Brisbane International Film Festival: Launch

Brisbane film fans rejoice! After a longer than usual fourteen month wait between outings, it is again time to gather in masses, watch movies and be merry during the city’s annual celebration of all things film, the Brisbane International Film Festival 2010. Moving from its traditional July to August home to a summery November slot on the events calendar (November 4 – 14 to be exact) in its nineteenth year, the 2010 festival marks the first under incoming director Richard Moore (taking on the role after overseeing the 2010 Melbourne offering, and the three prior), as well as the first away from the now sadly defunct and greatly missed Regent cinemas. So what lies in store for Queensland cinephiles throughout ten glorious days of the best that international cinema has to offer? Fresh from the fantastic launch event (featuring a pitch perfect presentation by Moore), we bring you the highlights of the 2010 program, as well as a promise to keep the BIFF news and reviews coming throughout the duration of the festival.

As always, there is truly something for everyone in the extensive and eclectic BIFF 2010 program. From 3D cane toads on opening night (Cane Toads: The Conquest) to John Woo kung fu to close the program (Reign Of Assassins), possibly the world’s first ‘womantic’ feature (the Brisbane-based comedy Jucy) to the utterly indescribable (Tommy Wiseau cult phenomenon The Room), the new look festival – in a new timeslot and new venues (Palace Centro and Barracks cinemas, and Tribal Theatre) – has assembled an amazing line-up, with films for young (well, 18 and over for the most part, given the severing of links between BIFF and Cine Sparks) and old.

For fans of big-name cinema, look no further than the Australian premiere of Sophia Coppola’s Venice Golden Lion-winning Somewhere (a coup so recent that it is not even listed in the official printed program), or the George Clooney-starring, Anton Corbijn-directed The American. Add Naomi Watts and Sean Penn in Doug Liman’s Fair Game, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in Sundance Grand Jury entrant Blue Valentine, Gotham award nominee Winter’s Bone and the animated adventure Megamind for the kids, and the more commercial-leaning contingent of entries is well and truly covered, with Welcome To The Rileys (starring James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo and Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart) and Brit caper comedy Wild Target rounding out the mix.

Award winners also feature prominently in 2010, with the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or recipient Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives likely to attract significant interest. Juliette Binoche’s acclaimed turn in Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy continues the Cannes flavour, whilst 2009 Golden Lion winner Lebanon joins the above-mentioned Somewhere in representing the best of Venice. The recipient of the highest accolade at the recent Sydney Film Festival also makes the list, with Xavier Dolan’s Heartbeats joining his debut piece I Killed My Mother alongside other Sydney and Melbourne screeners (I Love You Phillip Morris, Howl, Brotherhood, Life During Wartime, Little Sparrows, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, and The Illusionist) as content familiar from other festivals.

In the Australian corner, the “Local Heroes” crop includes Guy Pearce and Miranda Otto in first-time filmmaker Simone North’s thriller I Am You, Bill Bennett’s Uninhabited, Jaws (also screening in a dive-in cinema special event alongside Deep Blue Sea) meets Open Water in The Reef, and True Blood‘s Ryan Kwanten in Red Hill. North, Bennett and Kwanten have also been announced as guests of the festival, with the latter certain to draw a crowd. Red Hill also forms part of the “Shock Corridor” section, with Gregg Araki’s Kaboom (described as Twin Peaks, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Donnie Darko combined), absurdist road movie Rubber and Mexican cannibal flick We Are What We Are also on the bill.

Finally, the documentary section has received a boost, with Bill Cunningham New York, Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work and the Adrian Grenier-helmed Teenage Paparazzo among the best known pieces. Topical HBO production and Sundance Special Jury prize winner Gasland ranks among the highlights the section (with director Josh Fox slated to be in attendance), whilst other offerings such as Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, When You’re Strange: A Film About The Doors (part of the “Beatbox” music program), William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, Machete Maidens Unleashed! and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story also noteworthy alongside fellow Sundance winner Restrepo, Last Train Home, Google Baby, Freakonomics and more.

Of course, the above is a mere taste of what is on offer amongst the twenty-three Australian premieres, three world firsts, and more films than you can poke a stick at, with South Korean effort The Actresses, French comedy Copacabana, the five and a half hour Carlos the Jackal epic Carlos, the beautifully named Mother Teresa Of Cats and even Jim Henson’s first non-Muppet film The Dark Crystal all screening. With Gaspar Noe’s Enter The Void, Michael Rowe’s Camera d’Or winner Leap Year, UK indie apocalypse film Monsters, Aussie rom-com The Wedding Party and a four feature tribute to cinematographer Jack Cardiff (including Hitchcock goes Down Under in Under Capricorn), BIFF 2010 has, as Moore so eloquently put it, “snap, crackle, pop, kick, bite and relevance”. What more could one want from a film festival?

Tickets for the 19th St. George Bank Brisbane International Film Festival are on sale today, with the festival running from November 4 – 14, 2010.

DVD Bits can be found on Twitter @DVDBits. DVD Bits is at http://www.dvdbits.com.

Four Lions

In an initiative designed to provide a taste of the film festival experience all year round, the gurus at Screen Queensland (formerly Pacific Film and Television Commission) implemented the Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) World Cinema Club (WCC), a monthly movie meet-up that gives members the opportunity to preview new international offerings, handpicked by the staff at BIFF. Now in its fifth year, it has hosted a wealth of interesting, eclectic and entertaining offerings, ranging from Oscar-winner The Hurt Locker to Costa-Gavras’ epic Eden Is West, and including the likes of Juno, The Wrestler, Samson And Delilah, Bright Star, Half Nelson, Babel, Waltz With Bashir, Summer Hours, Farewell and more.

Four Lions is the latest feature screened for WCC members, fresh from this year’s Sydney and Melbourne Film Festivals. A slapstick, sketch-style bomb-com (that’s a bomb comedy, or funny film about people blowing things up) reminiscent of skit segments of Australian satirical group The Chaser mixed with the character humour of Sacha Baron Cohen (Bruno, Borat, Ali G), it marks the directorial debut of U.K. comedian, radio DJ, writer and actor Chris Morris (most recently seen in the hilarious office comedy The IT Crowd) in a farcical look at jihadism, extremism, and terrorism. Starring a cast of British veterans and up-and-comers (including Rome‘s Nigel Lindsay, Dead Set‘s Riz Ahmed, Fonejacker‘s Kayvan Novak, and Creation‘s Benedict Cumberbatch), the film follows four inept Sheffield-based Muslims (the self-styled lions of the title) in training to become suicide bombers, complete with unique anti-surveillance techniques, running styles and communication codes, unusual anatomy, ideological arguments, outrageous use of fictional character costumes, and a wholesale re-imagining of The Lion King.

Written by Morris and experienced British scribes Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain and Simon Blackwell (each with ample experience in political satire, having worked with Armando Iannucci on The Thick Of It and In The Loop), Four Lions has a lot of promise. Offensive, stereotypical and at times downright funny, there are a lot of laughs to be had as the quartet of would-be jihadists learn the ins and outs of terrorism in what amounts to a “what not to do” instructional film. However, like many efforts in this realm – the above mentioned Chaser crew being the best example – the film fails to fulfill its potential, with too much hinging on one-note, thinly drawn jokes that overstay their welcome. Brightened by a surprisingly poignant ending that brings home the human side of the horror of extremist acts – and a great turn by Ahmed as the unofficial leader of the group – the resulting feature is amusing but underwhelming, in a black comedy gag film that tries hard, will put a smile on your face, but is ultimately stretched well beyond its light-hearted capacity.

Four Lions opens in Australian cinemas on August 19, 2010, with advanced screenings in selected theatres this weekend (August 13 – 15).

DVD Bits can be found on Twitter @DVDBits. DVD Bits is at http://www.dvdbits.com.

Cine Sparks: Dear Lemon Lima

Translink Cine Sparks, the Australian film festival for young people, began 2005 in conjunction with the Brisbane International Film Festival. Designed to showcase world cinema to younger audiences, it has presented an exciting variety of features over the past six years, including breakout hits (Son Of Rambow), recent classics (Ponyo), family favourites, (The Wizard Of Oz), and plenty in-between. With the main festival moving to November for the first time in its nineteen year history, 2010 marks the debut of Cinesparks as a stand-alone event. Thankfully, the quality of screenings and the joy of the festival experience remains, with an interesting and eclectic mix of films assembled complete with international guests, world views, and a program of features and shorts for young and old alike.

American independent film Dear Lemon Lima opened the 2010 festival (with writer / director Suzi Yoonessi in attendance), immediately capturing the youthful spirit of the event. A coming of age comedy feature based on Yoonessi’s short film of the same name, it stars a cast of unknown adolescents alongside Melissa Leo (Frozen River, Everybody’s Fine) and Beth Grant (playing a similar role to that in Donnie Darko) as it unravels the fantasy and reality of thirteen year old Vanessa Lemor (newcomer Savanah Wiltfong, a real find).

With her heart in shreds after preppy boyfriend Phillip (Shayne Topp, winner of the outstanding performance award at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival) decides he’d rather be friends, Vanessa secures a scholarship to attend his private school in an attempt to win him back. That the scholarship is earmarked for students of Eskimo heritage, and that Vanessa considers herself more aligned to her single mother than her Yup’ik father, merely highlights the discord between Vanessa and her new educational institution. Immediately cast as an outsider, she bands together with a group of fellow misfits to win Phillip back, but ends up teaching the rest of the school community – and herself – a valuable lesson about acceptance and belonging in the process.

There is a lot to like about this sweet and uplifting debut feature from emerging talent Yoonessi. Capturing the idiosyncratic humour of Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre, Gentlemen Broncos), the whimsy of Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, Amelie, Micmacs), the cool of writer Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer’s Body) and the heart of Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World, Art School Confidential), it is kitsch, cute, and at times endearingly clumsy, just like the characters it depicts. Yet it masters the art of speaking with its audience, rather than to or about, in a film that feels authentic as it addresses themes of multiculturalism, identity, social stereotyping, and young love. For anyone who has ever had their heart broken, felt out of place, or been told that they weren’t good enough, Dear Lemon Lima is an underdog story with colour and character, in an insightfully witty treat for audiences of all ages.

The Translink Cine Sparks program is currently screening across a variety of Brisbane venues until Friday 6 August.

DVD Bits can be found on Twitter @DVDBits. DVD Bits is at http://www.dvdbits.com.