Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast. Australia really does punch above its weight when it comes to documentary filmmaking. Over the past 18 months alone, this country has produced a number of inspiring, world-class documentaries that sit comfortably on the world stage. Documentaries like Floodland, Yurlu | Country, In the Trenches,…
Australian filmmaker Dean Francis has never been interested in playing it safe. His latest feature, Body Blow, is a bold and unapologetic neo-noir thriller that draws inspiration from the provocative erotic thrillers of the 1990s while carving out a distinctive identity of its own. Set against the neon-lit backdrop of Sydney’s gay nightlife scene, the…
Filmmaker Aarushi Chowdhury follows up her recent short film Clown with a new, darkly funny and sharply observed short, Phorid, a story that explores self-help culture, masculinity, and the desperate search for validation. Set within the world of motivational books, social media influence, and personal growth gurus, Phorid follows Blair (Jesse Vogelaar), a struggling self-help…
Australians have always had a unique way of speaking. From our slang and laid-back attitude to the unspoken rules that make up everyday life, it can be a difficult culture to understand from the outside looking in. That’s the idea at the heart of How to Talk Australians, the new feature comedy from filmmaker Tony…
Mostly driven by an obsessed media and our willingness to worship infamous antiheroes like Ned Kelly and Chopper Reid, Australia has a long-running fascination with crime and the people who commit it. Australian filmmakers have tapped into that fascination for decades, delivering some of the country’s most memorable and celebrated films along the way. From…
In an age where streaming services, smartphones and digital entertainment dominate our daily lives, the humble piano has quietly slipped from the centre of Australian homes. Yet, as filmmaker Natalia Laska reveals in her moving documentary The Piano Tuner, these instruments, and the people who own them, still have stories to tell. The film follows…
Film festival season is in full swing across Australia, with the Sydney Film Festival just weeks away. For audiences, it’s often the first glimpse at the Australian films likely to generate the most buzz over the next 12 months. This year’s program features an impressive lineup of local feature films, including Yesterday Island, one of…
I was first introduced to Dylan Randall during the selection process for the 2022 WA Made Film Festival. It was late December 2021 when a short film titled Get the Girl landed in my inbox. It was a romantic comedy set in 1985 that immediately stood out. What struck me was Randall’s ambition. Here was…
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…
Cinema Australia 