the Curb

Chouwa Liang's documentary Replica invites viewers to empathise with a world of Chinese women who are finding romance and relationships with AI partners or companions. When human-to-human relationships don't work, Qin, Sonya, and Muna, the women of Replica turn to AI boyfriends who woo and check in on their human partners throughout the day. Each receive romantic poems or pose for selfies with their digital boyfriends, creations who fill a romantic void in their lives.

Liang asks us to understand why these women have turned to AI for love. It's something she understands completely, as during the Covid pandemic she turned to an AI partner named Norman for companionship and support. She still talks to Norman, just not as frequently anymore, but it's still there as a sounding board for her.

Replica is a gentle and kind film, empathetic and considerate, showing the need for connection in a world that so often drives us further and further apart. In this interview with Chouwa Liang, she talks about her journey from China to Melbourne, where she was a graduate of the University of Melbourne, having studied a Master of Film and Television (Documentary). Chouwa talks about how she engaged with the subjects in her film, while also reflecting on what the feminist cinema of China looks like.

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Documentarian Selina Miles has crafted a filmography that gives space to women's voices and stories. From her debut feature, Martha: A Picture Story, which took us into the world of street art, to the stunning Harley & Katya which explored the relationship between figure skaters Harley Windsor and Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya, to her latest film, Silenced, which urges audiences to listen to the voices of women from around the world who have been victims of sexual violence, advocates for victims, or lawyers representing many women around the world, seeking justice in an unjust legal system. Women like Brittany Higgins, Amber Heard, journalist and activist Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, and lawyers and human rights advocates like Jennifer Robinson and Sibongile Ndashe, each speak to their experience of fighting through legal systems that seek to silence and dehumanise their experiences.

While we hear from these women, there are countless others whose stories inform Silenced, but through legal measures or fear of further legal action, they simply cannot or are not able to talk about their stories.

There's an immediacy to Silenced, one that feels as alarming and devastating when you look at the statistics of violence against women in Australia alone. At time of recording, 49 women in Australia have been killed so far this year. A recent report from the University of Melbourne found that 'young people are significantly more likely than older generations to hold hostile attitudes towards women'. This is not an isolated issue. It is a wide reaching issue that sits with all men to address.

Gender based violence across the globe is rising, and as we see in Silenced, the path to legal justice is one that's fraught with difficulties, disbelief, and personal costs that often leave the women undertaking legal proceedings in more precarious and difficult situations. For some women, they feel that remaining silent would have been the better option.

Silenced is a towering work of emotionality and strength. It's a testament to the resilience of those who experience gender based violence and the support given to them as they move through legal proceedings and attempt to get their lives back to some point of normalcy. This is, quite simply, vital filmmaking.

In the following interview, producer Blayke Hoffman talks about the importance of a film like Silenced, how she navigated the legal pathways through making the film, while also talking about the films impact campaign and the Q&A sessions being held around Australia from 1 September onwards.

To find out more, visit Silenced-Film.com:

Where to Watch — Home

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Read more about the University of Melbourne research here:

https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2026/august/young-people-more-likely-to-hold-hostile-attitudes-towards-women,-study-finds

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At the dawn of his career, Tony Jones filmed Four Corners documentaries like Frozen Asset alongside producer Martin Butler. Now, for the first time in decades, Tony steps back into the world of documentary filmmaking with his animal advocacy film Sentient.

Sentient is not an easy film by any measure. It's complex, harrowing, and simply devastating to experience. That is, quite clearly, by design. After all, Tony is asking us to empathise with the primates, all the while asking the ultimate question: how can we be better citizens of the world and stop inflicting this level of harm on fellow animals? When will we as a global society start to enact change that sees animals as sentient beings with choices and rights?

These issues, and more, is what Tony unpacks in the following interview, recorded ahead of Sentient's screenings at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival in July 2026, and now released ahead of the films launch at the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Tickets for screenings are available at MIFF.com.au, and Tony Jones will be in attendance at the festival. Screenings are held on 11 & 13 August 2026.

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James Hunter is no stranger to the Melbourne International Film Festival, having participated in the MIFF Accelerator Lab for his short film Nest (2021). He now returns to MIFF with his feature film debut The Latcher, which he directs, co-writes, and produces.

The Latcher follows Lucy Lovegrove's Alice, an out of work midwife haunted by her own personal loss and being plagued by waking nightmares that emerge from the remote land she lives in. Cinematographer Alex Serafini builds atmosphere through lingering shots and suggestive moments.

In this interview with James and Lucy, they talk about their creative process, finding the atmosphere on set, and how to detach from the heavy emotions of the film.

The Latcher has its world premiere at MIFF on Saturday 8 August 2026 with a follow up screening on 9 August 2026.

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The following conversation unpacks Melissa's work, while touching on what a future feature film from Melissa will look like. Melissa's work is available to view on her website MelissaAnastasi.com, and I encourage you to dive into the available shorts prior to listening to this interview. I also encourage you to check out her commissioned work too which features music videos with artists like Jane Tyrrell from Elefant Traks and commissioned shorts about mental health.

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Adam C. Briggs is a prolific voice in Australian cinema, with acclaimed films like A Grand Mockery, Boogie Bobby, and his new film, Phillip Philadelphia, arriving over the span of a few years. His films are the result of collaborations with equally vital voices in Australian cinema, whether it be with Sam Dixon who co-directs A Grand Mockery and features in Phillip Philadelphia, or with Sarah Moore, who he made the short film It Flew Once with.

Phillip Philadelphia is at once a lurid experience, and yet, a somewhat mournful one as well. It follows Phillip, a Golden Globe nominated British screenwriter who finds himself whiling away his existence with fuckboy boyfriend Antony (Oliver Cameron) on the vibrant Gold Coast. The neon lights of The Pink Poodle bathe Phillip and Antony as they exist in this desperate town that masquerades as a city.

Phillip Philadelphia examines colonialism through a modern perspective, with Phillip regularly swilling liquor from the decapitated head of a Captain Cook bottle. There's a garish tone to the film that welcomes you to luxuriate in it, all the while the theme song by Sanfeliu lingers in the background.

It's one thing to pontificate over the film, but it's another to ask Adam about the making of it, what his intentions are with the film, and more. I've been fortunate enough to run a couple of Q&A sessions with Adam at Perth's Revelation Film Festival so have an understanding of what kinds of questions Adam likes - or doesn't like - to answer.

It's that perspective about how he likes to discuss his work that opens the following interview. We explore the perception of his films, the nose that Phillip has on his face, and engaging with Sanfeliu to create the theme for Phillip Philadelphia.

Phillip Philadelphia screens at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 7 & 9 August 2026. Visit MIFF.com.au for tickets.

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While Australian comedies are making their mark on the small screen, they've been moderately absent on a film level, with only a handful emerging over the years - Audrey, How to Please a Woman, Birthright, and now, James Robert Woods acidic comedy The Birthday Trip.

This distinct and brutally hilarious comedy follows a group of friends heading out to the prestigious, six-star Lothian Gate for a birthday weekend. Over the course of a couple of days, their relationships become fractured, all the while critiquing the modern state of Australia through cutting commentary on the politic state we live, the culture that breeds within this nation, and the media we consume and have foisted upon us.

In this expansive, deep interview with writer, director, editor, cinematographer, and producer, James Robert Woods, we unpack The Birthday Trip in depth.

The Birthday Trip screens across Australia from 30 July 2026. Check out where The Birthday Trip is screening by visiting the films website here:

https://thebirthdaytrip.film/

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Multi-hyphenate talent Laura Brogan Browne is the voice behind the powerful short film Allegedly, an impactful story about Clover (Bailey Spalding), a high school graduate who participates in an anonymous survey she's sent by her high school mentor and former teacher. What initially presents as an innocuous student-teacher relationship transforms into a predatory experience for Clover.

Allegedly is based on true events and stands as an important conversation starter for the impact of grooming and predatory behaviour in society. The narrative envelopes you alongside compelling performances from Bailey Spalding, Laura Brogan Browne, and Benjamin Mathews, each of whom draws you in to engage with the film with empathy and understanding.

In this interview, Laura talks through her creative process as a storyteller both in front of the camera and behind the camera, why she needed to start the conversation about grooming on screen, and how she manages the mental and emotional process that comes with engaging with heavy or triggering material.

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For regular readers of the Curb..., you'll no doubt be familiar with the admiration and respect that I have for Laneikka Denne and the cohort of filmmakers and storytellers they've worked with over their career. The pinnacle of that admiration came in 2024 with the short film Oi, directed by the equally great Sophie Serisier. That film sat comfortably at the top of my Best Australian Films of the year list, a statement that's been further cemented over time.

Both Sophie and Laneikka have worked alongside David Robinson-Smith on films like Mud Crab and We Used to Own Houses, films that aren't the result of a singular vision, but rather echoes of a landscape, divined into existence through the communal efforts of creative folks who have infrequently seen themselves on screen.

In this expansive interview, Laneikka and Sophie unpack Australiana, queer identity, their collaborative work, and the depth of Oi, plus much more.

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Brandon Daley's $Positions has the makings of a cult classic. Nerve shredding at times, before hollowing you out with giddy laughter at others. It screens at Revelation Perth International Film Festival on 13 & 14 July 2026. Tickets are available via RevelationFilmFest.org.

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