the Curb

On this episode, I chat with WA local Ben Young about his new film, Devil's Peak, which features Robin Wright, Billy Bob Thornton, Hopper Penn, Jackie Earl Haley, and regular collaborator, Emma Booth. It's a thriller set in the Appalachian Mountains and focuses on a family torn apart by drug related crime. 

In this chat, Ben talks about working with mother-son relationship with Robin and Hopper, as well as the grounded nature of someone like Billy Bob Thornton. He also gives open advice about finding the right creative path forward as a filmmaker.

Devil's Peak is the opening night film for Perth's Revelation Film Festival on July 12th, with the night kicking off at 7pm at Luna Cinemas Leederville. Visit revelationfilmfest.org for more details.

We've got extensive coverage from the festival taking place this week, with interviews with filmmakers like soda jerk, Robert Machoain, Adam Morris and Myles Pollard. To read or listen to those interviews, head over to thecurb.com.au.

For now, here's a slice of the trailer of Devil's Peak followed by the interview with Ben Young. 

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Robert Machoian is an independent American filmmaker who continues to stun with a body of work that is emotionally shocking, and at times, darkly comedic. His previous film, The Killing of Two Lovers, stands as one of the towering achievements of modern American indie filmmaking, and it's with that strength and the fortitude of low budget filmmaking that he turns the story of a man trying to do the right thing for his family into a darkly comedic tragedy with The Integrity of Joseph Chambers.

Robert collaborates once more with Clayne Crawford, with Clayne playing the titular character. Joseph is a skewed version of David from The Killing of Two Lovers: dedicated to his family and their safety, yet unlike David, he is filled with a pride and misguided machismo that he believes will be enough to support his family in the event that there is some kind of massive event where food or supplies are no longer widely available.

Yet, while on the surface this may seem to narratively be a COVID-adjacent film, The Integrity of Joseph Chambers instead explores the meaning of masculinity in America, and just like Two Lovers, it shows a nation on the precipice of violence. Here, the violence is not delivered with purpose, instead it's a mishap, a soul-breaking act of accidental mayhem.

Integrity sits on the shoulders of Clayne, but it's buoyed by two performances that bookmark the film: at its opening is Jordana Brewster as Joseph's with Tess, where she is given a wealth of character development to work with in a short period of time compared to that famous series she's part of; and then at its close, Jeffrey Dean Morgan portrays a police chief, with Jeffrey delivering a stoic and empathetic performance that closes the film in a devastating manner. In the midst of this is a performance from Michael Raymond-James which is best described as one delivered with a resignation that hints at the desolate future that America faces as it continues to struggle with an epidemic of violence.

To be clear, The Integrity of Joseph Chambers is not a film that explores in depth America's relationship with guns or violence, but rather seeks to recontextualise and examine what the 'modern American man' actually is, and just how is someone who realistically should not own a gun, let alone shoot one, supposed to manage in a society that almost dictates the need to have one.

It's this discussion point that Robert talks about the most in this interview, recorded ahead of The Integrity of Joseph Chambers launch at Perth's Revelation Film Festival. Integrity screens on July 14 and 15, and tickets are available via RevelationFilmFest.org.

Make sure to listen to the previous discussion with Robert, where he talked about being influenced by Kelly Reichardt, on TheCurb.com.au.

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On this episode I chat with new author Monica Vuu about her first novel, When One of Us Hurts. This is a tight thriller set in a small coastal town. Tragedy has struck the region with a baby being abandoned at a lighthouse, while a teenager has drowned. The novel unravels in captivating fashion, following two characters - Livvy and Marie. Monica's writing vividly brings the their stories to life, leading to a gripping conclusion. 

In this interview, Monica talks about how she started writing, and the transition from living in Dubai to moving to Tasmania with her partner. 

When One of Us Hurts is published by Pan Macmillan Australia and a copy of the book was provided for this interview. When One of Us Hurts is now available through all good bookstores.

https://www.thecurb.com.au/when-one-of-us-hurts-author-monica-vuu-talks-crime-and-tasmania-in-this-interview/

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On this episode, Andrew chats with director Luzia Schmid about her stunning documentary Trained to See, which is screening at the Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival. It will launch at the in person screening on June 17, with online sessions available to everyone in Australia afterwards.

Trained to See tells the story of three American women journalists - Martha Gellhorn, Lee Miller, and Margaret Bourke-White - who each documented the Second World War in a fearless manner, putting themselves on the front line to capture their stories. Throughout Trained to See, we hear their stories from correspondence and journals that they kept during the period, and ultimately get to see the difficulties they faced as the power of misogyny arose during the war. This is both a powerful and engaging film, and is one of the finest archival documentaries of the year.

As mentioned, Trained to See is available to watch for Australian audiences via CDocFF.com.au, alongside other great films including the brilliant football-focused documentary Equal the Contest, directed by Mitch Nivalis, and tells about their journey to push for equality in Aussie football. Other films available to watch online are Watandar My Countryman, The Thief Collector, Into the Ice, Weed & Wine, and Young Plato.

For more information about the Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival, read interviews with Mitch Nivalis and Festival Director Claire Jager, and read Nadine's review of Trained to See here.

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Flyways is a visually stunning and emotionally enriching film about three different groups of endangered migratory shorebirds from around the globe. Each of these birds fly thousands of kilometers around the globe through migratory routes, traversing hemispheres and continents to reach breeding grounds. Often they will fly days without food or water.

Directed and shot by Randall Wood, Flyways is a passionate film that presents parts of the avian species that are threatened by humanity alongside the many bird watchers and scientists who eagerly follow their journeys. These scientists use tracking devices and location data, and occasionally, if luck is their side, visual verification from humans, to monitor where the birds move.

Flyways plays out like a blend between Travelling Birds and Jennifer Peedom's River and Mountain, acting as a plea for mankind to respect nature and to consider just how we impact the living world around us. With a soaring score by Cezary Skubieszewski, and gentle narration by Mia Wasikowska, Flyways is a soul-enriching film that deserves to be seen on the big screen.

In this interview, Randall talks about the importance of capturing these images, how documentaries can be advocacy films, as well as the Q&A sessions that he's embarking upon throughout May and June across Australia. For more information, head to flywaysfilm.com.

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The Blue Caftan screens at Perth Festival from March 20th to 26th, before having a theatrical release in cinemas.

Maryam Touzani’s sublime and sweet drama, The Blue Caftan, is a film that will stick with me for a long time. Filmed in Morocco, a region of the world where gay relationships come with a criminal sentence, this tells the story of Halim (Saleh Bakri), a maalem, or a master tailor, who works with the support of his wife Mina (Lubna Azabal) to craft stunning, intricate and personal garments.

In this interview, Maryam talks about how the titular garment, the Blue Caftan, was created, how she presented the sense of touch on screen, and about the power of giving her actors the space to explore emotional intimacy.

Throughout the film, we see Halim work on crafting the titular ‘blue caftan’ for an extremely demanding client who cannot understand why he’s taking so long. After all, the machine made garments can be constructed in half the time and, to their eyes, look just as good.

Halim and Mina have a tender, caring relationship with one another, and it’s a testament to simply how great Maryam Touzani’s direction is that she’s able to give these two actors the space to create a loving, genuine relationship on screen. Equally important is the understanding that the two have in their relationship, with Halim seeking the comfort of men outside of his relationship with Mina.

Knowing that the art of being a maalem is dying out, Halim brings on an apprentice, Youssef (Ayoub Missioui) to learn the trade. On paper, The Blue Caftan suggests that it’s going to lean into some very high drama stakes, but Maryam cares so tenderly for her characters that she allows them each to find a moment of joy in the time of darkness.

The Blue Caftan was shortlisted for the Academy Awards, and continues the great work that Maryam is creating after her previous stellar feature film, Adam, which also showed marginalised groups finding comfort with one another on screen.

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Kaya, welcome to The Curb podcast. My name is Andrew Peirce and this podcast is recorded in Boorloo, Perth, Wadjuk Nation, and I pay respect to the elders past present and emerging.

On this episode, Andrew talks with director Clayton Orgles, whose latest film Dissociation, a retelling of the HP Lovecraft story The Picture in the House, is screening at the Long Shorts, Short Longs session at the WA Made Film Festival. This impressive short horror film utilises the countryside of Western Australia to unsettling effect, with central performances from Angela Leta Kaye and James Hagan conjuring particularly unnerving characters.

in this interview, Clayton talks about how his work on music videos has informed his filmmaking work, the role horror plays in his work, as well as how he created the imagery of the film. 

The Long Shorts, Short Longs session is now sold out, but there is a waitlist available, so head over to the WA Made Film Festival facebook page for further details.

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On this episode, filmmaker Molly Haddon talks about her brilliant indie family drama The Longest Weekend, which tells the story of three siblings Lou (Mia Artemis), Avery (Elly Hiraani Clapin), and Rio (Adam Golledge), who are each going through a personal crisis and congregate at their mother's (Tammy MacIntosh) home to support one another and work their way through familial tensions.

The Longest Weekend is a wonderful performed triple hander, with rich dialogue and narrative that comes from a script written by Jorrden Daley. On paper, this sounds like it might be a rather leaden experience, but there is frequent levity throughout the narrative, and the true to life bonds between each of the characters helps make the story of a family being gradually pulled back together after being stretched apart by the machinations of life feel genuine and grounded.

In the following interview, Molly talks about the production process of the film, how she worked with each of the characters, as well as talking about the support from Queer Screen Film Festival. The Longest Weekend has toured around Australia, and will be screened at the Queer Screen Film Festival on Thursday February 23, with Molly and Jorrden, and actor Tammy MacIntosh in attendance for a Q&A.

Tickets for Queer Screen are available here.

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Andrew heads down the rabbit hole with the travelling exhibition at Boola Bardip WA Museum in Perth, ACMI's Alice in Wonderland exhibition. Featuring a mammoth array of archival materials from since Lewis Carroll's iconic and formative book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was first released in 1865, this exhibition takes you on a magical journey with early silent era films, to Jan Svankmajer's haunting and eerie stop motion feature, to Disney's animated version, all the way to the recent Tim Burton entries. Along the way, there is a wealth of knowledge about the various different versions of the story, whether it be through drug awareness campaigns, anime, or even x-rated musical comedies: you name it, it's here in some capacity.

Yet, don't let the mention of X-rated musical comedies make you feel that this is solely an adult experience, as kids of all ages can find something to enjoy here, with a mystical maze like hallway experience with small doors, a spectacular Mad Hatter tea party experience where a bare table comes to life in front of you, and so much more.

Once you've experienced the exhibition, you can also take part in the Story Time, which is for families with young kids, and features a half-hour story telling session on Friday and Sunday mornings. Additionally, on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays while the exhibition is on, you can participate in an elaborate Mad Hatter's Tea Party with high tea sessions running at 1030am and 2pm until the exhibition wraps up on the 23rd of April.

To help give a bit of insight into the exhibition, I chatted with the director of exhibitions and touring, Chris Harris, about his favourite part of the exhibtion, how the exhibition has been pulled together, and the logistics of bringing Jan Svankmajer's puppetry to Australia and around the globe. Chris starts the conversation talking about the journey of the exhibition, which launched in 2018 in Melbourne, and has visited Singapore prior to landing in Perth.

For more details, visit museum.wa.gov.au or jump to the link in the shownotes.

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In this episode Andrew chats with writer, director, actor Greg Sestero about his latest film, Miracle Valley, which is screening around Australia from today - February 15 - with Q&A screenings taking place around the country. Naturally, when Greg is in town, screenings of The Room take place too, and Greg will be on hand to chat with audiences about his work on those two films.

But Greg's more than just a guy who's received fame from The Room. He's also starred in films like The Christmas Tapes, which Perth local Rob Livings co-directed.

Greg talks about Miracle Valley, twenty years of The Room and what the title 'the worst film of all time' means to him. This interview was recorded in Northbridge so there is some atmospheric sound, and you'll have to excuse the mic dropping midway through, the wind knocked it over. The interview starts with Andrew, naturally, talking about Mac and Me, another 'worst film of all time'.

If you're in Perth, head along to catch Miracle Valley and The Room at Luna Leederville on February 15 and 16..

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