CinefestOZ Albany has revealed its 2024 Film Program, which will showcase Australian stories and talent as part of the four day festival held from Thursday 18 – Sunday 21 April in the historic coastal city of Albany, in Western Australia’s beautiful Great Southern region.

Presenting eleven features and ten short films from Australia, France, and Macedonia – as part of CinfestOZ’s Aussies Abroad initiative – the festival includes film screenings and Q&As; a red-carpet premiere and after party; meet-the-filmmaker In Conversation breakfast; Deadly Shorts, and the free Deadly Kinjarling  – a celebration of visual storytelling, creatives and culture; as well as the Industry and Cinesnaps schools’ programs.

CinefestOZ CEO Cassandra Jordan said that she was excited to share her first CinefestOZ Albany program, which includes new films that will have their regional, WA or Australian premiere in Albany, festival favourites as well as some reimagined events.

“The CinefestOZ team, together with our regional partners and local film community, have created a fresh, new program for 2024 that celebrates local creatives and culture, as well as showcasing a mix Australian and international stories and talent that have been chosen for their appeal in the local community, and to visitors travelling in the region,” Ms Jordan said.

“Across the four days festival goers will be able to choose films that match their mood and interests including action, adventure, comedy, drama, First Nations, horror, romance, nostalgia, LGBTQI, sports and more – as well as mingling with local and visiting talent and learning more about the film industry.”

Now in its fourth year, CinefestOZ Albany features multiple events and film sessions each day over the four-day festival.

Highlights include:

Thursday 18 April Fabulous Albany vocal group the Shantymen perform ahead of Salty Shorts – a selection of the best Australian and local short films.

Friday 19 April Celebrate Indigenous films and culture at the free Deadly Kinjarling event, or check out the Australian premiere of new French romantic comedy Strangers by Night, then hold onto your free popcorn for the WA Premiere of the new thriller-horror flick Sting, starring Ryan Corr (Packed to the Rafters; In Limbo) and Noni Hazelhurst (A Place to Call Home, Still June).

Saturday 20 April Meet the filmmakers for breakfast at a special In Conversation, ahead of the regional premiere of new West Aussie WW1 film Before Dawn, starring Levi Miller (Jasper Jones, Red Dog) and Stephen Peacocke (The Newsreader, RFDS). In the evening walk the red carpet for the WA premiere of nostalgic surfing film You Should Have Been Here Yesterday, followed by one of CinefestOZ’ famous after parties.

Sunday 21 April CinefestOZ Film Prize-winner, Goran Stolevski showcases his latest film Housekeeping for Beginners. 

The full CinefestOZ Albany program can be downloaded here, and for tickets head to www.cinefestoz.com or click here.

Sweet As

Directed by Jub Clerc
Produced by Liz Kearney
Written by Jub Clerc, Steve Rogers
Starring Shantae Barnes-Cowan, Tasma Walton, Carlos Sanson Jr. and Mark Coles Smith

Sweet As is an uplifting coming-of-age road movie set in WA’s incredible Pilbara region. We see events through the eyes of Murra, a 16-year-old Indigenous girl from Port Hedland. Life in the town seems unpromising for Murra; Mum has started drinking again and although the sky outside looks enormous, Murra’s world is just too small. But when hope seems lost, sometimes all it takes is to jump on a minibus with five complete strangers, head into Country and trust the journey. Prize winner at the Berlin, Melbourne and Toronto f ilm festivals, Sweet As is inspired by writer-director Jub Clerc’s own experience as a girl with a camera. As we see Murra start to re-engage with the world by seeing it through a new lens, Sweet As offers us a beautiful reminder to sometime step sideways and f ind what’s most important in life.

Cinema Australia Podcast #92 | Jub Clerc

Ice Maiden

Directed by Nathaniel C.T. Jackson and James Blannin Ferguson
Written and produced by Nathaniel C.T. Jackson
Starring Linda Blair, Jessica Watson and Dick Smith

The astonishing true story of Lisa Blair and her 2017 quest to become the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica without stopping. Lisa left from Albany in January 2017, with the goal of completing the journey in around 100 days. Her voyage was met with waves the size of buses, snow, hail, hypothermia and horrendous, damaging storms; all challenges to be overcome – somehow! This new retelling of Lisa’s story combines gnarly self-shot video journals, contemporary reenactment of the incredible voyage and Lisa’s own testimony of just how she coped with what the elements threw at her.

Sting

Written and directed by Kiah Roache-Turner
Produced by Chris Brown
Starring Alyla Browne, Penelope Mitchell and Ryan Corr

Somewhere in wintry New York City, an extra terrestrial meteorite crashes into a run-down tower block. It is carrying that most troubling of cargo – an Australia red back spider! As the spider rapidly doubles in size, the apartment block’s mix of quirky residents – an earnest teenage scientist here, a boozy old lady there – are at risk of being picked off on-by-one. Who will survive? How big will the spider get? How can it possibly die?! A riotously fun, scary good time, Sting is inspired by one of humanity’s greatest fears, arachnophobia, made more monstrous than ever before in this tongue-in-cheek, silly-scary thrill ride. There’s nothing better than watching a horror film in full cinema immersion. Join us for this special event celebrating one of the most anticipated Australian horror films to be released this year. Unlimited free popcorn to keep you going in this late-night binge!

Before Dawn

Directed and produced by Jordon Prince-Wright
Written by Jordon Prince-Wright, Jarrad Russel
Starring Ed Oxenbould, Levi Miller, Stephen Peacocke, Myles Pollard and Travis Jeffery

A thrilling, large-scale World War I epic that was devised and created right here in Western Australia. Levi Miller (Jasper Jones) plays Jim, a young and naïve worker on his father’s sheep farm compelled to sign up for the remote war in the name of the King. In Belgium, Jim must confront the trauma of leaving a man behind, just as his battalion may be on the cusp of an extraordinary breakthrough. Before Dawn is inspired by and draws details from the diaries of WA soldiers who fought on in the trenches of Belgium in the ‘Great War’, Australia’s first foray into international conflict as a modern nation. Funded and created completely independently, Before Dawn has a scope and ambition that heralds an exciting force in Australian film.

Rachel’s Farm

Directed by Rachel Ward
Produced by Bettina Dalton

Film director and actress Rachel Ward is not the first person you’d expect to join a farming revolution, but she and husband Bryan Brown have had a small farm in coastal New South Wales for over 30 years. Increasingly despairing of the damage that intensive farming has done to the land, Rachel was alerted to an alternative by a friend and neighbour. Together they hatched an exciting plan. In this triumphant film about the restorative power of land and nature, Rachel voyages from wilful ignorance about the ecological impacts of conventional agriculture on her own rural property, to embracing a movement to restore the health of Australia’s farmland, food and climate.

Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story

Directed and produced by Paul Goldman
Written by Bethany Jones, Paul Goldman, Sara Edwards
Featuring Jimmy Barnes, Vika and Linda Bull, Neil Finn, Tim Finn, Garbage, Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Vance Joy, Paul Kelly, Kylie Minogue, Mark Seymour, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, The Temper Trap and many more.

A rare insight into how Mushroom Records hitmaker and trailblazer Michael Gudinski inspired the soundtrack of a nation and revolutionised the Australian music industry. Charting an amazing path in Australian and international rock and pop from Skyhooks and Jimmy Barnes to Yothu Yindi and Archie Roach via Kylie Minogue and Peter Andre, Ego follows Gudinski’s relentless pursuit of success over five decades as he launches Mushroom Records and the careers of countless artists, promotes legendary international acts, and takes Australian music to the world. AACTA award winner for Best Sound in a documentary’, EGO features exclusive interviews with some of the world’s most influential artists, extraordinary rare footage, and an electrifying soundtrack, revealing the man behind the music and the unstoppable force that was Michael Gudinski.

Cinema Australia Podcast #101 | Paul Goldman and Robert & James Farnham

You Should Have Been Here Yesterday

Directed by Jolyon Hoff
Produced by Craig Griffin, Jolyon Hoff
Written by Ernest Hariyanto, Jolyon Hoff
Starring Tim Winton, Wayne Lynch, Bob McTavish and Albe Falzon

This beautiful documentary takes us back to the golden age of Australian surfing. Around the turn of the 1970s, aill around the country, young people turned away from the buttoned-up culture of their parents and took to the oceans. There on unspoiled, undiscovered beaches they found peace, harmony and self-expression. Complete with both a gorgeous soundtrack by expert surf-musician Murray Paterson’s band Headland, and an array of evocative original Australian surf film, You Should Have Been Here Yesterday is your one-stop-shop to revel in the utopia of Australia’s surfie past. Before the money took over, this is what Australia dreamed its future could – and maybe still will – be.

Shayda

Written and directed by Noora Niasari
Produced by Vincent Sheehan and Noora Niasari
Starring Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Osamah Sami, Leah Purcell, Jillian Nguyen, Mojean Aria, Rina Mousavi and Selina Zahednia

Winner of the 2023 CinefestOZ Film Prize! An Iranian woman living in Australia, Shayda finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her frightened 6-year-old daughter, Mona. Having fled her husband, Hossein, and filed for divorce, Shayda struggles to maintain normalcy for Mona. Buoyed by the approach of Persian New Year, Shayda tries to forge a fresh start with new and unfettered freedoms. But when a judge grants Hossein visitation rights he re-enters their life, stoking Shayda’s fear that he’ll attempt to take Mona back to Iran. Drawn from personal experiences, Iranian-Australian f ilmmaker Noora Niasari’s powerful debut feature is a beautifully crafted, poetic portrayal of courage and compassion, anchored by a heart-rending performance by Zar Amir Ebrahimi.