In a milestone moment for Western Australian film, 26-year-old Emilie Lowe has become the first cinematographer from WA to win the prestigious John Leake OAM ACS Emerging Cinematographer Award. The prize was awarded to the young filmmaker this week at the Australian Cinematographers Society’s National Awards in Adelaide, a celebration of the country’s finest visual…
Welcome to the Cinema Australia Podcast. In this very mini episode, I’m joined by Under a Bamboo Sky filmmaker Serge Ou, to discuss his confronting and revealing new documentary which hits Netflix this week after a successful run of Q&A screenings across the country recently. A tale of human connection, hope and resilience in the…
Australian filmmaker Rafael Star is stepping into territory rarely explored on home soil with his micro-budget feature Manhunt, a tightly wound paranoia thriller that stands out in a local industry not often drawn to the genre. Set against the backdrop of sunny Queensland, the film follows Max (Harry Duckworth), a successful young property developer whose…
Sydney arthouse film production and distribution company Badlands is teaming up with beloved Perth-based advocates of cinema, Black Maria Film Collective, to present the WA premiere of forthcoming Australian feature film The Birthday Trip at Luna Leederville. The Luna Leederville screening will be followed by other Q&A screenings at locations including Sydney Cinémathèque and the…
Kelly Bergsma’s new feature documentary Invisible Injuries explores the hidden cost of trauma, service, PTSD, and the long road toward healing. Through deeply personal stories, expert insight, and cinematic re-enactments, the film looks beyond the surface of survival and into the human process of rebuilding identity, connection, and purpose after trauma. Centred around the experiences…
WildBear Entertainment has announced that their groundbreaking new Australian feature documentary Under a Bamboo Sky, will be available on Netflix from May 8, following the success of event screenings at over 100 cinema locations nationally in the lead up to ANZAC Day 2026. Using footage colourised for the first time, the film tells a powerful and…
Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast. Straight off the bat, I need to say that this interview with Beast director Tyler Atkins is one of my favourites ever. I always appreciate openness and honesty from my guests, and Tyler delivers it in spades here. It’s one of the most real and…
The trailer for the chilling new horror Leviticus was launched today in advance of its cinema release all across Australia from June 18, 2026. The film is penned and directed by the brilliantly talented Adrian Chiarella and produced by the prolific Australian genre specialists Causeway Films (Talk To Me, Bring Her Back, The Babadook). Leviticus…
From award-winning Bra Boys director Macario de Souza, In Pieces Together follows Blake Johnston’s record-breaking surf and mission to spark a national conversation about mental health and suicide. Hype Republic has released the official trailer for Australian documentary, In Pieces Together, written, directed and produced by two-time AACTA award winning filmmaker Macario de Souza (Bra Boys,…
Sydney Film Festival today announced that Silenced, Selina Miles’ Sundance-premiered Australian documentary, will open the 73rd edition of the Festival (3-14 June) on Wednesday 3 June at the State Theatre, followed by a post-screening celebration at Sydney Town Hall. Selina Miles’ documentary follows international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson as she fights against the weaponisation of defamation law by…
Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast. This episode is a special one for me because I finally had an opportunity to interview Tilda Cobham-Hervey, an actor who I have long-admired, and whose name has been on my interview bucket list for many years. It was also special to interview James Litchfield,…
Rafael Star’s Manhunt will screen at this year’s Gold Coast Film Festival. The new feature film follows Max (Harry Duckworth), a very successful property developer who begins to question who he is actually working for following a series of strange events. In this eerie mystery thriller, Max is a young and very successful property developer…
Jack Johnston’s micro-budget road movie, Everything Grows in Eden, is about dreaming, dying, and living with other people, from an emerging country Victoria auteur A young man, Shane (Cameron Mighell), tries to kill himself by jumping in front of a train. His friend, Lily (Sophie Reynolds), rushes to save him but she’s shaken by how…
Production has officially wrapped on Last Breakfast with Mum, an audacious “chamber drama” that captures the paralysing intersection of personal grief and global political upheaval. Written by Kian Farzam and directed by Ali Vaziri, the film is a visceral exploration of the Iranian diaspora, filmed with a technical framework designed to mirror the urgency of the modern world. Unfolding…
The new documentary (or is it?) That Half Barbaric Twang – about the musical misadventures of legendary Aussie actors Geoff Morrell and David Field, and their gifted musical brother-in-arms Tim Oxley – will take to the stage and make its local bow at The Gold Coast Film Festival in April. What do you get when…
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