro in the lead. In Cinemas May 21
To win a double pass to see What Just Happened simply CLICK HERE and enter your details. Only winners will be notified and tickets will be sent via post.
GOMORRAH
Dir: Matteo Garrone (MA)
Five stories are woven together in this violent scenario, set in a cruel and ostensibly invented world, but one that is deeply rooted in reality, that of the “Camorra” the criminal system that operates in Naples and Caseta. Roberto Saviano has been living under police protection since October 2006 following the success of his anti-Cammora non-fiction-novel on which this film is based.
In cinemas May 14.
To win one of twenty double passes thanks to Madman Cinema, CLICK HERE and fill in ALL of your details, and type 'GOMORRAH' in the 'which film?' field.
STATE OF PLAY
Dir: Kevin Macdonald (M) 
Oscar® winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast in a blistering thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in an case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders. From acclaimed director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland)
In cinemas May 28.
To win one of twenty double passes thanks to Universal Pictures, CLICK HERE and fill in ALL of your details, and type 'STATE OF PLAY' in the 'which film?' field.
CLOSED FOR WINTER
Dir: James Bogle (M)
Based on Georgia Blain’s critically acclaimed novel, this locally produced film showcases an impressive performance by star Natalie Imbruglia in her first leading role. The beach and the missing child are both motifs that have a powerful place in Australian culture as well as having a particularly local resonance. When her sister disappears off a suburban beach, a young girl is left to piece together her life.
In cinemas April 23.
To win one of twenty double passes thanks to Goalpost Distribution, CLICK HERE and fill in ALL of your details, and type 'CLOSED FOR WINTER' in the 'which film?' field.
A FILM WITH ME IN IT
Dir: Ian Fitzgibbon (M) 
Pierce (Dylan Moran of Black Books fame) is an aspiring screenwriter who spends most of his time at the pub with his pal, unemployed actor Mark (Mark Doherty, who also wrote the script). Their inept bumblings take them on a rollercoaster ride from small aggravations into a tsunami of accidental homicides veering between slapstick and black humour.
Season commences May 7
To win one of ten double passes thanks to Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, CLICK HERE and fill in ALL of your details, and type 'A FILM WITH ME IN IT' in the 'which film?' field.
ADELAIDE CINEMATHEQUE
Presented by Screen Australia and the Media Resource Centre at the Mercury Cinema.
ELECTIVE AFFINITIES: THE FILMS OF LOUIS MALLE 
27 April – 7 May
Spanning several decades and continents, the career of Louis Malle (1932–1995) is littered with awards, contradictions and controversy. This special season of imported 35mm prints showcases a director contentedly teetering on the divide between mainstream success and subversive mayhem. Titles includeLacombe, Lucien; Au Revoir Les Enfants andLe Feu Follet.
SHINING LIGHTS: THE CINEMA OF TRANSCENDENCE 11 – 21 May
Four landmark films that have become staples for film lovers everywhere.
Sans Soleil (Chris Marker) Stroszeck (Werner Herzog); Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas); Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky)
Mercury Cinema is giving away 4 double passes to Silent Light, winner of Jury Prize Cannes 2007 undoubtedly one of the finest films you will see on the big screen this year. Screens 18 May.
Ring 8410 0979 to win tix.
NEW CHINESE FILM FESTIVAL 13-20 May
MRC is pleased to present a selection of four stunning new Chinese films showcasing its environmental and cultural diversity. This is a rare opportunity to see some fascinating recent films that won’t be available elsewhere.
We have 5 double passes to the opening film Cherries, screening Wed 13 May.
Ring MRC on 8410 0979
For full details visit www.mercurycinema.org.au
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