australia – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK August 9, 2019: Jennifer Kent’s THE NIGHTINGALE

August 4, 2019August 11, 2019 Jennifer Merin 0 Comments aisling franciosi, australia, baykali ganambarr, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, jennifer kent, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, marina antunes, maryann johanson, motw, Movie of the Week, sandie angulo chen, Sheila Roberts, susan wloszczyna, the nightingale

Beautifully filmed yet brutal to watch, Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale is a revenge drama that will resonate with any woman who’s been assaulted — or, for that matter, dismissed by society. Set in 1825 Tasmania, it follows the plight of Clare, an Irish convict who’s suffered years of abuse at the hands of a British officer and is driven by his brutality to seek brutal revenge. The Nightingale is difficult to watch, but it is most certainly a must see.

Reviews

Sydney FF 2019: DARK PLACE – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

June 19, 2019June 19, 2019 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas 0 Comments australia, dark place, horror anthology, Indigenous Australians, Kodie Bedford, Rob Braslin, scout, sydney film festival, Vale Light

Dark Place saves the best of its anthology of five horror shorts till last and excels with Kodie Bedford’s unforgettable, electrifying Scout. If every horror anthology contains one short you wish was a feature, this is it; despite being a newcomer to directing, Bedford directs action like an old-hand, and the way she combines familiar genre thrills with inescapable and at times explicit political agenda about the exploitation and abuse of Indigenous Australian women by white men is nothing less than masterful.

Festivals News

What’s Up Down Under?: Melbourne IFF Screens Maya Deren Films to Live Score – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas reports

May 14, 2019May 19, 2019 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas 0 Comments australia, maya deren, melbourne internatonal film festival, Meshes of the Afternoon, sonic youth, Thurston Moore

In a rare treat for Australian audiences, Thurston Moore – co-founder, guitarist and sometime-vocalist of legendary US rock band Sonic Youth – will be a guest of the 2019 Melbourne International FIlm Festival where, on 2 August, he will perform live his scores to four Maya Deren’s films, the haunting Meshes of the Afternoon, At Land (1944), Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946) and a new score for her famously unfinished short The Witch’s Cradle.

Reviews

What’s Up Down Under? LOST GULLY ROAD – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

August 1, 2018May 13, 2020 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas 0 Comments australia, donna mcrae, horror, johnny ghost, lost gully road

Women horror filmmakers in Australia – as in many other countries – are a tight knit community, and an accomplishment for one is seen as an accomplishment for all. Australian filmmaker, artist, and academic Donna McRae’s sophomore feature film Lost Gully Road speaks both to that particular professional network and represents the increasing success of women in the field in Australia over recent years.

Festivals News

What’s Up Down Under? Queensland Film Festival: 80 Percent Femme-helmed Films — Alexandra Heller-Nicholas reports

July 7, 2018August 14, 2018 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas 0 Comments angeloro sisters, ann turner, australia, Bruno Forzani, gender parity, hagazussa, Hélène Cattet, inclusion, john edmond, lucretia martel, lynne ramsay, quensland film festival, terrornullis., Vera Chytilova

The Australian state of Queensland in the country’s north-east in many ways typifies all the national clichés so readily identifiable

Reviews

“Australia” – Joanna Langfield reviews

November 21, 2008 Joanna Langfield alliance of women film journalists, australia, female critics, film criticism, film journalists, joanna langfield, movie reviews, women critics, women film critics, women film directors, women film journalists, women in film

Baz Luhrman’s sweeping romantic adventure is packed to the gills with something for everyone. And, like that wise old adage,

Reviews

“Australia” – Susan Granger reviews

November 21, 2008 Susan Granger alliance of women film journalists, australia, female critics, film criticism, film journalists, movie reviews, susan granger, women critics, women film critics, women film directors, women film journalists, women in film

In one of the most ambitious, exciting filmmaking feats of the year, Baz Luhrmann has created a compelling, romantic frontier

Reviews

“Australia” – Brandy McDonnell reviews

November 21, 2008 Brandy McDonnell alliance of women film journalists, australia, brandy mcdonnell, female critics, film criticism, film journalists, movie reviews, women critics, women film critics, women film directors, women film journalists, women in film

Director/producer/co-writer Baz Luhrmann’s long-awaited film “Australia” plays a bit like an Aussie version of “Gone With the Wind”: lushly beautiful,