backCinesonics conference: the line up
Cinesonics enters its 4th year as the only annual conference on Film Scores & Sound Design in the world. Organised by RealTime columnist, Philip Brophy, this year’s guests are Skip Lievsay (NY sound designer who’s worked with Scorsese, Spike Lee & the Coen Bros) & Simon Fisher-Turner Skip (composer for Derek Jarman). An Australian industry panel will include Clara Law & Jamie Blanks (Valentine). Local speakers include Megan Spencer, McKenzie Wark & Jodi Brooks. For information on the last 3 conferences, there is a complete archive. A new book to be launched at the conference, Cinesonic: Experiencing the Soundtrack, features transcripts from the 2000 conference. RMIT, Melbourne, June 22-24.
QLD stars of the future
Warner Roadshow’s 15th Queensland New Filmmaker Awards were announced in April with The Big Picture (Peter & Michael Spierig) winning best overall film, Best Producer, Best Actor (Robyn Moore) & Best Independent Drama (shared with The Irving Hand Prophecy). Their film screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival earlier this year. The new Reconciliation Award was won by Cairns filmmaker Greg Singh for Breakdown. Robin James, CEO of Pacific Film & Television Commission, commented: “the response from the public has been tremendous. People lined up the Queen St Mall to watch public screenings.”
Fast filmmaking BIFF style
The BIFF Fast Film competition has been launched & the special ingredient is the number 10. The national short film competition gives competitors 50 days to write, shoot & edit a 5 minute film, which must include ‘10’. Finalists’ screenings are held during the Brisbane International Film Festival so get cracking! All entries must reach BIFF office by July 12. Entry forms can be downloaded, 07 3220 0333.
Akira! Akira! Akira!
Silicon Pulp gallery is celebrating this anime classic with an exhibition of rarely seen cells, artworks & manga. (It took 160,000 animation cells to make the film.) An installation by Italian artist Ludovica Gioscia—combining Akira’s soundtrack with digital footage—will accompany the exhibition. 176 Parramatta Rd, Stanmore,
02 9560 9176,June 8-August 4
Tracking a director online
Rolf de Heer’s new film The Tracker is in post production & you can read his diary online for insights into shooting on location in the Flinders Rangers & the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary. The film premieres at the 2002 Adelaide Festival of the Arts.
Local screenwriting achievement
Linda Aronson’s book Scriptwriting Updated: New & Conventional Ways of Writing for the Screen has been shortlisted in the Australian Awards for Excellence in Academic Publishing. The book has been a huge hit in the States, with the UFVA (the leading conference of screenwriting teachers) organisers trying to schedule a special session on Aronson’s parallel narrative theories. Next year Aronson will join Linda Seger & interactive expert Carolyn McQuillian in Australia for a lecture series on new narrative forms.
Indigenous filmmakers hit Berlin
A festival of contemporary Australian Indigenous films, organised by the AFC & Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, will screen at the Anthropological Museum in Berlin, June 7-17 as part of Ethnifest. Rachel Perkins’ One Night the Moon will open the festival & Perkins will attend along with Sally Riley, Warwick Thornton & Erica Glynn. The festival will then travel to Munich & Frankfurt.ACT filmmakers’ network
Launched June 6, the network aims to be the link between filmmakers & industry & offers members access to events & meetings, an online database, equipment for hire & training. 02 6251 6936
Funding increases for Victorian film industry
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks recently announced an additional $12 million to be invested in Film Victoria over the next 2 years, with direct production investment increased by $3.9 million each year. The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), due to open in Federation Square in early 2002, will receive $13.2 million over 4 years for operations & $13.8 million next year to complete the technological infrastructure. ACMI will feature a screen gallery, specialist cinemas & lounge areas for watching animation, games, film & digital work. How about one in
every state?
Serenades at Byron Mapp Gallery
Mojgan Khadem’s Serenades is the latest Australian film to be supported & distributed by Palace Films. Opening May 31, it traces the little known history of Afghan camel riders & their liaisons with Aboriginal & missionary communities in Central Australia. Coinciding with the release is an exhibition of the film’s stills by Mark Rogers at Byron Mapp Gallery Sydney. Lvl 1, 18-24 Argyle St, The Rocks, 02 9252 9800
Chabrol emerges from the woodwork
Opening the recent European Film Festival, Claude Chabrol’s taut new thriller, Merci pour le chocolat is one to look out for, getting under the surface of that bourgeois musical-genius genre we know so well. For more than 40 years Chabrol has “delivered a devastating series of pathology reports on provincial France.” A retrospective of 6 of his films is touring nationally. Brisbane, State Library, until July 1; Sydney, Chauvel Cinema, June 11; Melbourne, Cinemedia, until June 7; Adelaide, Mercury Cinema, June 4-25; Canberra, Electric Shadows, June 14-20; Perth, FTI, June 6-20. For session times call 1800 069 009.
VCA students hit Cannes
Keep an eye out for Martin Four, an exploration of a son & mother’s love & fantasies, selected for the cinefoundation category for Cannes this year. Produced by VCA students Ben Hackworth, Tim Symonds, Anthony Pateras, Katie Milwright & Joan Kelly, the short screened recently at Popcorn Taxi & will no doubt be doing the rounds of film fests this year.
AFI’s big changes
The AFI has recently announced a number of changes including a new logo, corporate image & adjustments to feature film judging in the awards process. The film community has been either outraged or relieved at the new process, which limits films nominated to those with a theatrical release. Features will not be re-screened so it’s up to members to see Aussie flicks at the cinema. It’s bad news for those indie films struggling for distribution, with theatrical release defined as “publicly exhibited for paid admission in a commercial cinema for at least 7 consecutive days in a minimum of 3 Australian cities, including Sydney & Melbourne, throughout the awards year.” Meanwhile, paid-up members are waiting months for their new membership cards—come on guys!
Moral rights bill finally passed
The Australian Screen Directors Association announced in its Autumn newsletter that as of December 2000, directors & producers are officially recognised as authors under the Australian Copyright Act, a real victory for Australia’s creative community: “…while copyright is about the protection of ‘economic’ rights, moral rights are about protection of ‘creative’ rights. Moral rights exist to protect the completed work, ‘the film’, from being altered without the permission or consent of the authors…They are about ensuring that the reputation of the film & the film’s authors are maintained…”
Off the Edge—ScreenWest winner announced
Emerging WA writer Vanessa Lomma, producer Melissa Hasluck & director Melanie Rodriga were awarded $500,000 recently as winners of the ScreenWest/SBS Independent Off the Edge initiative, for their script Teesh & Trude, a low budget feature on the lives of 2 hardened women on a diet of soapies & sarcasm. The initiative was established to give filmmakers the chance to move beyond short films & create feature-length scripts.
Looking for women’s shorts
The WOW International Film Festival is calling for entries for their short film competition. A grand prize of $30,000 in goods & services is a good incentive. Cate Shortland, director Flowergirl & Joy, is a previous winner. The winning films screen at the WOW festival in October at Chauvel Cinema, Sydney, & tour to regional & city centres nationally. For entry forms, phone 02 9332 2408. All entries must be under 40 minutes & either directed by a woman or, if directed by a man, both written & produced by women.
The apocalypse according to Herzog
The MRC in Adelaide is screening 9 films from Werner Herzog. Screening every Thursday night, 7pm from June 7, the series includes Fata Morgana, Signs of Life, Even Dwarfs Started Small, Aguirre, Wrath of God, Heart of Glass & Strozeck. It’s a good chance to see Herzog eating his own shoes. And it’s free!
Filmmaker with a new vision of Indonesia
As reported by Vivienne Stanton on scoop, filmmaker Tony Sarre went blind at 16 and at 19 hitchhiked solo around Australia with a white cane & a camera. A Murdoch University film student, he recently received a ScreenWest grant to make a 6-part doco series about Indonesia, where he handed the camera to locals he met along the way. Sarre says that being vision impaired can be an advantage: “Because I couldn’t see, people would talk to me, tell me about what they were seeing, give me their slant…In my mind the world was so varied, it wasn’t just me seeing it, it was everybody that I travelled with. It was very exciting & I wanted to put that experience into film.”
RealTime issue #43 June-July 2001 pg. 23
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