Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast. On this episode, I’m joined by writer and director Mia’Kate Russell to discuss her very excellent, highly entertaining, violent and bloody cat-and-mouse horror, Penny Lane is Dead. Set in 1986, during a scorching Aussie summer, Penny Lane is Dead follows three best friends who’s celebration…
Western Australian feature film Wreckage will return to the big screen on 30 July for a special charity screening in partnership with Phoenix Support and Advocacy Service, bringing together community leaders, advocates and audiences to raise awareness of domestic and family violence while supporting those affected by it. Following a sold-out screening at the WA…
The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) has announced a 30th anniversary celebration screening of Scott Hick’s Oscar®-winning Shine as part of an early look at this year’s program. Premiering a brand new 4K digital restoration of the acclaimed film, the story stands the test of time, featuring the stand-out performance from Geoffrey Rush that catapulted him…
Not that long ago, all you’d have to do to avoid being scammed was to trash an email from a Nigerian prince offering a family inheritance. Nowadays, we’re facing increasingly sophisticated and much more convincing scams, like the one at the heart of Maddelin McKenna’s debut feature film, Mad Rush, which is set to premiere…
The 2026 WA Screen Culture Awards were held in Perth last night, paying vibrant tribute to the remarkable talents and accomplishments shaping the captivating world of screen culture in Western Australia. Held at Luna Cinemas Leederville, and hosted by enigmatic WA performance artist and producer, Rose Kingdom-Barron, the WASCAs once again highlighted the amazing achievements…
Australia’s leading and emerging filmmakers will head west from 28 August to 6 September for the 19th CinefestOZ Film Festival, the nation’s largest dedicated celebration of Australian film. Released today, the CinefestOZ 2026 Official Program features more than 100 new feature films, short films and television series, alongside an exciting calendar of unique events hosted in cinemas, galleries, breweries, bars and restaurants throughout Western Australia’s beautiful South West. CinefestOZ CEO Cassandra Jordan said this year’s program celebrates the extraordinary diversity of Australian…
Thanks to our friends at Umbrella Entertainment, we’re giving you the chance to win a double pass to see Penny Lane is Dead. Penny Lane is Dead is the rip-roaring debut feature from writer-director Mia’Kate Russell that blends pitch-black ocker humour, and blood-splattering horror with a distinctly Australian twist. The film follows 17-year-old Penny (Bailey…
Peter Firebrace’s debute feature film, Of Womb, will celebrate its world premiere at the upcoming Melbourne International Film Festival. Three young women have been raised in innocence on a remote, dilapidated homestead, alone with their bedbound, intensely religious mother. Fuelled by a heady brew of existential terror, dogmatic belief and desire to dominate, The Eldest…
Australia remains in the grip of a family, domestic and sexual violence crisis. I won’t go too deeply into the statistics here, but they’re confronting, and as a society, we simply must do better. Considering storytelling has always been one of the most powerful ways to reflect the realities of our society, these issues are…
Sharmill Films and Stranger Than Fiction have shared the official trailer for Silenced, the critically acclaimed feature documentary making waves around the world. Billed as an “essential, galvanising watch” by Screen International, Silenced follows the powerful fight of Australian human rights lawyer and free speech defender Jennifer Robinson against the weaponisation of defamation laws by alleged perpetrators to…