Founding member of The Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Serge Gainsbourg song stylist Mick Harvey with Ed Bahlman on arriving in London: “The Pop Group were held very dear by the band as a kind of guide for how things could be, if you want to be that extreme. And The Fall were very much loved.”
In the second installment of Mick Harvey’s conversation with music producer and 99 Records founder, Ed Bahlman, on Mutiny In Heaven: The Birthday Party, they discussed The Birthday Party leaving Melbourne in 1980 to live in London; the differing life experiences at that time for him, Phill Calvert, and Tracy Pew, compared to Nick Cave and Rowland S Howard; British bands - The Fall, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, Killing Joke, The Pop Group and Mark Stewart; Lindsay Gravina’s on-camera interviews; Richard Lowenstein and...
In the second installment of Mick Harvey’s conversation with music producer and 99 Records founder, Ed Bahlman, on Mutiny In Heaven: The Birthday Party, they discussed The Birthday Party leaving Melbourne in 1980 to live in London; the differing life experiences at that time for him, Phill Calvert, and Tracy Pew, compared to Nick Cave and Rowland S Howard; British bands - The Fall, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, Killing Joke, The Pop Group and Mark Stewart; Lindsay Gravina’s on-camera interviews; Richard Lowenstein and...
- 12/30/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Campaign
The U.K. Film and TV Charity launched a year-long campaign on Wednesday to tackle the mental health challenges facing the industry. The “Let’s Reset” campaign is designed to tackle the stigma still associated with mental health by challenging common preconceptions, improving attitudes and behaviors across the industry, and by demonstrating the benefits of healthier, more supported, and inclusive working environments, including greater creativity, diversity, and retention of talent.
New research from the second Looking Glass Survey due at the end of the month indicates almost four out of five workers in film and TV believe intensity of work is having a negative impact on their mental health.
The campaign calls on those in positions of power to act, to effect change, and commit to better ways of working. It will move from awareness-raising in the initial launch phase to showcasing and amplifying tools and initiatives to improve the support available,...
The U.K. Film and TV Charity launched a year-long campaign on Wednesday to tackle the mental health challenges facing the industry. The “Let’s Reset” campaign is designed to tackle the stigma still associated with mental health by challenging common preconceptions, improving attitudes and behaviors across the industry, and by demonstrating the benefits of healthier, more supported, and inclusive working environments, including greater creativity, diversity, and retention of talent.
New research from the second Looking Glass Survey due at the end of the month indicates almost four out of five workers in film and TV believe intensity of work is having a negative impact on their mental health.
The campaign calls on those in positions of power to act, to effect change, and commit to better ways of working. It will move from awareness-raising in the initial launch phase to showcasing and amplifying tools and initiatives to improve the support available,...
- 10/6/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
After handing over the reins at Endemol Shine Australia last year, Mark Fennessy has officially launched his next venture, Helium.
The Sydney-based company will comprise three arms – Helium Studios, Helium Pictures and Helium Records – blending the producer’s passions of film/TV and music.
As an independent production label, Helium will have a primary focus on premium scripted and premium factual. Fennessy, who will act as the company’s chief creative officer, tells If his focus is on the “premium, contemporary, noisy, disruptive”.
“Via a growing stable of artists and creative talent, coupled with a unique network of storytellers, writers, and producers, we’re committed to building sustainable and truly rewarding partnerships,” he says.
On the Helium launch slate is the previously announced Last King of the Cross, in pre-production for Paramount+; feature film 6 Festivals, also for Paramount+, and crime thriller series Sex and Thugs and Rock n Roll, in advanced development.
The Sydney-based company will comprise three arms – Helium Studios, Helium Pictures and Helium Records – blending the producer’s passions of film/TV and music.
As an independent production label, Helium will have a primary focus on premium scripted and premium factual. Fennessy, who will act as the company’s chief creative officer, tells If his focus is on the “premium, contemporary, noisy, disruptive”.
“Via a growing stable of artists and creative talent, coupled with a unique network of storytellers, writers, and producers, we’re committed to building sustainable and truly rewarding partnerships,” he says.
On the Helium launch slate is the previously announced Last King of the Cross, in pre-production for Paramount+; feature film 6 Festivals, also for Paramount+, and crime thriller series Sex and Thugs and Rock n Roll, in advanced development.
- 10/6/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
A television adaptation of 2018’s Ladies in Black, a feature film from Bryan Brown, and a television drama from one of the creators of Offspring are among the 21 projects to share in more than $730,000 in development funding from Screen Australia.
Of the projects to receive funding, 10 have been supported through the Generate fund and 11 through the Premium fund.
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said the agency was impressed by the “rigorous creativity” of Australian creators as the industry continued to rebound from Covid-19.
“It’s great to see a number of engaging stories set around iconic milestones in Australian history, from the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to the social change that took place in the 60s or the recession in the 80s, and I look forward to seeing these projects develop further,” she said.
Features:
Premium:
1989
Sewing Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Writer...
Of the projects to receive funding, 10 have been supported through the Generate fund and 11 through the Premium fund.
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said the agency was impressed by the “rigorous creativity” of Australian creators as the industry continued to rebound from Covid-19.
“It’s great to see a number of engaging stories set around iconic milestones in Australian history, from the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to the social change that took place in the 60s or the recession in the 80s, and I look forward to seeing these projects develop further,” she said.
Features:
Premium:
1989
Sewing Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Writer...
- 3/1/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
When Fti was consolidated into Screenwest back in 2017, the annual Wa Screen Awards disappeared with it.
However, Revelation Perth International Film Festival director Richard Sowada has sought to bring them back, giving the state’s industry an awards platform for the first time in nearly five years.
Newly dubbed the Western Australian Screen Culture Awards, the event will bookend Revelation in mid-December.
Sowada has somewhat reimagined the honours, with a focus on innovation and achievement. Categories span all screen genres, from shorts, features and docos, through to VR/Ar, games, moving image art and installation.
The aim is to recognise the extraordinary growth and current vibracy of the Western Australian industry; Sowada posits that when he started Revelation back in 1997, Wa produced a feature film every three years.
“Over the years, particularly in the last six years or so, it’s exploded,” he tells If.
“There’s an enormous amount of work coming out,...
However, Revelation Perth International Film Festival director Richard Sowada has sought to bring them back, giving the state’s industry an awards platform for the first time in nearly five years.
Newly dubbed the Western Australian Screen Culture Awards, the event will bookend Revelation in mid-December.
Sowada has somewhat reimagined the honours, with a focus on innovation and achievement. Categories span all screen genres, from shorts, features and docos, through to VR/Ar, games, moving image art and installation.
The aim is to recognise the extraordinary growth and current vibracy of the Western Australian industry; Sowada posits that when he started Revelation back in 1997, Wa produced a feature film every three years.
“Over the years, particularly in the last six years or so, it’s exploded,” he tells If.
“There’s an enormous amount of work coming out,...
- 10/23/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Mark and Carl Fennessy.
Endemol Shine Australia co-CEOs Mark and Carl Fennessy are departing after leading the company for 10 years, with chief content officer Peter Newman taking over as CEO.
This follows the $US2.2 billion global takeover of Endemol Shine Group by the European production and distribution giant Banijay Group.
Meanwhile, Rory Callaghan continues as CEO of Banijay-owned Screentime, which is yet to be integrated with Endemol Shine. Its slate includes Sas: Who Dares Wins, Rbt and Anh’s Brush with Fame.
Business partners for 26 years after founding indie producer Crackerjack, the Fennessys say they are looking forward to taking a long break. No date has yet been revealed for the handover to Newman, who joined Shine in 2012 as creative director and was upped to chief content officer in 2018.
Newman has overseen one of the world’s biggest unscripted production slates including MasterChef Australia, Big Brother, Gogglebox Australia, Australian Survivor,...
Endemol Shine Australia co-CEOs Mark and Carl Fennessy are departing after leading the company for 10 years, with chief content officer Peter Newman taking over as CEO.
This follows the $US2.2 billion global takeover of Endemol Shine Group by the European production and distribution giant Banijay Group.
Meanwhile, Rory Callaghan continues as CEO of Banijay-owned Screentime, which is yet to be integrated with Endemol Shine. Its slate includes Sas: Who Dares Wins, Rbt and Anh’s Brush with Fame.
Business partners for 26 years after founding indie producer Crackerjack, the Fennessys say they are looking forward to taking a long break. No date has yet been revealed for the handover to Newman, who joined Shine in 2012 as creative director and was upped to chief content officer in 2018.
Newman has overseen one of the world’s biggest unscripted production slates including MasterChef Australia, Big Brother, Gogglebox Australia, Australian Survivor,...
- 9/22/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Richard Lowenstein, his frequent Italian collaborator Domenico Procacci, Laura Paolucci and Sue Murray.
Richard Lowenstein’s Ghost Pictures is collaborating with independent producer Mark Fennessy on a feature documentary on Afl star Dustin Martin and a miniseries based on Billy Thorpe’s first book.
Fennessy acquired the rights to both projects and approached Lowenstein after they worked together on Mystify: Michael Hutchence. Fennessy served as a producer on that film and helped acquire the rights to Inxs’s music.
Both are being developed as co-productions between Fennessy’s production company and Ghost Pictures, in which Lowenstein is partnered with Andrew de Groot and Lynn-Maree Milburn.
Milburn is working on the treatment on the feature doc on the colourful Richmond footballer whose New Zealand-based father Shane Martin, a former high-ranking member of the Rebels motorcycle gang, was refused entry to Australia in February.
“It will be a fascinating story; the treatment reads beautifully,...
Richard Lowenstein’s Ghost Pictures is collaborating with independent producer Mark Fennessy on a feature documentary on Afl star Dustin Martin and a miniseries based on Billy Thorpe’s first book.
Fennessy acquired the rights to both projects and approached Lowenstein after they worked together on Mystify: Michael Hutchence. Fennessy served as a producer on that film and helped acquire the rights to Inxs’s music.
Both are being developed as co-productions between Fennessy’s production company and Ghost Pictures, in which Lowenstein is partnered with Andrew de Groot and Lynn-Maree Milburn.
Milburn is working on the treatment on the feature doc on the colourful Richmond footballer whose New Zealand-based father Shane Martin, a former high-ranking member of the Rebels motorcycle gang, was refused entry to Australia in February.
“It will be a fascinating story; the treatment reads beautifully,...
- 6/24/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘I Met a Girl.’
Screen Australia is taking a slightly tougher position in evaluating feature film projects this year, while the agency is seeing a spike in feature documentary and high-end TV drama pitches.
There has been a slight drop in feature film funding applications, which could imply that fewer theatrical features will be funded, with some money diverted to docs, TV drama and online projects.
“We are still incredibly supportive of and committed to film but we are seeing some applications that are not strong enough,” Screen Australia head of content Sally Caplan tells If.
“The scripts may be good but the pathway to audiences and the financing may not necessarily have been thought through. We are being a bit tougher.”
According to Caplan the intention is to fund the development of fewer feature projects, an approach that is a “bit stricter” than previously.
The agency is getting a...
Screen Australia is taking a slightly tougher position in evaluating feature film projects this year, while the agency is seeing a spike in feature documentary and high-end TV drama pitches.
There has been a slight drop in feature film funding applications, which could imply that fewer theatrical features will be funded, with some money diverted to docs, TV drama and online projects.
“We are still incredibly supportive of and committed to film but we are seeing some applications that are not strong enough,” Screen Australia head of content Sally Caplan tells If.
“The scripts may be good but the pathway to audiences and the financing may not necessarily have been thought through. We are being a bit tougher.”
According to Caplan the intention is to fund the development of fewer feature projects, an approach that is a “bit stricter” than previously.
The agency is getting a...
- 1/28/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Twenty-two years have passed since Inxs frontman Michael Hutchence died, and while songs like “Never Tear Us Apart,” “New Sensation,” and “Need You Tonight” remain staples on classic-rock radio and at karaoke clubs, the band has had a difficult time moving forward. Despite putting out two records with different singers and launching a TV competition to find a new vocalist (Rock Star: Inxs aired in 2004), Hutchence’s shadow has loomed large over the band. That’s because the singer boasted an unmistakable voice and a unique presence, not to mention...
- 1/21/2020
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
‘Ride Like a Girl.’
The Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas last year, including minor contributions from holdovers, generated more than $40.2 million.
While that trailed the 2018 total of $57.4 million, there are several positives for the screen production industry.
The not-so-good news for the broader screen sector is that the 2019 calendar year B.O. seems certain to fall below $1.2 billion for the first time since 2014.
Ten titles including three feature docs – Damon Gameau’s 2040, Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence and Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream – each grossed more than $1 million.
Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl was the stand-out, raking in $11.5 million. Arguably, Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding ($5.2 million), Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy ($5 million) and Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach ($4.4 million) fulfilled their potential and reaped the benefits of wide releases and hefty marketing campaigns – a level of support denied to numerous local films.
The Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas last year, including minor contributions from holdovers, generated more than $40.2 million.
While that trailed the 2018 total of $57.4 million, there are several positives for the screen production industry.
The not-so-good news for the broader screen sector is that the 2019 calendar year B.O. seems certain to fall below $1.2 billion for the first time since 2014.
Ten titles including three feature docs – Damon Gameau’s 2040, Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence and Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream – each grossed more than $1 million.
Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl was the stand-out, raking in $11.5 million. Arguably, Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding ($5.2 million), Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy ($5 million) and Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach ($4.4 million) fulfilled their potential and reaped the benefits of wide releases and hefty marketing campaigns – a level of support denied to numerous local films.
- 1/5/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Tony Sokol Dec 30, 2019
Richard Lowenstein takes away the myths, but adds to the legend in his documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence.
Michael Hutchence, the lead singer of Inxs, appeared to live a life in excess of the flavors of even some of the most hedonistic rock stars. He toured the world, dated pop idols and international models, and explored pleasure in all forms. His death, on Nov. 22, 1997, achieved equally mythic status.
The 37-year-old singer apparently hung himself with his snake skin belt in room 524 of Sydney's Ritz-Carlton hotel. The coroner's report said there was alcohol, cocaine, codeine, Prozac, Valium and prescription benzodiazepines in the artist's blood and urine. Paula Yates, who jilted her rock royalty husband to be with the "elegantly wasted" singer, added to the myth by theorizing Huchence died of autoerotic asphyxiation. Richard Lowenstein's documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence, which Fathom Events will present in theaters for one night only on Jan.
Richard Lowenstein takes away the myths, but adds to the legend in his documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence.
Michael Hutchence, the lead singer of Inxs, appeared to live a life in excess of the flavors of even some of the most hedonistic rock stars. He toured the world, dated pop idols and international models, and explored pleasure in all forms. His death, on Nov. 22, 1997, achieved equally mythic status.
The 37-year-old singer apparently hung himself with his snake skin belt in room 524 of Sydney's Ritz-Carlton hotel. The coroner's report said there was alcohol, cocaine, codeine, Prozac, Valium and prescription benzodiazepines in the artist's blood and urine. Paula Yates, who jilted her rock royalty husband to be with the "elegantly wasted" singer, added to the myth by theorizing Huchence died of autoerotic asphyxiation. Richard Lowenstein's documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence, which Fathom Events will present in theaters for one night only on Jan.
- 12/31/2019
- Den of Geek
To mark the release of Mystify: Michael Hutchence on 9th December, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on DVD.
Nominated for Best Documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Mystify is written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, who also directed the majority of both Inxs and Michael’s music videos and the 1986 feature film, Dogs in Space, in which Michael played the lead.
An intimate narrative portrait, imbued with authenticity, warmth and humour, of the internationally renowned Inxs frontman, Michael Hutchence. Michael came to epitomise the very definition of leather clad sexually magnetic rock front man, whilst underneath it all he was a poetic, multifaceted and intensely sensitive man who struggled with the idea of success and the creative limits of pop. Extraordinary archive footage, personal home movies and intimate insights from Michael’s friends, lovers, band-members, family, collaborators and Hutchence himself guide us through a trajectory...
Nominated for Best Documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Mystify is written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, who also directed the majority of both Inxs and Michael’s music videos and the 1986 feature film, Dogs in Space, in which Michael played the lead.
An intimate narrative portrait, imbued with authenticity, warmth and humour, of the internationally renowned Inxs frontman, Michael Hutchence. Michael came to epitomise the very definition of leather clad sexually magnetic rock front man, whilst underneath it all he was a poetic, multifaceted and intensely sensitive man who struggled with the idea of success and the creative limits of pop. Extraordinary archive footage, personal home movies and intimate insights from Michael’s friends, lovers, band-members, family, collaborators and Hutchence himself guide us through a trajectory...
- 12/2/2019
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
‘Lambs of God’.
Lingo Pictures’ four-part TV drama Lambs of God has collected an unprecedented 18 Aacta Award nominations, while Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale leads in film with 15 nods.
The Australian Academy revealed the full list of nominees for the annual awards today, with almost 60 to be presented across two events in Sydney in six weeks time.
Some 15 films are up for awards, though four dominate almost every category: Kent’s revenge tale, Anthony Maras’ debut feature Hotel Mumbai and David Michôd’s Netflix-backed The King, which each received 13 nominations, and Mirrah Foulkes’ dark comedy Judy & Punch, which earned nine. Each is nominated for Best Film alongside Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like A Girl and Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding.
Up in the Best Indie Film category (budgeted under $2 million) are Thomas M. Wright’s Acute Misfortune, Heath Davis’ Book Week, Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy, Imogen Thomas’ Emu...
Lingo Pictures’ four-part TV drama Lambs of God has collected an unprecedented 18 Aacta Award nominations, while Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale leads in film with 15 nods.
The Australian Academy revealed the full list of nominees for the annual awards today, with almost 60 to be presented across two events in Sydney in six weeks time.
Some 15 films are up for awards, though four dominate almost every category: Kent’s revenge tale, Anthony Maras’ debut feature Hotel Mumbai and David Michôd’s Netflix-backed The King, which each received 13 nominations, and Mirrah Foulkes’ dark comedy Judy & Punch, which earned nine. Each is nominated for Best Film alongside Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like A Girl and Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding.
Up in the Best Indie Film category (budgeted under $2 million) are Thomas M. Wright’s Acute Misfortune, Heath Davis’ Book Week, Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy, Imogen Thomas’ Emu...
- 10/22/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Shout! Factory has taken the film for the Us and is plotting a one-night-only event with Fathom Events in over 600 screens.
UK doc specialists Dogwoof has closed multiple all-rights deals on Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence, about the life of the legendary Inxs front-man who tragically died at the height of his fame.
Shout! Factory has taken the film for the Us and is plotting a one-night-only event with Fathom Events in over 600 screens for January 7.
Other key sales include KinoSmith (Canada); Maritim (German-speaking Europe); UFO (France); Wanted (Italy); and Piece of Magic (Benelux) with a previously announced sale...
UK doc specialists Dogwoof has closed multiple all-rights deals on Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence, about the life of the legendary Inxs front-man who tragically died at the height of his fame.
Shout! Factory has taken the film for the Us and is plotting a one-night-only event with Fathom Events in over 600 screens for January 7.
Other key sales include KinoSmith (Canada); Maritim (German-speaking Europe); UFO (France); Wanted (Italy); and Piece of Magic (Benelux) with a previously announced sale...
- 10/17/2019
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
The film about the Inxs frontman follows Surviving R Kelly and Leaving Neverland in upping the stakes considerably
What killed Michael Hutchence? Mystify: Michael Hutchence brings new information to light. According to then-girlfriend Helena Christensen, in 1992 the Inxs frontman got into an altercation with a taxi driver which led to him falling and hitting his head. She remembers him lying unconscious in the street with blood coming out of his mouth and ear. Hutchence woke up in hospital angry and confused, and refused to be treated. After that, friends say, he was never quite the same: he became aggressive, erratic and “seemed to crave more danger”. His death, five years later, was ruled to be suicide by hanging but, Mystify reveals, the autopsy revealed large areas of brain damage.
Perhaps the desire to come up with such a revelation is particularly understandable in the case of Hutchence, whose death was...
What killed Michael Hutchence? Mystify: Michael Hutchence brings new information to light. According to then-girlfriend Helena Christensen, in 1992 the Inxs frontman got into an altercation with a taxi driver which led to him falling and hitting his head. She remembers him lying unconscious in the street with blood coming out of his mouth and ear. Hutchence woke up in hospital angry and confused, and refused to be treated. After that, friends say, he was never quite the same: he became aggressive, erratic and “seemed to crave more danger”. His death, five years later, was ruled to be suicide by hanging but, Mystify reveals, the autopsy revealed large areas of brain damage.
Perhaps the desire to come up with such a revelation is particularly understandable in the case of Hutchence, whose death was...
- 10/7/2019
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
The Rome Film Festival (October 17-27) has unveiled its 2019 official selection, which includes Downton Abbey, Waves, Judy, The Aeronauts, Hustlers and Werner Herzog documentary Nomad[/link] about writer Bruce Chatwin.
A total of 33 films and documentaries will play in the official lineup (full list below). As previously announced, the fest will open with Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn while Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman will have a centerpiece screening. Only two Italian movies are included in the main selection.
The festival also revealed a pre-opening October 16 world premiere for John Turturro’s anticipated The Big Lebowski spinoff, The Jesus Rolls, which follows Lebowski character Jesus Quintana.
The impressive lineup of onstage interviews includes Bill Murray and Viola Davis – both of whom will receive lifetime achievement awards – Fanny Ardant, Olivier Assayas, Ethan Coen, Benicio Del Toro, Bret Easton Ellis, Ron Howard, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Edward Norton, Bertrand Tavernier, John Travolta and Jia Zhangke.
A total of 33 films and documentaries will play in the official lineup (full list below). As previously announced, the fest will open with Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn while Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman will have a centerpiece screening. Only two Italian movies are included in the main selection.
The festival also revealed a pre-opening October 16 world premiere for John Turturro’s anticipated The Big Lebowski spinoff, The Jesus Rolls, which follows Lebowski character Jesus Quintana.
The impressive lineup of onstage interviews includes Bill Murray and Viola Davis – both of whom will receive lifetime achievement awards – Fanny Ardant, Olivier Assayas, Ethan Coen, Benicio Del Toro, Bret Easton Ellis, Ron Howard, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Edward Norton, Bertrand Tavernier, John Travolta and Jia Zhangke.
- 10/4/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Dogwoof has released a new trailer for Richard Lowenstein’s documentary on the Inxs frontman, ‘Mystify: Michael Hutchence’.
Nominated for Best Documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Mystify: Michael Hutchence is written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, who also directed the majority of both Inxs and Michael’s music videos and the 1986 feature film, ‘Dogs in Space’, in which Michael played the lead. As a close friend, Richard was given unprecedented access resulting in rare archive footage and intimate insights from friends, lovers, family, colleagues and Michael himself. As a result, Richard was able to paint a truly unique portrayal of Michael’s life and career, reminding us of the genius that he was.
The film is a journey into the heart and soul of Michael Hutchence, internationally renowned lead-singer of Inxs, a complex and shy man who spent much of his life in the public eye, rarely...
Nominated for Best Documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Mystify: Michael Hutchence is written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, who also directed the majority of both Inxs and Michael’s music videos and the 1986 feature film, ‘Dogs in Space’, in which Michael played the lead. As a close friend, Richard was given unprecedented access resulting in rare archive footage and intimate insights from friends, lovers, family, colleagues and Michael himself. As a result, Richard was able to paint a truly unique portrayal of Michael’s life and career, reminding us of the genius that he was.
The film is a journey into the heart and soul of Michael Hutchence, internationally renowned lead-singer of Inxs, a complex and shy man who spent much of his life in the public eye, rarely...
- 9/10/2019
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"He was the complete package..." "And everyone wanted a piece of him." Dogwoof has debuted an official trailer for a music documentary titled Mystify: Michael Hutchence, from Australian filmmaker Richard Lowenstein, which first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. Lowenstein is a director of the majority of both Inxs and Michael's music videos and the 1986 feature film, Dogs in Space, in which Michael played the lead. Inxs was an Australian rock band, formed in 1977 in Sydney, with Hutchence as the lead singer and main lyricist. He sadly passed away in 1997 from a suicide. The feature doc film is about the "troubled heart and soul" of Michael Hutchence of Inxs. This premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and played at the Sydney and Karlovy Vary Film Festivals this summer. Looks like another good biopic doc. Here's the official trailer for Richard Lowenstein's doc Mystify: Michael Hutchence, from YouTube...
- 9/9/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
‘Ride Like a Girl’.
Graeme Mason recognises the structural challenges facing independent films but does not subscribe to the view that this is a down year for Australian cinema.
While the Screen Australia CEO acknowledges 2019 has yet to produce a breakout hit like Peter Rabbit, Lion or Ladies in Black, he rates the year to date as very successful on a number of fronts, including:
Seven films have each grossed each more than $1 million. Exhibitors have high hopes for Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl, the Michelle Payne biopic staring Teresa Palmer, which Transmission Films launches on September 26; some pundits think it can make upwards of $10 million. The consistent popularity of feature doc such as Damon Gameau’s 2040 and Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence. Australian films are making their marks at the Sundance, Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals. Shannon Murphy won the gig of directing two episodes of...
Graeme Mason recognises the structural challenges facing independent films but does not subscribe to the view that this is a down year for Australian cinema.
While the Screen Australia CEO acknowledges 2019 has yet to produce a breakout hit like Peter Rabbit, Lion or Ladies in Black, he rates the year to date as very successful on a number of fronts, including:
Seven films have each grossed each more than $1 million. Exhibitors have high hopes for Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl, the Michelle Payne biopic staring Teresa Palmer, which Transmission Films launches on September 26; some pundits think it can make upwards of $10 million. The consistent popularity of feature doc such as Damon Gameau’s 2040 and Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence. Australian films are making their marks at the Sundance, Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals. Shannon Murphy won the gig of directing two episodes of...
- 9/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Mystify: Michael Hutchence.’
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) has unveiled the first set of nominees for this year’s awards, announcing the five films that will compete for Best Documentary.
Two films detailing the racial vilification of former Sydney Swans captain and Australian of the Year Adam Goodes, Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream and Ian Darling’s The Final Quarter, will square off against other for the award.
Other nominees include Richard Lowenstein’s portrait of his late friend and Inxs frontman, Mystify: Michael Hutchence, which has made more than $1 million at the box office and screened at Tribeca and Hot Docs. Maya Newell’s In My Blood It Runs, which premiered in competition at Hot Docs, will also compete for the award, as will Janine Hosking’s portrait of concert pianist Geoffrey Tozer, The Eulogy.
‘The Australian Dream’.
A notable omission from the nominees...
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) has unveiled the first set of nominees for this year’s awards, announcing the five films that will compete for Best Documentary.
Two films detailing the racial vilification of former Sydney Swans captain and Australian of the Year Adam Goodes, Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream and Ian Darling’s The Final Quarter, will square off against other for the award.
Other nominees include Richard Lowenstein’s portrait of his late friend and Inxs frontman, Mystify: Michael Hutchence, which has made more than $1 million at the box office and screened at Tribeca and Hot Docs. Maya Newell’s In My Blood It Runs, which premiered in competition at Hot Docs, will also compete for the award, as will Janine Hosking’s portrait of concert pianist Geoffrey Tozer, The Eulogy.
‘The Australian Dream’.
A notable omission from the nominees...
- 8/21/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan.’
The box office results for the Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas this year underline yet again the deep polarisation in the indie film market between the higher earners and the also-rans.
The top five titles – Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy, Anthony Marais’ Hotel Mumbai, Damon Gameau’s 2040 and Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence – accounted for $15.8 million or 93 per cent of the Oz releases’ takings.
The Aussie films plus holdovers racked up nearly $17 million through the end of July, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s a long way below the $40.6 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.6 million, Breath’s $4.4 million (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
Surveying the challenges facing the indie film business, Transmission Films’ Andrew Mackie tells If:...
The box office results for the Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas this year underline yet again the deep polarisation in the indie film market between the higher earners and the also-rans.
The top five titles – Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy, Anthony Marais’ Hotel Mumbai, Damon Gameau’s 2040 and Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence – accounted for $15.8 million or 93 per cent of the Oz releases’ takings.
The Aussie films plus holdovers racked up nearly $17 million through the end of July, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s a long way below the $40.6 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.6 million, Breath’s $4.4 million (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
Surveying the challenges facing the indie film business, Transmission Films’ Andrew Mackie tells If:...
- 8/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Defend, Conserve, Protect.’
Disney’s The Lion King roared through its second weekend in Australia as the studio smashed its own annual global box office record set in 2016 last weekend.
Meanwhile Defend, Conserve, Protect, Stephen Amis’ feature doc which examines the long-running campaign to stop Japanese fishermen killing whales in the Southern Ocean, opened on seven screens in limited sessions.
Narrated by Dan Aykroyd and produced by Amis, Sea Shepherd Australia MD Jeff Hansen and Sea Shepherd colleague Omar Todd, the film fetched an estimated $7,200 but had already netted $37,000 from about 40 advance screenings and festivals.
The executive producer, Label Distribution’s Tait Brady, is happy with the reviews and media coverage and says the film will play through the end of the year with screenings for activists and community groups, after which he will negotiate ancillary deals.
He offered the film to several sales agents but they were wary of the anti-whaling stance.
Disney’s The Lion King roared through its second weekend in Australia as the studio smashed its own annual global box office record set in 2016 last weekend.
Meanwhile Defend, Conserve, Protect, Stephen Amis’ feature doc which examines the long-running campaign to stop Japanese fishermen killing whales in the Southern Ocean, opened on seven screens in limited sessions.
Narrated by Dan Aykroyd and produced by Amis, Sea Shepherd Australia MD Jeff Hansen and Sea Shepherd colleague Omar Todd, the film fetched an estimated $7,200 but had already netted $37,000 from about 40 advance screenings and festivals.
The executive producer, Label Distribution’s Tait Brady, is happy with the reviews and media coverage and says the film will play through the end of the year with screenings for activists and community groups, after which he will negotiate ancillary deals.
He offered the film to several sales agents but they were wary of the anti-whaling stance.
- 7/29/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘The Lion King’ (Photo credit: Disney).
It’s been a memorable weekend for the Walt Disney Co. as The Lion King roared, Toy Story 4 topped $800 million worldwide and Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame skipped past Avatar to rank as the biggest film of all time globally.
In Australia the top 20 titles harvested $30 million, up 39 per cent on the previous weekend, according to Numero. Among the other new releases, Madman Entertainment’s Apollo 11, Forum Films’ Ardaas Karaan and Universal’s The White Crow made useful contributions.
Meanwhile Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence has raked in $893,000 for Madman after collecting $83,000 in its third outing, now on 55 screens, with 16 new regional locations booked for this Thursday.
Directed by Jon Favreau, the live action/CGI remake of The Lion King rang up $20.5 million at the weekend and $24.7 million on 930 screens since the Wednesday opening. “Audiences clearly decided the average reviews didn’t matter...
It’s been a memorable weekend for the Walt Disney Co. as The Lion King roared, Toy Story 4 topped $800 million worldwide and Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame skipped past Avatar to rank as the biggest film of all time globally.
In Australia the top 20 titles harvested $30 million, up 39 per cent on the previous weekend, according to Numero. Among the other new releases, Madman Entertainment’s Apollo 11, Forum Films’ Ardaas Karaan and Universal’s The White Crow made useful contributions.
Meanwhile Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence has raked in $893,000 for Madman after collecting $83,000 in its third outing, now on 55 screens, with 16 new regional locations booked for this Thursday.
Directed by Jon Favreau, the live action/CGI remake of The Lion King rang up $20.5 million at the weekend and $24.7 million on 930 screens since the Wednesday opening. “Audiences clearly decided the average reviews didn’t matter...
- 7/22/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Dogwoof has released a new trailer for Richard Lowenstein’s documentary on the Inxs frontman, ‘Mystify: Michael Hutchence’.
Nominated for Best Documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Mystify: Michael Hutchence is written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, who also directed the majority of both Inxs and Michael’s music videos and the 1986 feature film, ‘Dogs in Space’, in which Michael played the lead. As a close friend, Richard was given unprecedented access resulting in rare archive footage and intimate insights from friends, lovers, family, colleagues and Michael himself. As a result, Richard was able to paint a truly unique portrayal of Michael’s life and career, reminding us of the genius that he was.
The film is a journey into the heart and soul of Michael Hutchence, internationally renowned lead-singer of Inxs, a complex and shy man who spent much of his life in the public eye, rarely...
Nominated for Best Documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Mystify: Michael Hutchence is written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, who also directed the majority of both Inxs and Michael’s music videos and the 1986 feature film, ‘Dogs in Space’, in which Michael played the lead. As a close friend, Richard was given unprecedented access resulting in rare archive footage and intimate insights from friends, lovers, family, colleagues and Michael himself. As a result, Richard was able to paint a truly unique portrayal of Michael’s life and career, reminding us of the genius that he was.
The film is a journey into the heart and soul of Michael Hutchence, internationally renowned lead-singer of Inxs, a complex and shy man who spent much of his life in the public eye, rarely...
- 7/17/2019
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (Photo credit: Sony Pictures)
Sony Pictures/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home easily won the box office derby in its second outing last weekend as Paramount’s horror movie Crawl and Fox’s action comedy Stuber were D.O.A.
Universal’s coming-of-age comedy Booksmart is another case of a movie which critics adored, scoring a 97 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but failed to engage with audiences, except at Cinema Nova.
Meanwhile Richard Lowenstein’s feature doc Mystify: Michael Hutchence reached $761,000 after notching $179,000 in its second weekend on 79 screens for Madman Entertainment.
The second weekend drop of 51 per cent due to loss of screens prompted Madman MD Paul Wiegard to tell If: “We were very disappointed that a number of the multiplex sites played the film for a single week, despite the strong results. On the positive front, the top 30 sites are very healthy...
Sony Pictures/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home easily won the box office derby in its second outing last weekend as Paramount’s horror movie Crawl and Fox’s action comedy Stuber were D.O.A.
Universal’s coming-of-age comedy Booksmart is another case of a movie which critics adored, scoring a 97 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but failed to engage with audiences, except at Cinema Nova.
Meanwhile Richard Lowenstein’s feature doc Mystify: Michael Hutchence reached $761,000 after notching $179,000 in its second weekend on 79 screens for Madman Entertainment.
The second weekend drop of 51 per cent due to loss of screens prompted Madman MD Paul Wiegard to tell If: “We were very disappointed that a number of the multiplex sites played the film for a single week, despite the strong results. On the positive front, the top 30 sites are very healthy...
- 7/15/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Kylie Minogue and Michael Hutchence in ‘Mystify: Michael Hutchence.’
Takings at Australian cinemas jumped last weekend thanks to the school holidays, Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man sequel and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 4, while Richard Lowenstein’s Michael Hutchence documentary proved to be effective counter-programming.
Roadshow’s Us romantic drama After opened reasonably well considering its meagre Us results and Palace’s Argentinian rom-com An Unexpected Love appealed to upscale audiences.
The top 20 titles garnered $25.7 million, up 34 per cent on the previous frame, according to Numero.
Spider-Man: Far From Home captured $10.4 million in the first four days and $17.4 million since its launch last Monday. So the Jon Watts-directed sequel will surpass Spider-Man: Homecoming, which ended up with $25.6 million in 2017.
The superhero adventure starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal and Aussies Remy Hii and Angourie Rice has generated $580 million worldwide in just 10 days.
The 6-day domestic debut...
Takings at Australian cinemas jumped last weekend thanks to the school holidays, Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man sequel and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 4, while Richard Lowenstein’s Michael Hutchence documentary proved to be effective counter-programming.
Roadshow’s Us romantic drama After opened reasonably well considering its meagre Us results and Palace’s Argentinian rom-com An Unexpected Love appealed to upscale audiences.
The top 20 titles garnered $25.7 million, up 34 per cent on the previous frame, according to Numero.
Spider-Man: Far From Home captured $10.4 million in the first four days and $17.4 million since its launch last Monday. So the Jon Watts-directed sequel will surpass Spider-Man: Homecoming, which ended up with $25.6 million in 2017.
The superhero adventure starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal and Aussies Remy Hii and Angourie Rice has generated $580 million worldwide in just 10 days.
The 6-day domestic debut...
- 7/7/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Inxs frontman’s genius is implied throughout Richard Lowenstein’s choppy documentary but never given the chance to speak for itself
Richard Lowenstein’s long-gestating documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence has finally arrived after a decade in the works. In a sense, the veteran indie auteur has been chipping away at the film even longer than that, since the early days of his career, having directed several music videos for Inxs – the Australian rock band the renowned singer-songwriter fronted.
Lowenstein also helmed the endearingly scuzzy 1986 sharehouse drama Dogs in Space. This bong water-soaked, couch-crashing classic features a rare leading performance from Hutchence himself, with whom the director was friends. Lowenstein has described Mystify as an apology for not being there for the late musician, who took his own life in a Sydney hotel room in November 1997.
Richard Lowenstein’s long-gestating documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence has finally arrived after a decade in the works. In a sense, the veteran indie auteur has been chipping away at the film even longer than that, since the early days of his career, having directed several music videos for Inxs – the Australian rock band the renowned singer-songwriter fronted.
Lowenstein also helmed the endearingly scuzzy 1986 sharehouse drama Dogs in Space. This bong water-soaked, couch-crashing classic features a rare leading performance from Hutchence himself, with whom the director was friends. Lowenstein has described Mystify as an apology for not being there for the late musician, who took his own life in a Sydney hotel room in November 1997.
- 7/4/2019
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
Wayne Blair and Miranda Tapsell on the set of ‘Top End Wedding’.
Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding has edged past Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy to rank as the highest grossing Australian film this year.
At the half way mark of the year, the Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas, plus holdovers, have racked up a modest $15.6 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s a long way below the $40 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.6 million, Breath’s $4.4 million (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
So can the industry surpass or match the 2018 calendar year total of $57.4 million? That was the third biggest year ever behind 2001’s $63.1 million and the all-time record of 2015’s $88.1 million, the year of Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dressmaker and Oddball.
Exhibitors are optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year,...
Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding has edged past Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy to rank as the highest grossing Australian film this year.
At the half way mark of the year, the Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas, plus holdovers, have racked up a modest $15.6 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s a long way below the $40 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.6 million, Breath’s $4.4 million (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
So can the industry surpass or match the 2018 calendar year total of $57.4 million? That was the third biggest year ever behind 2001’s $63.1 million and the all-time record of 2015’s $88.1 million, the year of Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dressmaker and Oddball.
Exhibitors are optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year,...
- 7/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘2040’.
Five months into the year, 18 Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas since the start of the year, plus holdovers, have racked up a modest $14.3 million.
That compares with $37.6 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.4 million, Breath’s $3.6 million in four weeks (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy is the top title with nearly $5 million, a creditable result. But almost certainly that would have been rather higher if Sony Pictures had been able to use Geoffrey Rush in the publicity campaign.
Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding has grossed $4.7 million through Sunday, its sixth weekend, and could finish with $5.5 million.
Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai collected $3.3 million, knee-capped by the dreadful co-incidence of opening on the same weekend as the Christchurch massacre.
Damon Gameau’s 2040 has earned $568,000 after its second weekend and, buoyed by word-of-mouth, distributor...
Five months into the year, 18 Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas since the start of the year, plus holdovers, have racked up a modest $14.3 million.
That compares with $37.6 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.4 million, Breath’s $3.6 million in four weeks (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy is the top title with nearly $5 million, a creditable result. But almost certainly that would have been rather higher if Sony Pictures had been able to use Geoffrey Rush in the publicity campaign.
Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding has grossed $4.7 million through Sunday, its sixth weekend, and could finish with $5.5 million.
Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai collected $3.3 million, knee-capped by the dreadful co-incidence of opening on the same weekend as the Christchurch massacre.
Damon Gameau’s 2040 has earned $568,000 after its second weekend and, buoyed by word-of-mouth, distributor...
- 6/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Selection includes Hong Khaou’s Monsoon, Jan-Ole Gerster’s Lara and Damjan Kozole’s Half-Sister.
The 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 - July 6) has unveiled the first competition titles in its Official Selection, East of the West and Documentary sections.
Scroll down for full line-ups
The 12-strong main competition will include 10 world premieres and two international premieres.
UK director Hong Khaou’s Monsoon, his follow up to his 2014 Sundance debut Lilting, is among the world premieres. Backed by BBC Films, Monsoon stars Henry Golding, best known for Crazy Rich Asians, as a man struggling with his return to...
The 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 - July 6) has unveiled the first competition titles in its Official Selection, East of the West and Documentary sections.
Scroll down for full line-ups
The 12-strong main competition will include 10 world premieres and two international premieres.
UK director Hong Khaou’s Monsoon, his follow up to his 2014 Sundance debut Lilting, is among the world premieres. Backed by BBC Films, Monsoon stars Henry Golding, best known for Crazy Rich Asians, as a man struggling with his return to...
- 5/28/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
‘2040.’
Madman Entertainment launched Damon Gameau’s innovative documentary 2040 on 95 screens today after grossing $130,000 from extensive paid previews and festival screenings.
“We are super confident the film will play well here and internationally,” Madman MD Paul Wiegard tells If. “The advance screenings were sold out and we have had a great run-up and support from exhibitors.”
Gameau’s journey to explore what the world could look like by 2040 if the best solutions already available to improve the planet are adopted has generated positive responses since the world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.
UK-based Metro Films International is fielding offers from buyers for the film produced by Gameau and Good Thing Productions’ Nick Batzias, Anna Kaplan and Virginia Whitwell.
The two options are a multi-territory deal or a patchwork of deals in individual territories, according to Wiegard, who expects sales to be finalised within a couple of weeks.
Noting that...
Madman Entertainment launched Damon Gameau’s innovative documentary 2040 on 95 screens today after grossing $130,000 from extensive paid previews and festival screenings.
“We are super confident the film will play well here and internationally,” Madman MD Paul Wiegard tells If. “The advance screenings were sold out and we have had a great run-up and support from exhibitors.”
Gameau’s journey to explore what the world could look like by 2040 if the best solutions already available to improve the planet are adopted has generated positive responses since the world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.
UK-based Metro Films International is fielding offers from buyers for the film produced by Gameau and Good Thing Productions’ Nick Batzias, Anna Kaplan and Virginia Whitwell.
The two options are a multi-territory deal or a patchwork of deals in individual territories, according to Wiegard, who expects sales to be finalised within a couple of weeks.
Noting that...
- 5/23/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Judy & Punch’. (Photo: Ben King)
Two Aussie films, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, will be among the 12 features in official competition at this year’s Sydney Film Festival (Sff).
Also up for the festival’s $60,000 Sydney Film Prize are Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Never Look Away, which was nominated for two Oscars; recent Cannes selections such as Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory, Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite, and Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Bacurau; Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award winner Monos, from directors Alejandro Landes and Alexis Dos; Joanna Hogg’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner The Souvenir; Nadav Lapid’s Golden Bear winner Synonymes, as well as Sacha Polak’s Dirty God, Teona Strugar Mitevska’s God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya, and Kiwi director Hamish Bennett’s Bellbird.
Sydney Film Festival launched the full program for its 66th...
Two Aussie films, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, will be among the 12 features in official competition at this year’s Sydney Film Festival (Sff).
Also up for the festival’s $60,000 Sydney Film Prize are Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Never Look Away, which was nominated for two Oscars; recent Cannes selections such as Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory, Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite, and Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Bacurau; Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award winner Monos, from directors Alejandro Landes and Alexis Dos; Joanna Hogg’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner The Souvenir; Nadav Lapid’s Golden Bear winner Synonymes, as well as Sacha Polak’s Dirty God, Teona Strugar Mitevska’s God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya, and Kiwi director Hamish Bennett’s Bellbird.
Sydney Film Festival launched the full program for its 66th...
- 5/8/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Top End Wedding’.
It’s been a quiet start for the year for Australian films at the national box office, particularly compared to last year when Peter Rabbit and Sweet Country were drawing crowds.
However exhibitors are very optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year, including Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding which opened yesterday, Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach and Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (both August 8) and Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl (September 26).
Ten new releases plus holdovers collectively racked up $9.06 million through April 30, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s way below the first four months of 2018, which generated $32 million, with Will Gluck’s Peter Rabbit making $25.4 million en route to a final total of $26.7 million and Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country $2 million.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy pocketed nearly $5 million, not a bad result,...
It’s been a quiet start for the year for Australian films at the national box office, particularly compared to last year when Peter Rabbit and Sweet Country were drawing crowds.
However exhibitors are very optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year, including Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding which opened yesterday, Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach and Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (both August 8) and Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl (September 26).
Ten new releases plus holdovers collectively racked up $9.06 million through April 30, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s way below the first four months of 2018, which generated $32 million, with Will Gluck’s Peter Rabbit making $25.4 million en route to a final total of $26.7 million and Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country $2 million.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy pocketed nearly $5 million, not a bad result,...
- 5/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Kaarin Fairfax and Chris Haywood in ‘Skewwhiff.’
Chris Haywood is so committed to making a thriller based on the Australian novel The Crossing he has agreed to produce as well as star in the feature film.
First-time feature director James Khehtie sent the novel by B. Michael Radburn to the actor, who loved the premise: Taylor Bridges flees from Victoria to an isolated Tasmanian town to work as a park ranger after his daughter disappeared, triggering the breakdown of his marriage.
When a young girl who was the same age as his daughter vanishes, Bridges, a chronic sleepwalker, begins to wonder what happens when he sleepwalks.
“I did not want to produce but James insisted,” Haywood tells If, recalling that he has served as a producer only once before, on writer-director Peter Watkins’ 1991 feature doc The Media Project, which critiqued Australian media coverage of the first Gulf war.
Radburn has...
Chris Haywood is so committed to making a thriller based on the Australian novel The Crossing he has agreed to produce as well as star in the feature film.
First-time feature director James Khehtie sent the novel by B. Michael Radburn to the actor, who loved the premise: Taylor Bridges flees from Victoria to an isolated Tasmanian town to work as a park ranger after his daughter disappeared, triggering the breakdown of his marriage.
When a young girl who was the same age as his daughter vanishes, Bridges, a chronic sleepwalker, begins to wonder what happens when he sleepwalks.
“I did not want to produce but James insisted,” Haywood tells If, recalling that he has served as a producer only once before, on writer-director Peter Watkins’ 1991 feature doc The Media Project, which critiqued Australian media coverage of the first Gulf war.
Radburn has...
- 5/1/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Mystify: Michael Hutchence’
International buyers are circling Mystify: Michael Hutchence, Richard Lowenstein’s revealing portrait of the late Inxs frontman, following the world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Negotiations handled by the international sales agent Dogwoof are expected to continue after the feature documentary screens this week at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto.
“We had great responses at the Tribeca press and industry screenings, which were attended by reps of some really good companies,” Sue Murray, who produced with Lowenstein, Mya Gnyp, John Battsek, Mark Fennessy, Lynn-Maree Milburn and Andrew de Groot, tells If from New York.
“We expect to get a report from Dogwoof in the next few days, and there will be market screenings in Cannes.”
Lowenstein finished the film, a labour of love, just before the festival opened, with the final version shipped to the event as he was en route to NY.
It features...
International buyers are circling Mystify: Michael Hutchence, Richard Lowenstein’s revealing portrait of the late Inxs frontman, following the world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Negotiations handled by the international sales agent Dogwoof are expected to continue after the feature documentary screens this week at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto.
“We had great responses at the Tribeca press and industry screenings, which were attended by reps of some really good companies,” Sue Murray, who produced with Lowenstein, Mya Gnyp, John Battsek, Mark Fennessy, Lynn-Maree Milburn and Andrew de Groot, tells If from New York.
“We expect to get a report from Dogwoof in the next few days, and there will be market screenings in Cannes.”
Lowenstein finished the film, a labour of love, just before the festival opened, with the final version shipped to the event as he was en route to NY.
It features...
- 4/29/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
“Mystify” — a portrayal of charismatic Inxs singer Michael Hutchence, who committed suicide in 1997 at the age of 37 — makes powerful use of family and personal footage to tell the story of a talented man beset by personal demons, but illuminates the influence of a serious head injury that he hid from the public. The doc premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday night.
Voiceovers from Hutchence’s intimates — family members, Inxs bandmates, record producers, managers and girlfriends — along with press interviews, concert footage and home videos, give context to the unexpectedly intimate film. The singer is seen with former girlfriends like singer Kylie Minogue (their relationship gave Hutchence his first taste of tabloid fame) and model Helena Christensen on personal trips on the Orient Express, at beaches and decadent parties in France. More everyday scenes from holidays and other occasions — in the family kitchen with his mother, with his younger...
Voiceovers from Hutchence’s intimates — family members, Inxs bandmates, record producers, managers and girlfriends — along with press interviews, concert footage and home videos, give context to the unexpectedly intimate film. The singer is seen with former girlfriends like singer Kylie Minogue (their relationship gave Hutchence his first taste of tabloid fame) and model Helena Christensen on personal trips on the Orient Express, at beaches and decadent parties in France. More everyday scenes from holidays and other occasions — in the family kitchen with his mother, with his younger...
- 4/26/2019
- by Katherine Turman
- Variety Film + TV
Former Inxs frontman Michael Hutchence is the subject of a new BBC feature doc co-produced by Studio 54 and Searching For Sugar Man producer Passion Pictures.
The British public broadcaster is to air Mystify: Michael Hutchence on BBC Two, which will feature personal footage filmed by Hutchence and his former partner Kylie Minogue.
Written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, who worked on some of the band’s early music videos, the film is co-produced by the BBC, Ghost Pictures and Passion Pictures.
The film will look to uncover the secret and mysterious side of the singer and songwriter. It will tell the story of Hutchence, who died in 1997, through rare archive footage and intimate insights from friends, lovers, family and colleagues.
It will feature interviews with Helena Christensen and Michele Bennett, who have never spoken publicly about the rock star before, Minogue, Kathy Lette, Bono, Garry Gary Beers, Andrew Farriss,...
The British public broadcaster is to air Mystify: Michael Hutchence on BBC Two, which will feature personal footage filmed by Hutchence and his former partner Kylie Minogue.
Written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, who worked on some of the band’s early music videos, the film is co-produced by the BBC, Ghost Pictures and Passion Pictures.
The film will look to uncover the secret and mysterious side of the singer and songwriter. It will tell the story of Hutchence, who died in 1997, through rare archive footage and intimate insights from friends, lovers, family and colleagues.
It will feature interviews with Helena Christensen and Michele Bennett, who have never spoken publicly about the rock star before, Minogue, Kathy Lette, Bono, Garry Gary Beers, Andrew Farriss,...
- 4/26/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
While the Tribeca Film Festival usually has strong music entries, this year has such a bounty that narrowing our top picks down to 10 was a challenge. This year’s offerings range from documentaries on the legendary Apollo Theater, the Wu-Tang Clan and Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman to music-adjacent films like Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday” (about a world with no Beatles), and anniversary editions of ‘90s classics “Say Anything,” “Reality Bites” and “This Is Spinal Tap” — all three of which have special Q&As with castmembers after the screenings. Covering Tribeca’s 2019 music offerings alone, it’s possible to spend upwards of 30 hours in movie theaters over the next few days — be sure to check back for Variety’s reviews of many of these films.
All I Can Say [Shannon Hoon documentary]. The unofficial chief cinematographer for this documentary about the late Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon is: Shannon Hoon.
All I Can Say [Shannon Hoon documentary]. The unofficial chief cinematographer for this documentary about the late Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon is: Shannon Hoon.
- 4/24/2019
- by Jem Aswad and Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Dujuan Hoosan and his mother in ‘In My Blood It Runs’. (Photo: Maya Newell)
Director Maya Newell’s feature documentary In My Blood It Runs will have its world premiere in competition at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
In My Blood It Runs (formerly Kids) is one of 12 films in Hot Doc’s competitive International Spectrum program, the others being: Amussu; Bhudda in Africa; Daymohk; For Sama; The Guardian of Memory; Hope Frozen; Life is a Belief; Marek Edelman… and There Was Love in the Ghetto; On the Inside of a Military Dictatorship and The Valley.
Other Aussie projects in the festival include Richard Lowenstein’s feature doc Mystify: Michael Hutchence, which will screen as part of the special presentation section; shorts Happy Android from Jaina Kalifa, Handout from Vedrana Music, and Dusty Devil from Poppy Walker; and Lynette Wallworth’s Vr project Awavena.
This year’s Hot Docs...
Director Maya Newell’s feature documentary In My Blood It Runs will have its world premiere in competition at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
In My Blood It Runs (formerly Kids) is one of 12 films in Hot Doc’s competitive International Spectrum program, the others being: Amussu; Bhudda in Africa; Daymohk; For Sama; The Guardian of Memory; Hope Frozen; Life is a Belief; Marek Edelman… and There Was Love in the Ghetto; On the Inside of a Military Dictatorship and The Valley.
Other Aussie projects in the festival include Richard Lowenstein’s feature doc Mystify: Michael Hutchence, which will screen as part of the special presentation section; shorts Happy Android from Jaina Kalifa, Handout from Vedrana Music, and Dusty Devil from Poppy Walker; and Lynette Wallworth’s Vr project Awavena.
This year’s Hot Docs...
- 3/20/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
More than half of the films playing at Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, are directed by women, the Canadian event said Tuesday. The festival’s 26th edition, which runs April 25-May 5, will screen 234 films, with 54% of the directors being women.
In the competitive International Spectrum program, notable films receiving their world premieres include Nicole Schafer’s “Buddha in Africa,” about a Malawian boy raised in a Chinese Buddhist orphanage, who’s torn between his heritage and upbringing; Pailin Wedel’s “Hope Frozen,” which profiles a grief-stricken Bangkok family and their unorthodox decision to cryopreserve their deceased daughter; Marcela Arteaga’s “The Guardian of Memory,” a film that reveals the desperate stories of Mexicans fleeing the violence of their country toward an unfriendly U.S. border; and Jolanta Dylewska and Andrzej Wajda’s “Marek Edelman… and There Was Love in the Ghetto,” an artful recreation of the Holocaust...
In the competitive International Spectrum program, notable films receiving their world premieres include Nicole Schafer’s “Buddha in Africa,” about a Malawian boy raised in a Chinese Buddhist orphanage, who’s torn between his heritage and upbringing; Pailin Wedel’s “Hope Frozen,” which profiles a grief-stricken Bangkok family and their unorthodox decision to cryopreserve their deceased daughter; Marcela Arteaga’s “The Guardian of Memory,” a film that reveals the desperate stories of Mexicans fleeing the violence of their country toward an unfriendly U.S. border; and Jolanta Dylewska and Andrzej Wajda’s “Marek Edelman… and There Was Love in the Ghetto,” an artful recreation of the Holocaust...
- 3/19/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
‘Mystify: Michael Hutchence’
Richard Lowenstein’s feature documentary on Michael Hutchence will have its world premiere at the 18th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 24 to May 5.
Produced by Lowenstein, Maya Gnyp and John Battsek for Ghost Pictures and Passion Pictures, Mystify: Michael Hutchence will screen in the documentary competition for best documentary feature, cinematography and editing.
Co-funded by Screen Australia, the film is described as an intimate look at the life of the Inxs lead singer through his many loves and demons, featuring Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen.
Madman Entertainment is the Australian distributor and Dogwoof is handling international sales. The ABC and BBC pre-bought the film.
Lowenstein tells If the doc features live music from Inxs and Max Q, Hutchence’s only completed solo album which was a collaboration with Ollie Olsen, remixed for Atmos, plus archival footage which had been in his attic,...
Richard Lowenstein’s feature documentary on Michael Hutchence will have its world premiere at the 18th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 24 to May 5.
Produced by Lowenstein, Maya Gnyp and John Battsek for Ghost Pictures and Passion Pictures, Mystify: Michael Hutchence will screen in the documentary competition for best documentary feature, cinematography and editing.
Co-funded by Screen Australia, the film is described as an intimate look at the life of the Inxs lead singer through his many loves and demons, featuring Kylie Minogue and Helena Christensen.
Madman Entertainment is the Australian distributor and Dogwoof is handling international sales. The ABC and BBC pre-bought the film.
Lowenstein tells If the doc features live music from Inxs and Max Q, Hutchence’s only completed solo album which was a collaboration with Ollie Olsen, remixed for Atmos, plus archival footage which had been in his attic,...
- 3/5/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The Tribeca Film Festival has set its full feature slate for 2019, selecting 103 titles including world premieres of films by Jared Leto, Christoph Waltz, and Margot Robbie.
The 18th edition of the festival, which runs from April 24 to May 5, will include documentaries from Antoine Fuqua, Werner Herzog, and Abel Ferrara, and music-focused docs highlighting the lead singer of band Inxs (“Mystify: Michael Hutchence”), Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman (“The Quiet One”), and musician Linda Ronstadt (“Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice”) with Sheryl Crow performing after the premiere.
Leto’s “A Day in the Life of America” is a crowd-sourced documentary featuring footage from all 50 states on July 4, 2017. Waltz is making his directorial debut with the crime drama “Georgetown,” starring himself, Annette Bening, and Vanessa Redgrave. Robbie stars in and produces “Dreamland,” a Depression-era drama set in the Oklahoma dustbowl.
Other notable titles include “Mad Men” producer Semi Chellas making...
The 18th edition of the festival, which runs from April 24 to May 5, will include documentaries from Antoine Fuqua, Werner Herzog, and Abel Ferrara, and music-focused docs highlighting the lead singer of band Inxs (“Mystify: Michael Hutchence”), Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman (“The Quiet One”), and musician Linda Ronstadt (“Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice”) with Sheryl Crow performing after the premiere.
Leto’s “A Day in the Life of America” is a crowd-sourced documentary featuring footage from all 50 states on July 4, 2017. Waltz is making his directorial debut with the crime drama “Georgetown,” starring himself, Annette Bening, and Vanessa Redgrave. Robbie stars in and produces “Dreamland,” a Depression-era drama set in the Oklahoma dustbowl.
Other notable titles include “Mad Men” producer Semi Chellas making...
- 3/5/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
New documentaries about D’Angelo, Woodstock, Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman and Blind Melon’s late lead singer Shannon Hoon are among the music films set to premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.
The stacked lineup also includes films about Linda Ronstadt, Sublime and late Inxs frontman Michael Hutchence. Jared Leto is also set to debut his new film, A Day In the Life of America, a collaborative project filmed in all 50 states over the course of a single July 4th. The Tribeca Film Festival will take place April 24th...
The stacked lineup also includes films about Linda Ronstadt, Sublime and late Inxs frontman Michael Hutchence. Jared Leto is also set to debut his new film, A Day In the Life of America, a collaborative project filmed in all 50 states over the course of a single July 4th. The Tribeca Film Festival will take place April 24th...
- 3/5/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Ezra Edelman, director and producer of 'O.J.:Made In America' will give a keynote at Aidc 2017..
The 30th installment of the Australian International Documentary Conference (Aidc) has attracted a variety of international producers as its headline speakers.
They include head of Passion Pictures John Battsek (One Day In September); vice president of the Tribeca Film Institute Amy Hobby (What Happened, Miss Simone?) and Ezra Edelman, director and producer of O.J.: Made In America.
Edelman and Battsek will deliver the opening session about using sports documentary as a way to explore power and racial discrimination. Hobby will appear in conversation about the experiences of documentary filmmakers on the festival and awards circuit.
All three will also participate as mentors in the Access@Aidc mentorship program..
Other conference sessions announced so far include:
– Revolution or Evolution?, a session about the future of .serious gaming. and virtual reality documentary with Navid Khonsari,...
The 30th installment of the Australian International Documentary Conference (Aidc) has attracted a variety of international producers as its headline speakers.
They include head of Passion Pictures John Battsek (One Day In September); vice president of the Tribeca Film Institute Amy Hobby (What Happened, Miss Simone?) and Ezra Edelman, director and producer of O.J.: Made In America.
Edelman and Battsek will deliver the opening session about using sports documentary as a way to explore power and racial discrimination. Hobby will appear in conversation about the experiences of documentary filmmakers on the festival and awards circuit.
All three will also participate as mentors in the Access@Aidc mentorship program..
Other conference sessions announced so far include:
– Revolution or Evolution?, a session about the future of .serious gaming. and virtual reality documentary with Navid Khonsari,...
- 11/8/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Gillian Armstrong's 1971 student film The Roof Needs Mowing.
Secret City director Emma Freeman remembers Vca Film and Television School, where she studied for three years in the early 2000.s, .as a place where .a lot of people were really scraping things together to make their movie..
.That's what I loved about that school., Freeman says..
.It taught me about being a storyteller and it also taught me to be resourceful. Never to be limited by what you have..
Vca Film and TV is celebrating 50 years of scraping things together this year, from its opening at Swinburne in 1966 to the jump to the Vca in 1992 and beyond.
Cinematographer Ian Baker (Japanese Story, Words and Pictures) was one of the first, in 1968..
..I had no idea what I wanted to do when I completed the course,. Baker says.
.I didn't really know that I wanted to be a cinematographer, even though...
Secret City director Emma Freeman remembers Vca Film and Television School, where she studied for three years in the early 2000.s, .as a place where .a lot of people were really scraping things together to make their movie..
.That's what I loved about that school., Freeman says..
.It taught me about being a storyteller and it also taught me to be resourceful. Never to be limited by what you have..
Vca Film and TV is celebrating 50 years of scraping things together this year, from its opening at Swinburne in 1966 to the jump to the Vca in 1992 and beyond.
Cinematographer Ian Baker (Japanese Story, Words and Pictures) was one of the first, in 1968..
..I had no idea what I wanted to do when I completed the course,. Baker says.
.I didn't really know that I wanted to be a cinematographer, even though...
- 8/4/2016
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Michael Hutchence.
The man behind many of Inxs.s music videos, Richard Lowenstein, is set to direct a documentary about the life of the band.s late frontman, Michael Hutchence.
The feature-length documentary will be produced by Universal Music Group (Umg) and Oscar-winning production company Passion Pictures (Searching for Sugar Man). Inxs is signed to Universal Music Publishing Group.
This is the second Hutchence doco in the pipeline, with Aap reporting earlier this month that Sydney businessman Ron Creevey had spent two years working on a film about the singer with La record producer Danny Saber.
Hutchence was a founding member and lead singer of. Inxs from 1977 up until his death in 1997.
Lowenstein (He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, Say a Little Prayer) was a close friend of Hutchence, having worked with Inxs for many years. He was responsible for a range of the band.s videos including...
The man behind many of Inxs.s music videos, Richard Lowenstein, is set to direct a documentary about the life of the band.s late frontman, Michael Hutchence.
The feature-length documentary will be produced by Universal Music Group (Umg) and Oscar-winning production company Passion Pictures (Searching for Sugar Man). Inxs is signed to Universal Music Publishing Group.
This is the second Hutchence doco in the pipeline, with Aap reporting earlier this month that Sydney businessman Ron Creevey had spent two years working on a film about the singer with La record producer Danny Saber.
Hutchence was a founding member and lead singer of. Inxs from 1977 up until his death in 1997.
Lowenstein (He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, Say a Little Prayer) was a close friend of Hutchence, having worked with Inxs for many years. He was responsible for a range of the band.s videos including...
- 7/26/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Inxs label Universal Music Group is teaming with Searching For Sugar Man producer Passion Pictures on a feature-length documentary about the band’s lead singer Michael Hutchence. Richard Lowenstein (Say A Little Prayer), a close friend of the singer who directed many of the Aussie band’s music videos, is directing. CAA is repping North American distribution rights and worldwide deals. “To know we have access to everyone and everything required to make such a film and the…...
- 7/25/2016
- Deadline
Following their success on "Searching for Sugar Man," Universal Music Group and Passion Pictures are re-teaming to produce a documentary feature about the life of Inxs lead singer Michael Hutchence.
Hutchence's friend and filmmaker Richard Lowenstein ("He Died with a Felafel in His Hand," "Say a Little Prayer") will direct. Lowenstein has reportedly been "working on the definitive documentary film journey into the heart and soul of this complex, shy, poetic and exceptionally charismatic man for many years."
Lowenstein is deeply familiar with the material, directing the majority of Hutchence and Inxs's music videos along with the singer's only lead role in a film - 1986's "Dogs in Space". Hutchence's daughter Tiger Lily will be a beneficiary of the film's proceeds.
The story of Hutchence was most recently adapted into the 2014 Australian mini-series "Never Tear Us Apart" with "Black Sails" star Luke Arnold as the singer and the likes...
Hutchence's friend and filmmaker Richard Lowenstein ("He Died with a Felafel in His Hand," "Say a Little Prayer") will direct. Lowenstein has reportedly been "working on the definitive documentary film journey into the heart and soul of this complex, shy, poetic and exceptionally charismatic man for many years."
Lowenstein is deeply familiar with the material, directing the majority of Hutchence and Inxs's music videos along with the singer's only lead role in a film - 1986's "Dogs in Space". Hutchence's daughter Tiger Lily will be a beneficiary of the film's proceeds.
The story of Hutchence was most recently adapted into the 2014 Australian mini-series "Never Tear Us Apart" with "Black Sails" star Luke Arnold as the singer and the likes...
- 7/25/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Trailer for Vca Film and Television's Digital Archive Project.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary this weekend, Victorian College of the Arts. Film and Television School is releasing a digital archive of never-before-seen student films from throughout its history. Australia.s oldest film school, which boasts a host of illustrious alumni such as Gillian Armstrong, Justin Kurzel, Emma Freeman and Richard Lowenstein, began at Swinburne Institute of Technology in 1966 and moved on to its present home at Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne in 1992. To mark its 50th year, Vca Film and Television has begun releasing 50 unseen student films from over the past five decades. The school.s head Nicolette Freeman compiled the films and said they provided an insight into how Australian society, culture and filmmaking have changed over the years. The release forms part of an ongoing project to eventually make the school.s entire back catalogue publicly available. Freeman told If that given many of Vca.s students were relatively young, their films often depicted stories of childhood or adolescence.
However, over the last 20 or so years, she.s noted a particular increase in stories about first-generation migrant children. .Stories told from the children's point of view, or they're the stories that parents have told them from their home country or about their time in Australia before they started a family. .A really interesting example of that recently is Ariel Kleiman's graduation film, Deeper than Yesterday, that's set on a Russian submarine; a story inspired by stories his father told him about when he was in Russia,. Freeman said. . .Also, interestingly, stories about fractured families and single parent families are something that has developed more over the last ten to fifteen years.. Freeman said she also saw an interesting tendency for students to sometimes make .safer. films in their graduation year, as they think of it as their calling card to the industry. .We do as much as we can to keep that freshness and authenticity and energy going into the graduation year, but you.re also fighting the fact that, at that point, the students are investing more of their own money into the production; they think it.s their last chance,. she said. Despite the expectation that it would be older postgraduate students who'd make more self-assured, confident or adventurous work, Freeman said that wasn.t always the case. . .Sometimes it.s the undergraduate students, like Ariel Kleiman or Jonathan auf der Heide, who are more brazen. They don.t have baggage about proving themselves. They think the world.s their oyster and so they can sometimes be more confident in their audaciousness,. she said.
Vca Film and Television School celebrates its anniversary on June 19.
http://vca.unimelb.edu.au/engage/vca-film-and-television-50th-anniversary
www.eventbrite.com.au/e/film-and-television-golden-anniversary-party-registration-24058131519?aff=ftv50website...
To celebrate its 50th anniversary this weekend, Victorian College of the Arts. Film and Television School is releasing a digital archive of never-before-seen student films from throughout its history. Australia.s oldest film school, which boasts a host of illustrious alumni such as Gillian Armstrong, Justin Kurzel, Emma Freeman and Richard Lowenstein, began at Swinburne Institute of Technology in 1966 and moved on to its present home at Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne in 1992. To mark its 50th year, Vca Film and Television has begun releasing 50 unseen student films from over the past five decades. The school.s head Nicolette Freeman compiled the films and said they provided an insight into how Australian society, culture and filmmaking have changed over the years. The release forms part of an ongoing project to eventually make the school.s entire back catalogue publicly available. Freeman told If that given many of Vca.s students were relatively young, their films often depicted stories of childhood or adolescence.
However, over the last 20 or so years, she.s noted a particular increase in stories about first-generation migrant children. .Stories told from the children's point of view, or they're the stories that parents have told them from their home country or about their time in Australia before they started a family. .A really interesting example of that recently is Ariel Kleiman's graduation film, Deeper than Yesterday, that's set on a Russian submarine; a story inspired by stories his father told him about when he was in Russia,. Freeman said. . .Also, interestingly, stories about fractured families and single parent families are something that has developed more over the last ten to fifteen years.. Freeman said she also saw an interesting tendency for students to sometimes make .safer. films in their graduation year, as they think of it as their calling card to the industry. .We do as much as we can to keep that freshness and authenticity and energy going into the graduation year, but you.re also fighting the fact that, at that point, the students are investing more of their own money into the production; they think it.s their last chance,. she said. Despite the expectation that it would be older postgraduate students who'd make more self-assured, confident or adventurous work, Freeman said that wasn.t always the case. . .Sometimes it.s the undergraduate students, like Ariel Kleiman or Jonathan auf der Heide, who are more brazen. They don.t have baggage about proving themselves. They think the world.s their oyster and so they can sometimes be more confident in their audaciousness,. she said.
Vca Film and Television School celebrates its anniversary on June 19.
http://vca.unimelb.edu.au/engage/vca-film-and-television-50th-anniversary
www.eventbrite.com.au/e/film-and-television-golden-anniversary-party-registration-24058131519?aff=ftv50website...
- 6/15/2016
- by Harry Windsor and Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Abduction thriller voted to UK market by Melbourne’s 37º South Market.
Sales agents from across the world yesterday voted David Ngo and Rabbit as the producer and project at the Melbourne International Film Festival’s 37º South Market to attend the UK’s Production Finance Market (Pfm) in October.
Rabbit is a psychological thriller about a girl’s search for her abducted twin sister and it has actors Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Alex Russell (Chronicle) attached.
It is written by and will be the feature directorial debut of Luke Shanahan, who met Ngo in 2009 when both had films competing at Australian short film festival Tropfest.
“It’s in the style of Let The Right One In and Rosemary’s Baby,” said Ngo, whose first feature was director Nick Matthews’ One Eyed Girl, winner of best feature at last year’s Austin Film Festival.
The popularity of the projects Cargo and Achtung Road, also...
Sales agents from across the world yesterday voted David Ngo and Rabbit as the producer and project at the Melbourne International Film Festival’s 37º South Market to attend the UK’s Production Finance Market (Pfm) in October.
Rabbit is a psychological thriller about a girl’s search for her abducted twin sister and it has actors Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Alex Russell (Chronicle) attached.
It is written by and will be the feature directorial debut of Luke Shanahan, who met Ngo in 2009 when both had films competing at Australian short film festival Tropfest.
“It’s in the style of Let The Right One In and Rosemary’s Baby,” said Ngo, whose first feature was director Nick Matthews’ One Eyed Girl, winner of best feature at last year’s Austin Film Festival.
The popularity of the projects Cargo and Achtung Road, also...
- 8/3/2015
- by Sandy.George@me.com (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
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