the Curb

Much of what I do with The Curb is in a bid to shine a light on voices that may not often get the chance to be heard. That mindset carries through with director Marion Pilowsky's tenderly empathetic and joyfully curious documentary Isla's Way. Here we meet Isla Roberts.

Isla isn't a lesbian. She's not a lezzo. She's not a dyke. She's just Isla Roberts.

She lives with her 'friend' Susan and throughout the course of the film we hear their stories. Isla is persistent and resilient, living for her country and the ponies she rides with. She's shaped by the land and the land has shaped her soul and world view.

In reflecting on the past, we see the way Australia has changed and shifted thanks to the women of the nation. Isla is a proud feminist, and her efforts to ensure that the women of the region are supported in their endeavours is rewarded by having a street named after her.

Isla talks about a man she meets in a supermarket who has a broken back. He sees her hugging a friend and he asks 'What does one need to do to get a hug like that?' Isla's response is a tender one, outlining the process of how a hug works. It's that kind of physicality that feels like is missing in the bond between Susan and Isla. While some things change, Isla's mindset about how sexuality doesn't. Susan clearly loves Isla, and Isla loves Susan, but that love exists outside of labels.

Isla's Way is a frank and open film, yet never a dour one, with natural comedy emerging throughout Isla's story. It suggests a transference of the ages. Isla talks about her wedding taking place in the registration office, where she misremembers briefly an absent husband (her now deceased partner Allen), meanwhile a wedding with her grandson takes place in a field surrounded by friends and family. Elsewhere Isla recalls the last time she saw her twin sister before she passed away. Later, twin great-grandchildren are born.

The warmth of the past lights the way for time to move forward. Isla knows she will die soon, and so be that when it happens, but she also knows that her actions now will leave a mark. She talks about the collective actions of women and how men would never group together to organise a pony club where disabled folk can ride. She's right too.

I'm grateful to know Isla. I feel many others will be too. I look forward to spending time with her again in the future with this gem of a film. I cherish these kinds of films completely. They're part of what makes us who we are.

Equally so, I cherished the chance to be able to talk with Marion about the making of Isla's Way, and what her experience with getting to know Isla and her extended family was like. We talk about the importance of telling stories that are 'unsexy' or not attractive for funding bodies, and the power of seeing an 87-year old woman on a cinema screen.

Isla's Way is currently making its way around Australia after its debut at the 2023 Adelaide Film Festival. Please do yourself a favour and make time for Isla's story. Thank me and Marion later.

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When the short story Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian was published in The New Yorker in 2017, it immediately went viral with readers resonating with the way modern day dating can quickly turn toxic. It's a compelling place for director Susanna Fogel to build from with her adaptation of the short story, scripted by Michelle Ashford.

Here, Cat Person follows Emilia Jones' Margot, a ticket person at a cinema in America. She awkwardly encounters Robert, played by Nicholas Braun, and eventually the two start dating. He tells her that he owns cats, and outwardly seems like a pleasant individual, but as the relationship continues and Margot visits his house, she realises: there are no cats.

Meanwhile, Margot's friend Taylor, played by Geraldine Viswanathan, is ringing verbal alarm bells over Robert. Is he the man he actually appears to be? Or, is there something nefarious at play?

This tension builds to a masterfully staged sex scene between Margot and Robert which presents the action of consent playing out.

In the following interview with Susanna Fogel, she talks about the grey area of tension that exists within Cat Person, as well as the journey of adapting the text to the screen.

Cat Person launches in Australian cinemas on November 23.

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Scott Hicks is an Academy Award nominated director, with his Best Picture nominated film Shine bringing his work to international attention, alongside the work of the films subject, pianist David Helfgott.

We're now some twenty-six years removed from the release of Shine, and the echoes of its impact continues to resonate within the creative minds of those who have become vessels for music. In Scott's latest film, The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process, he explores just how that well of creativity is tapped into as he follows the lives and stories of four interconnected artists.

First is David Helfgott, the centrepoint for each figure and a vital creative force who encourages, inspires, and energises those around him. Moments with his wife, the late Gillian Helfgott, show a supportive, nurturing relationship at work; one where Gillian sees the brilliance of David's mind and the manner that it operates and navigates his path of musicality.

Then we meet the man who as a boy played the role of a young David Helfgott's hands in Shine: Simon Tedeschi. Simon is a genius in his own right, and with his story we hear how he navigated the complicated reality of being labeled a 'child prodigy', while also exploring the fractious state he was left in due to that level of reverence.

We then flow into the orbit of another youthful genius mind, Daniel Johns. For many, we came to know Daniel through Silverchair, the iconic Australian band that worked with David Helfgott on their magnificent opus 'Emotion Sickness'. Daniel's story is one full of deep complexity. Here is a man who daily tries to grapple with what it means to be a creative entity. Like Simon, it's a complicated state to be in, and not one that Daniel himself fully understands as he sees himself as a conduit for the music, rather than being a musician himself.

Finally, swirling into the orbit and feeling the tonal resonance of Shine play out in his own life, is Ben Folds. We see his Adelaide home and hear how his creativity moves forward in unexpected ways. In one awe-inspiring sequence, we see Folds train a captive audience in how to harmonise both together and separately, creating an aural experience that encompasses your heart as you hear it play out.

These four figures - David, Simon, Daniel, Ben - each create a layer of a symphony that is tied together by the conductor Scott Hicks. The Musical Mind is a powerful and fascinating exploration of creativity and how important it is for it to be nourished and nurtured by those who see it emerging within individuals.

In the following interview, recorded ahead of the films release on November 23, Scott talks about how his own creative mind works, how the sense of dreaming plays out when he's making a film, and what it means to be a filmmaker in Adelaide.

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Every so often a presence swirls into our lives in an unexpected manner and changes it just a little bit. For many Australians, whether they be wealthy or not-so-wealthy, that presence is David Bromley. Here is a celebrated artist whose work features on the walls of galleries and private art collectors, while the same artwork adorns cologne labels, reusable water bottles, and more. 

As mentioned in Sean McDonald's raucous and energetic documentary Bromley: Light After Dark, in Australian cinemas from today, David's work gives people hope, and hope is not something that should be restrained for those who want to access it by how much money is in your bank account. What this means for Bromley as an artist is that his work is everywhere. His critics would say he's overproduced and mass marketed, while his supporters - myself being one of them - would say that he's making high art accessible to all.

Either way you look at it, a David Bromley art piece is a slice of his personality, and through Bromley: Light After Dark that we get to see that personality writ large on the cinema screen. Here is a person that's larger than life, full of energy, and supported by a loving family who champion his work and give his mind the space to be what it is: an ever roaming, occasionally anxious, place of darkness that, thanks to a wealth of soul-searching and self-realisation, has been splashed with enough bright paint that it has become a source of lightness and joy. It is, quite simply, the light after dark. 

There's an openness and a frankness to David Bromley as a person that encourages people in his orbit - and that includes the audience watching this documentary - to feel ok about sharing who they are as people. Watching Bromley: Light After Dark made my partner and I feel seen in an way that precious few films have made us feel. In one sequence, David and his wife Yuge drive a roller over his artwork to create a weathered aesthetic. It's one of the many moments that show creativity let loose. It's bloody energetic and entertaining, and it's done by two people who love and support each other in their creative endeavours.

Thanks to the work that I do with The Curb, I get to chat or write about the plentiful creative minds that exist within Australia. I'm always in awe of their creative spirit, and how people manage to express themselves in a country that sometimes wilfully rejects creativity. For creative souls, there is a need to pour yourself into your work, and that need comes with a wealth of vulnerability. Allowing the melding of a creative mind like a documentarian to play with that vulernability amplifies that openness even more. It's that line of questioning which I put forward to Sean McDonald, David and Yuge Bromley in the following interview. 

As you'll hear, giving David a brief questions opens up a well of ideas and possibly responses. There is a level of generosity that comes with his answers, and I'm grateful that I was able to discuss his work with him. 

The following interview was recorded on the day of the Optus outage, so there are some occasional audio blips, but the essence of the discussion is still there. I begin by talking about the film with Sean, followed by the arrival of David who brings his own perspectives.

Bromley: Light After Dark is cinemas from today and deserves to be seen on the big screen. To listen to previous interviews, visit TheCurb.com.au.

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Madeleine Dyer is a writer, actor, director, and producer, whose body of work includes the 2017 comedy series Sexy Herpes, the acclaimed comedy series Colin from Accounts, where she worked with her sister Harriet Dyer, and now her latest film, A Savage Christmas, out in cinemas on 16 November 2023.

A Savage Christmas tells the story of the Savage family as they meet for a sweaty summer Christmas in Queensland. After years of estrangement, trans woman Davina, played by Thea Raveneua, returns home with her partner Kane, played by co-writer Max Jahufer. Davina's well meaning parents, James (played by David Roberts) and Brenda (played by Helen Thomson), are still coming to terms with her transition and in a distinictly Aussie boomer-ish fashion, they struggle to understand the importance of pronouns and transitioning.

Davina naturally expects her transition to be the focus of the family dinner, but her brother Jimmie Jr (Ryan Morgan) brings a cyclone of disruption along his way with a looming debt he needs to pay to a gangster (played by Gary Sweet). Thrown into the mix is their sister, Leila (Rekha Ryan), who is yet to tell her family about the imminent divorce she's going through. Chuck a dodgy Uncle Dick (Darren Gilshenan) and a frail Pomeranian into the mix and you've got your regular old Aussie Christmas.

A Savage Christmas is a ridiculously funny and brilliantly scripted comedy that feels like a breath of fresh air. Performances across the board are exceptional, with Thea Raveneua and Max Jahufer both giving stellar debut turns. Hopefully we see more from them in the future. Equally great is Ryan Morgan who manages to bring a level of compassion to a familar character-type, while screen legends David Roberts, Helen Thomson, and Darren Gilshenan balance the bonkers with the grounded.

In the above interview, Madeleine talks about the creation of the script with co-writers Max Jahufer and Daniel Mulvihill, what it means to be able to present an authentic Queensland summer on screen, and how she intends to forge a career in comedy on screen in Australia.

To listen to other episodes, visit www.TheCurb.com.au.

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Radheya Jegatheva is a Perth based filmmaker. His work includes the award winning short Pacing the Pool, about Perth local Richard Pace, and The Quiet, an animated film about an astronaut contemplating existence.

His latest short animated film, Bird Drone, is a collaboration with writer Clare Toonen and producer Hannah Ngo. It tells the story of a seagull who finds an unexpected connection with a human-operated drone. Presented in a striking painterly style, this animation features a wonderful use of natural sound design by Keith Thomas.

In the following interview, Radheya talks about the collaborative process of working with Clare and Hannah, what it means to work alongside his father, Jay Jay Jegathesan, an accomplished performer in his own right, and what Radheya's interest in animation is.

Bird Drone has screened at the Academy Award qualifying Warsaw International Film Festival, and will screen at the upcoming Joy House Film Festival on 12 November in Sydney.

To find out more about the film, visit here and to read other reviews and listen to interviews, visit TheCurb.com.au.

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With her delicate and gentle drama Damage, director Madeleine Blackwell has crafted a parable that layers grief, trauma, a sense of location and what it means to live away from home, and more into an emotionally enriching experience. Damage follows Ali, played by Ali Al Jenabi, a refugee in Australia using a friends taxi license to earn some small aspect of a living. As he drives the streets of Adelaide at night, he picks up Esther, played by Madeleine's mother Imelda Bourke.

Esther is a lost soul who's unsure of the name of where she needs to go, and certainly has no idea of how to get there. Equally so, Ali is unfamiliar with the streets, relying solely on a soulless GPS device to guide him where he needs to go. At first, their relationship is a fractured one, with Ali quickly becoming frustrated with Esther's inability to tell him where he needs to go. Equally so, Esther's frustration is levelled at how Ali is treating her, as well as her ambivalence in regards to his accent.

On paper, Damage suggests that it will be a film about two people connecting with one another through an understanding of the others life state, and while that is an aspect of the film, Madeleine layers it with imagery that reflects the continued surveillance state that we live in. It's a surveillance state that constantly denies the ability to rest, as we see images of Ali's home country in ruins, or clips of rampant progress with space shuttles bursting into the atmosphere, or even a commuter train blitzing through a snow covered track, smothering its awaiting passengers in filthy snow, all culminating in a sense of stress and anxiety that we simply don't have the space to escape from.

These motifs inform Ali's life, and in doing so, they try and answer the pointed question: why did Australia go to his home land and destroy it, forcing Ali to seek refuge here? In this sense, Damage takes inspiration from Ali's own life, which was documented by Robin De Crespigny in her award winning 2012 book The People Smuggler. Shots of waiting taxis also filter into the piece, leading to the question of how many people are experiencing the same life journey as Ali is in Australia.

That question is also applied to how Australia treats its elderly, as seen with drifting Esther's story. It's not long before we see the path she is following which presents her as a cognisant individual on the cusp of losing her grounded sense of being.

Damage is a powerful and impressive drama film, the kind that we deserve to see more of on Australian screens. In the above interview, Madeleine talks about the five year journey to bringing Damage to life, what it was like to work alongside her mother, and the way that music flows into the film in a reflective and enriching manner.

Damage is in Australian cinemas from November 9 and deserves your full attention.

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Filmmaker, critic, and cultural historian Bill Mousoulis has forged a career as, in the truest sense of the word, an independent filmmaker in Australia. His filmography spans over decades, with his works showcasing a keen sense of curiosity for the world around him, whether it be Greece, Melbourne, or as in his latest film My Darling in Stirling, the humble city of Stirling in the Adelaide Hills.

In the following interview, recorded ahead of the world premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival, Bill talks about the inspiration for My Darling in Stirling, while also touching on what it means to be an Australian filmmaker working right now.

I've long respected and looked up to Bill for his work alongside Chris Luscri as they champion Australian independent cinema with their ongoing screenings under the banner of Unknown Pleasures, all the while Bill has fostered a support for alternative Australian cinema with his website Pure Shit. It was a pleasure to be able to talk with Bill about his work, both as a filmmaker and a writer.

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Garth Davis is a filmmaker who has explored the human need for connection in his films. Whether it's in his Best Picture nominee Lion, or in his latest film, Foe, that sense of being one with the person you love is a tangible thread throughout his career. In the following interview, Garth talks about that sense of connection, while also talking about one of the core themes of the film: Artificial Intelligence.

Foe stars Saoirse Ronan as Hen and Paul Mescal as Junior. They are Midwest lovers in the future who find their lives upturned when an unexpected visitor played by Aaron Pierre arrives to tell them that Junior is to be sent to space for some time. As a replacement and for company, Pierre's mysterious man proposes that they create an artificial clone of Junior to keep Hen company. From here, the science-fiction and dramatic tone of Foe interweaves Ronan and Mescal bouncing off one another.

Foe is in Australia cinemas from November 2.

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Filmmaker Anupam Sharma talks about his new documentary Brand Bollywood Downunder in this in depth interview which touches on the cross-cultural relationship between India and Australia on screen, what makes a Bollywood film a Bollywood film, and about the Australian Indian Visual Co-Production treaty.

Anupam is the director of cross-culture films like UNindian and The Run, and has worked on a line producer for major Bollywood films like Love Story 2050 and Prem Aggan, both of which feature in Brand Bollywood Downunder.

To launch the film, Anupam is touring around Australia, with screenings in Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, the Gold Coast, and more. To find out where Brand Bollywood Downunder is screening, visit the Facebook page for the film here.

The listen to other interviews, visit TheCurb.com.au.

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