the Curb

The AFLW was established in 2016, expanding from an initial eight teams to eighteen in 2022. In the years since it launched, the league has grown to showcase the different styles of football that each corner of Australia has to offer. In Sal Balharrie and Danielle MacLean's essential documentary Like My Brother, we follow four AFLW hopefuls from the Tiwi Islands, Rina, Freda, Juliana and Jess, as they follow their dream to become league players. 

But, dreams aren't always meant to happen overnight, with the film following their journey away from their home in Tiwi to Victoria where they have to train and try out for consideration with the major teams. On this journey, we see the difficulties that the AFLW hopefuls face, especially those from communities like the Tiwi Islands where the same kind of opportunities that come easily for male players are simply not afforded to the women players. 

In the following interview with Sal and Danielle, the co-directors talk about their journey of bringing this story to life, what kind of change they want to see in the AFLW, and the importance of hearing stories that have rarely been told on screen.

Like My Brother launches in Australian cinemas nationwide from today, 17 October 2024. It's a must see Aussie doco that you can take your whole footy loving family to.

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Over the span of eleven minutes, the impressive short film Yeah the Boys sways and swerves through a boozy night with the lads in nondescript backyard Australia. Drinking culture, Aussie larrikinism, and the masculinity that finds fertile ground in these areas is brought to life with a pulsing score by The Avalanches. Oh, and all of this is presented with an the organic dance movements choreographed by Vanessa Marin. 

Yeah the Boys is written by Vanessa, with her partner Stefan Hunt taking directing duties. The titular boys are Neven Connolly, Kieran Crowe, Hadley Davidson, Jackson Garcia, Jordan Hill, Rob McLean, with Bailey Spalding appearing at the shorts start. 

It is, quite simply, one of the most unique and invigorating slices of Aussie cinema you'll see this year, and after winning the Best Australian Short award at the Oscar qualifying Flickerfest in 2024, and winning the Innovation Award at the St Kilda Film Festival, where it was also nominated for Best Cinematography, and receiving nominations for Best International Short at the Palm Springs Short Fest, Yeah the Boys will be available to view online from 15 October. 

Ahead of the films launch on Vimeo, YouTube and Instagram, I caught up with Stefan and Vanessa to talk about the process of planning and creating Yeah the Boys, I also ask Vanessa about how she managed to flow organic, natural movements in with the boys dancing, before I close the chat with asking Stefan about how Yeah the Boys plays into his relationship with death. This really is an interview that goes everywhere. For those interested in Stefan's work, including delving into his views on death, head over to StefanHunt.com.

Yeah the Boys is a fantastic realisation of creativity let loose, embracing Australiana, warts and all. It stands as a reminder why Aussie films of all lengths need to be recognised and celebrated - short films are films. 

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To call Parish Malfitano's sophomore feature, Salt Along the Tongue, a straight up horror film feels like a disservice to the experience of watching this magnificent melodrama-adjacent film. Yes, there are most certainly horrific elements - blood features heavily throughout the film, upsetting tales about the symbiotic relationship between wasps and figs are told, bodies float in the air in unsettling ways, boils and scars emerge in haunting ways on the legs of characters, and of course, the thematic backbone of Italian witches that feature within the film - but Salt Along the Tongue instead feels more like a familial, motherly drama in the vein of Pedro Almodovar's work.

Yet, even calling Salt Along the Tongue an homage to Alomdovar feels like it's doing a disservice to Parish's work here. This is, much like his first film, a distinct work syphoned from the mind of Parish Malfitano, and in the realm of Australian cinema, that is a blessing.

Salt Along the Tongue follows Laneikka Denne's Mattia, a teen girl who struggles to find her place in the world being bullied at school and simply unable to be herself. It's a reality that's thrown into further turmoil when her mother unexpectedly dies, with Mattia having to move to live with her aunt, Carol (Dina Panozzo), who also happens to be her mothers identical twin. Yet, Carol is distinctly different than Matthia's mother, with her aunt having an exuberant personality that, when married with her complicated relationship with alcohol and the cooking show she records with her coven of friends, causes Matthia's life to shift in ways she doesn't know how to fully navigate.

This is just the surface of what Parish is working with in Salt Along the Tongue, a film that features an almost completely women led cast, and acts as an ode to mothers and the hardships that men have put upon them in the world. Shot with a stunning colour palette that plays out at times like an aurora gracing through the sky, and at others like a freshly slaughtered chicken, blood dripping everywhere, Salt Along the Tongue is a film full of supreme confidence, driven by a vision to explore Parish's Italian heritage in an Australian setting.

The co-lead of the film, Laneikka Denne, wisely said on Letterboxd that this does not feel like it was made in Australia in all the right ways, and they are completely right. There's a brilliance at work here that feels diametrically opposed to the projects that funding bodies in Australia are supporting. Parish is not working alone in this capacity, with filmmakers like Alice Maio Mackay and Alina Lodkina each exploring personal narratives within Australian cinema, and in doing so, these filmmakers are shifting what Australian cinema is.

That notion of Australian cinema, as always, is embedded in my conversations with filmmakers, and the following discussion with Parish, recorded ahead of the films launch at SXSW Sydney on 18 & 19 October, explores his relationship with Australian cinema, his drive to tell stories that he wants to see on screen, and his journey through the creative process of making Salt Along the Tongue. While this conversation goes for fifty minutes, I feel like we barely scratched the surface of what's at play within this vividly realised and sensorially invigorating film.

So, with that said, if you're in Sydney, head along and see the film on 18 or 19 October. It looks like the 18th is sold out, so jump on board for the 19th if you can. Make sure to seek out Parish's previous film, Bloodshot Heart, which is available on demand. And if you want to find out more about Parish's work head over to ParishMalfitano.com.

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Finnish-Australian filmmaker Saara Lamberg has crafted a filmography which features genre-defying, boundary pushing films like 2017's Innuendo, 2022's Westermarck Effect, and the docu-fiction film The Lies We Tell Ourselves, which received screenings at Perth's Revelation International Film Festival and the Sydney Underground Film Festival. Screenings of The Lies We Tell Ourselves at these festivals became an event that spilled out of the cinema and into the foyer, with Saara dramatically collapsing on the festival red carpet, adding an extra layer to the films themes.

On the horizon for Saara are two more films. Coma is a feature length film told from the perspective of a patient in a coma whose friends, family, and the hospitals employees spill their own truths onto this unconscious person, and Saara's other film being Conversations with Spithead, a short-long film about a physicist who engages in complicated and wild conversations with his cat, Spithead, about the nature of living.

In the following discussion, Saara talks about her journey into filmmaking, what it's like working within a film community like filmonik in Melbourne, and about how Coma and Conversations with Spithead were created. Saara closes the conversation by giving advice for fellow independent filmmakers in Australia.

To find out where you can view Saara's films, seek out her social media presence on Instagram and Facebook.

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The Koalas is a documentary that follows in the footsteps of the McIntyre's Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story and Jane Hammonds's Black Cockatoo Crisis, in that it essays the plight of an Australian icon - the koala - alongside the stories of the activists, ecologists, politicians, and wildlife carers who are putting themselves on the line to save the iconic creature.

Directed and produced by Gregory Miller and Georgia Wallace-Crabbe, The Koalas is a powerful, if at times devastating, documentary that speaks to a crisis occurring right in front of us. Whether it's bushfires or landscape clearing or road strikes, the life of the koala is always in danger.

Georgia speaks to me ahead of The Koalas screenings at the Berlin Down Under Film Festival on 29 September, Adelaide on 29 September, the Darwin Deckchair Cinema on the 30th of September, and in Copenhagen on October 3rd and 6th. In the following extensive conversation, Georgia talks about her journey into filmmaking, her path from winning awards the Melbourne Film Festival to making films that told global stories, to the importance of creating a film about the koala.

This is a generous discussion with Georgia, and one I'm grateful to have had. If you are interested in the work that is occurring across the nation to support koalas, please seek out this film. For additional information and future film screenings, visit thekoalasfilm.com

The Koalas is supported by Dov Kornits and Screen Inc. To find out more about Screen Inc, visit https://screeninc.com.au/

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The upcoming 18th Annual Sydney Underground Film Festival kicks off in Newtown, NSW, on Thursday 12 September with a Smell-O-Rama screening of John Waters cult classic Female Trouble, celebrating its 50th anniversary. The festival runs until Sunday 15 September with a huge array of films and features ranging from the truly bonkers Vulcanizadora to the superbly surreal Can't Stop the Music extravaganza, alongside frightfully great features like the Aussie dark comedy The Organist to the latest work of the provocative filmmaker Bruce LaBruce, The Visitor.

There will also be a book launch from myself on Friday evening at Better Read Than Dead, where I'll be joined by Jack Sargeant and Platon Theodoris to kick off my new book, Lonely Spirits and the King.

Tickets for all of these films, and more, are available via SUFF.com.au.

Ahead of the festivals launch, I caught up with Festival Director Nathan Senn to chat about what makes an underground film festival an underground film festival, how important it is to showcase films from different genre backgrounds, and what it means to amplify Australian filmmakers like Saara Lamberg, whose film The Lies We Tell Ourselves screens at the festival on Sunday 15 September.

We dig into a bunch of recommendations, stories about the films screening at the fest, and a bunch more in this in depth discussion.

If you're in Sydney for the fest, come along and say hello. It's going to be one heck of a festival.

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Law Chen's familial documentary Starring Jerry as Himself follows retired Florida man Jerry C. Hsu as he's recruited by Chinese police to become an undercover agent. The documentary follows Jerry as he retells his story about how he was recruited, what actions he needed to take to help inform the agents, and, most importantly, the lengths he goes to to hide his recruitment from his family.

Starring Jerry as Himself features Jerry and his family re-enacting Jerry's story, which is frequently tense, but thanks to the optimism and positive outlook of the world that Jerry has, the film is also rather endearing.

In the following interview with Jerry and his son (and the films producer) Jonathan, we delve into the spoilers of the film, and as Jonathan mentions at the start, the two would hope that audiences go into the film knowing as little as possible.

Starring Jerry As Himself was the Grand Jury Prize Winner at the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival, where it also received the award for Best Actor for Jerry, and it was the Audience Award winner.

In the following interview, Jerry talks about his life on screen, what it was like reenacting these moments of his life, while Jonathan talks about what it is like to have Jerry as a father.

This interview was recorded ahead of the films launch at the Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival in June 2024. Keep an eye out for a future release in Australia.

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One of the smash hit films of the year on the festival circuit has been Mike Cheslik's wonderfully inventive Hundreds of Beavers.

Ahead of the films launch in Australia earlier this year, Nadine Whitney caught up with the creative team behind the film to discuss all of its eccentricities.

Nadine wrote about the film in her review saying:

Describing Hundreds of Beavers is almost reductive. It is quite simply a film that must be experienced to appreciate its genius. It is symphonic physical comedy with a sharp eye on what makes slapstick so universally appealing. It is saucy, subversive, and brilliant.

Hundreds of Beavers is now available to watch on demand in Australia. We highly recommend you pull together a group of friends and yack it up with this delirious film.

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With 2021s phenomenal documentary River under his belt, filmmaker and musician Joseph Nizeti is no stranger to bringing the world of nature to life on the big screen in a way that transforms how we see the environment with live alongside. With his latest film, Fungi: Web of Life, which he co-directs alongside Gisela Kaufmann, Joseph turns from the worlds rivers to the unexplored world of mycology.

Fungi: Web of Life is a 3D IMAX presentation which makes its Australian premiere at the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival, featuring immersive cinematography by Cam Batten, a powerful score by Piers Burbrook de Vere, and two of the most captivating guides through the world of mushrooms that you could wish for: UK biologist Dr Merlin Sheldrake, who walks us through the grand Tarkine rainforest of Tasmania to explain why fungi are vital to a healthy ecosystem, while famed mushroom enthusiast, Björk, provides a calming narration to support Merlin's discussions.

Fungi: Web of Life is a fascinating and surprisingly powerful experience that excites the senses and provokes a new way of considering the world around us. In the following interview with Joseph, recorded ahead of the films Australian premiere at MIFF on 22 August, with a follow up screening on 25 August, Joseph talks about his journey to exploring environment on screen through documentaries, how the sound design for a growing mushroom was crafted, and the challenge of presenting nature on screen while also addressing the impact of climate change.

To find out more about the screenings, visit MIFF.com.au.

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When tickets went on sale for Andy Burkitt and Jack Braddy's independent Australian feature film, The Organist, at the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), the filmmakers managed a rare feat: they sold out their first two screenings, with a third screening quickly being scheduled. Receiving wide audience support for their world premiere is a phenomenal achievement for these emerging filmmakers.

The Organist is a darkly comedic film that speaks to the current global cost of living crisis as it follows Jack's Graeme, a budding organ-procurement businessman who sidles into the lives of struggling millennials and zoomers who have found themselves saddled with an insurmountable level of debt. His solution, or rather, the solution from the company he works for, is to alleviate these struggling souls of one of their organs, and in return their debt will be cleared. In a well rehearsed and successful spiel, Graeme outlines where the organs will go to, detailing the reduced amount of organ donations that's taking place in Australia.

Graeme's selling tactics are so strong and persuasive that he's offered a promotion, or rather, an invitation into the darker underbelly of the organisation he works for, where he discovers that the organs he procures don't actually go to needy recipients, but rather one of the wealthy cannibals who pulls the strings behind the scenes.

As Graeme falls into the web of the horrid organ donation turned cannibal operation, he encounters Riley (Luke Fisher), a morality focused person who believes he's finally equalled his ledger and seeks to end his life by way of locomotive. Seizing an opportunity to push Riley further into the 'good' side of his ledger, while also equalling up his own ledger, Graeme seeks out a needy donor recipient who can benefit from Riley's demise.

The Organist is frequently hilarious, with Jack Braddy's captivating lead turn as Graeme sways from moralistic to opportunistic as he finds himself struggling to stay afloat in a hungry organisation. He's equalled by Luke Fisher's Riley, a soul who was comfortable with the mark he left on the world, only to realise that maybe he has more to give.

What follows is a darkly hilarious game of cat and mouse that satirises and critiques the capitalistic society we all live in. This is a confident and impressive debut feature from a set of Aussie creatives who are eager to upend the notion of what Australian films can do. The Organist is a welcome treat as it gives audiences the chance to laugh at the difficult times we live in.

In the following interview, Andy and Jack talk about their interest in filmmaking, what Jack learned on the George Miller film Three Thousand Years of Longing that he was able to bring to The Organist, and about the timely presence of the film in the ever-growing cost of living crisis.

It screens at MIFF on 13, 15, and 23 of August, with the first two sessions having sold out. For more details, head over to MIFF.com.au.

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