Told in the surreal, fairy-tale place of “Bad City”, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night documents the evenings of a mysterious vampire as she preys on the sorrow and depravity of those around her. Somewhat of an innocent waif, despite her surroundings, the girl runs into a handsome young man who perhaps offers her human connection beyond her isolated and evening-bound life. Things do not go smoothly; as their love is interrupted by pimps, drug dealers, and a whole lot of slow dancing.
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Reviews from current film festivals playing in Australia and around the world. Regular festivals include the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival, Lavazza Italian Film Festival, Stonger than Fiction Documentary Film Festival, and many others.
Ivory Tower (2014)
With the costs of attending university within the United States increasing, and indeed throughout the Western world, the documentary Ivory Tower questions whether the existing funding models and structures within higher education have a future. Stuffed full of interviews with experts, examining alternative models, and even capturing a large-scale student protest at Cooper Union in New York, the film sets out to examine the problem from a multitude of angles.
Read MoreWe Come As Friends (2014)
Hubert Sauper captures South Sudan at an essential moment; on the eve of its vote for independence, and the consequences of that decision. An amazingly thorough documentary, it illustrates the complex puzzle that is Sudan through interviews with locals, missionaries, Chinese workers, American and UN aid officials, and a host of others who compete or unite to form the complex and conflicting web of interests that is quickly transforming South Sudan into a humanitarian disaster.
Read MoreLand Ho! (2014)
Mitch and Colin are former brothers-in-law and old friends, compelled to catch up every few years and shoot the breeze. This time retiring surgeon Mitch has a proposition for his friend, come along to Iceland first class and have the time of his life. Colin knows Mitch won’t take no for an answer, so the two are off for adventure and repose. Running into a cast of characters, the two contemplate life and the events that have brought them to where they are today.
Read MoreHuman Capital; Il capitale umano (2014)
Told from four different perspectives, all interconnected, the drama of the film centres around the injury of a cyclist in a car accident under suspicious circumstances. Implicated are the wealthy Bernaschi family, and their teenage son Massimiliano. At first it appear that his girlfriend Serena is covering up for him after he drove home drunk from a party, however the truth turns out to be much more tangled. Enter Serena’s parents, who also have financial dealings with the Bernaschi family and wealthy friends also trying to cover their own hide.
Read MoreSongs For Alexis (2014)
There’s an important story to be told within the documentary Songs For Alexis; unfortunately director Elvira Lind is not skilled enough to catch it. The result is a film which is deeply unsatisfying in its exploration of transgender individuals – missing some of the essential issues within the community, to focus on a story of teen angst that only glancingly connects with what makes the film unique.
Read MoreMaps to the Stars (2014)
Set amongst a web of Hollywood royalty, of pampered stars and pop psychiatrists, the film follows young and troubled Agatha as she returns to the town, and takes up a position as a personal assistant for aging star Havana Segrand. Alongside Havana’s ruthless campaign to be cast in a role previously played by her mother, is young Benjie who is the child star of a new franchise known as Bad Babysitter. This being a Cronenberg film, something deeply strange is occurring beneath the surface.
Read MoreTime is Illmatic (2014)
A brief account of the childhood and career of the hip-hop artist Nas, the film focuses on the events leading up to his 1994 debut album Illmatic and its influence on the broader Hip-Hop scene in Brooklyn and across America. Told from a vantage point of success, it also recounts the tragic deaths and incarceration of Nas’ core group of friends from the period, as well as his abandonment by a neglectful father.
Read MoreVulva 3.0 (2014)
Vulva 3.0 is an outstanding documentary about the representation, censorship, norms, and issues that women confront in relating to their vaginas. From sexual education, to art, to surgery, to pornography the film thoroughly and intelligently explores every angle through a series of interviews with experts, publishers, doctors, and activists. It is a documentary of the highest order; opening up a much needed discussion.
Read MoreHector and the Search for Happiness (2014)
Hector is a psychiatrist grown weary with his life and enviably privileged but dull routine, wondering if he truly helps his patients feel any better or simply profits off their dependency. Thus challenged one day he decides to strike off into the world, keeping a journal as he meets a cast of characters and inquires into the sources of their happiness. From Africa, to China, to Tibet, to Los Angeles, Hector finally comes to the realisation that true happiness lies at home.
Read MoreThe Congress (2013)
An ageing actress with her best opportunities behind her is given one last chance by her studio; have herself scanned, so that they can digitally recreate her in any way they wish. The offer is tempting, but it comes with the proviso that she never work again. Reluctantly accepting for family reasons, she unintentionally stands at the dawn of a new form of entertainment – and a brewing revolution.
Read MoreOn the Way to School; Sur le chemin de l'école (2013)
Many children around the globe struggle to get a basic education, overcoming great obstacles for a fundamental right. On the Way to School documents four such struggles; in most cases, where the children have to cover a literal distance to get to school, and in some cases overcome certain prejudices or judgments to realise their right to be there. The documentary follows a girl in Morocco, a disabled boy in India, two spirited African children, and an isolated Argentinean family.
Read MoreKumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)
Kumiko is unmarried in Tokyo, getting older and still in a office girl’s job serving an insensitive boss. Her life is dull, with only Bunzo the bunny to keep her company, but she treasures a secret – the location of a large amount of stolen money, revealed to her through careful investigation of a film called Fargo. Fed up with things at home, she impetuously departs for the US to find her fortune.
Read MoreI Am Big Bird: The Carol Spinney Story (2014)
Big Bird from Sesame Street may be iconic, but his creator and puppeteer Carrol Spinney is less so – despite having performed the character for over forty years. The film follows Carrol from his early days as a passionate performer, through a career in children’s television and finally to his collaboration with Henson and his famous team on the much beloved Sesame Street. Along the way, Carrol’s story is that of a struggling artist, but also one of most profound happiness.
Read MoreThe Captive (2014)
Nine year-old Cassandra is kidnapped from the back of her father’s car, parked mere minutes outside a local diner. Her parents live with the consequences every day, as eight years later she has still not been found and is presumed dead. The local Niagara Falls Police continue to work the case, but less and less frequently; instead, focusing their efforts on a child pornography ring that may incidentally hold the key to the girl’s disappearance eight years ago.
Read MoreIncompresa; Misunderstood (2014)
Aria is an ordinary nine-year-old girl growing up in Rome in the 1980s; one of three sisters from the blended family of a famous pianist and a famous actor. But things are not well, and as the marriage begins to disintegrate, Aria seeks refuge with her best friend and the within the lives of her classmates. Being the youngest child, and the only child of both parents, she is frequently the innocent target of her parents venom – and the film closely documents the chaos that swirls around Aria as she moves from one home to another and back again.
Read MoreThe Art of Happiness; L’arte della felicità (2013)
The Art of Happiness is the story of two musically talented brothers, both close to each other but bringing out the best when they are together in performance. Younger brother Sergio is baffled and angry when Alfredo suddenly decides to leave for Indiaand Tibet, to pursue his passion for Buddhism. Left to drive his uncle’s taxi around the city of Naples, Sergio’s life slowly falls apart as he is consumed by his anger and unable to confront the deeper, existential questions he has been avoiding.
Read MoreThe Taste of You; Sapore di te (2014)
Various families gather every year by the seaside to relax and unwind over summer; enjoying life, love, and wine. Set in the 1980s, this film follows a few tumultuous years, several love trianges, and more affairs than you can poke a stick at among its ensemble cast of characters. There’s a politician, football fanatic, an aspiring actor meets pool attendant, the locals, and many more in this Italian farce.
Read MoreThe Wonders; Le meraviglie (2014)
Gelsomina is the twelve-year-old daughter of a fiercely independent man, and one of four sisters, living apart from the rest of the world and harvesting honey to sell on the Italian coast. Things are unsettled when the family take in a juvenile delinquent Martin, and through Gelsomina’s insistence that the family farm enter a T.V. competition called the ‘Countryside Wonders.’ Despite this unsettling change, she remains the rock of the family and relentlessly contends with her father’s erratic temper.
Read MoreUniversity: More Than Friends; Universitari: molto più che amici (2013)
Carlo is an aspiring director in a film studies program; living among undergraduate housemates and friends, while trying to navigate the complexities of university life. Out of ideas for his next project, he instead documents his fellow students and the multitude of issues they face in studying, working, finding love, and surviving. What emerges is a portrait of good friends, casual sex, and an accidental community.
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