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Sophie Hyde's films have often explored identity, self-realisation, and the path to finding your place in this messy, mucked up world. 52 Tuesdays sees a child growing to understand the gender transition that one of her parents is going through, while Good Luck to You, Leo Grande sees Emma Thompson's 55-year-old Nancy reclaim her sexuality.

In Jimpa, Sophie's finest and most mature film yet, we follow Aud Mason-Hyde's Frances, child to Olivia Colman's Hannah and Daniel Henshall's Harry. Frances is finding their place in the world as a nonbinary queer kid, eager to push out of the restrictive boundaries of Adelaide and engage with queer culture that they feel part of and as if they can grow within. A trip to Amsterdam to meet Hannah's father, Jim (John Lithgow), has Frances feeling that his proudly gay lifestyle and advocacy for gay rights would make for a suitable place for them to spend a gap year, growing, learning, and studying.In the following interview with Sophie and Aud, we talk about that kaleidoscopic nature of the film, what it's like to grow up with a parent like Sophie Hyde, and finally, what it's like to have a story captured on screen by the stunning cinematography of Matthew Chuang.

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Haydn Green has been the creative force of Hear My Eyes, a sonic-visual, hybrid experience which blends film and music in creatively intriguing and boundary pushing ways. As the founder and artistic director of Hear My Eyes, Haydn reaches out to contemporary musicians to craft new scores for pre-existing cinema.

Collaborations include Sampa the Great rescoring Céline Sciamma's Girlhood, The Murlocs putting their spin on Gregor Jordan's Two Hands, while Springtime and Mick Harvey explored a new sonic landscape for Andrew Dominik's Chopper.

For its tenth anniversary, Haydn Green has tapped Belgian electronic musician Peter Van Hoesen, powered by the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio, to reimagine the music of James Cameron's iconic sci-fi classic, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (the original theatrical cut).

Visit HearMyEyes.com.au for all tickets to the screenings taking place on the below dates:

Melbourne: Feb 25-28, Hamer Hall

Sydney: March 7, City Recital Hall

Canberra: March 18-19, Canberra Theatre

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This interview has been a long while in the can, waiting to be published. This in depth discussion with filmmaker, creative, and fearless storyteller Lucy Coleman was recorded early in 2025 and due to reasons you'll hear in the long intro (recorded in the foyer of Luna Cinemas Leederville, a home away from home), it's now finally being released into the world.

Lucy Coleman is the creative vision behind films like Hot Mess and Lean In, both featured in the best films list of their respective years, with Hot Mess getting a mention in the Best Aussie Films of the 2010s list. These are biting, searing comedies that tear apart what we think Australian comedy can or should be.

Then, there's Lucy's Stan. series Exposure, a change of pace, a drama which she wrote. This powerful series follows Alice Englert's Jacs Gould as a photographer returning home to find out why her best friend took her life. It's powerful, but also flips the script of the routine and tired 'cop returns to his country town home to solve a murder that he discovers is linked to him'. It's always a man solving these crimes. Always small town. Exposure changes that: it's not a murder, but a suicide. It's not a woman trying to figure out what's happening, but a friend, a very close one at that. It's a devastating series that left me hollowed out by its end.

Exposure, like Hot Mess and Lean In, is an experience which lingers in my mind, changing how I see the next film or TV show that I watch.

This interview, like those works, hasn't left me. And now, I'm releasing it into the world. Enjoy.

Thank you Lucy for your patience with me getting this into the world.

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One of the standout films from the 2026 batch of Flickerfest shorts has been Damien Power's docu-drama Return of the Champ. With this excellent hybrid experience, the stand up comedian turned director spins the cameras on his relationship with his brother, Will Power, a world champion and Indy 500 winner, who spins a story about a crash that he once witnessed. It's a story that Damien hadn't heard before, and within Return of the Champ he utilises that story to explore sibling rivalry, masculinity, and what it means to be vulnerable or open with one another.

If I'm painting the film to be a deep experience, the rest assured, it definitely is. What Damien has crafted here is something that will stick with me for quite a while, with the resulting film creating a fascinating and memorable nexus points of the quiet space of ocker comedy, reserved masculinity, loud cars, laughter at stand up comedy gigs, and frustration about fathers. There's a lot going on under the hood of this flick, with the film simmering along at a neat 18-minutes and creating a lasting impact.

Amplifying the vibe of the film is cinematography by Julian Panetta which is both immersive and observational in tone, pulling viewers into the Power's brothers world. Equally amplifying the tone is the score by Adrian Diery which adds a rather chill and contemplative backdrop to the whole experience.

Return of the Champ is the first film by Damien Power, and if this is the style of film we might get from him, then I'm looking forward to seeing where his filmography takes us.

This interview was recorded ahead of the films world premiere at Flickerfest 2026. Keep an eye out for it as it rolls out through the festival circuit. You'll not want to miss this one.

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Lianne Mackessy is a multi-hyphenate creative whose work spans from acting in front of the camera in films like 2025's Smoke, to writing and directing her own work, like her 2026 drama short film Tuesday Tuesday. 

Making its world premiere at FlickerFest 2026, Tuesday Tuesday follows a young support worker, played by Jillian Nguyen, who spends a final day with her long-time client, played by Peter Phelps, who lives with younger-onset dementia and will be shifting into a care facility the following day.

Co-written with Emily Sheehan, Tuesday Tuesday is a tender and considered film about what it means to be a support worker, helping someone live a life where they may not even recognise you the very next day. 

In the following interview, Lianne talks about her own experience as a support worker, the process of building the characters with Peter Phelps and Jillian Nguyen, while she also talks about her work at Bus Stop Films.

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Addition is the latest film from director Marcelle Lunam and actor Teresa Palmer. It's a screen adaptation of the novel by Toni Jordan, telling the story of Grace, a woman who counts everything because numbers hold her world together. Yet, when she meets Seamus (Joe Dempsie), her world is thrown upside and her ordered life becomes disordered.

In the following interviews, recorded ahead of Addition's release in Australian cinemas, Nadine Whitney talks to both director Marcelle Lunam and Teresa Palmer about making the film and respectfully presenting neurodivergence on screen.

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Stellan Skarsgård as Gustav Borg in Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value is a man who is searching for connection with the two daughters, Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) he effectively abandoned when he split from their just deceased mother. 

The once storied director turns up at the funeral for his ex-wife and one of the first things he does is to reclaim a set of speakers from the home (a longstanding character in itself) that has housed members of his family for generations. Gustav is opinionated, arrogant, funny, and awkward. He’s written a screenplay for Nora, who is now a respected theatre actress, to star in but she doesn’t want anything to do with it or him.

The quiet truth is that Nora and Gustav are two similar souls who both struggle with connection and loneliness. Art is their form of expression but it can also be a burden they don’t know how to negotiate.

Nadine Whitney speaks with Stellan about how Gustav sees Nora and longs for her to return the recognition.

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In unison, director Óliver Laxe & composer Kandang Ray have created one of the most intense and heart racing cinematic experiences in recent years with their Cannes award winning film Sirāt (winning the Jury Prize). Playing out like a modern version of Wages of Fear with a missing daughter and a rave in the desert supplanting that films explosive cargo, Sirāt is as intense as experience as any other that follows Luis (Sergi López) and his son Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona) as they ask a swathe of desert ravers where their family member is. Óliver throws viewers into the fray from the first frame, utilising Kandang Ray's thumping electronic music to provide a sonic backbone to the anxiety provoking experience. That's a tone that never lets up throughout the films 114 minute runtime, ensuring that by the time credits role you'll be pushing down an oncoming panic attack.

For some, that sensory experience of tension driven filmmaking isn't exactly fitting with the idea of a 'good time at the movies', but Sirāt isn't a film that intends to make you feel good. Instead, Laxe is looking to expand upon the current state of the world, leaving just enough space for the viewer to draw their own meaning from the metaphor that Laxe and Kandang Ray are spinning.

In the following interviews, Nadine Whitney talks to director Óliver Laxe about the landscape and use of music in the film, while in the second interview, Andrew F Peirce talks to composer Kandang Ray about building that sonic profile for the film. Both interviews were recorded ahead of the film receiving two nominations at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, picking up noms for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Score.

Sirāt arrives at Perth Festival's Lotterywest Films from 19 January to 25 January 2026. It will receive a wider release thanks to Madman Entertainment from 26 February 2026.

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Giles Chan's Jellyfish was one of the cinematic revelations that I experienced during 2025. It's a film about a man, Henry, played with grounded depression by Aidan Rynne, who earns money by being a human punching bag. His body is riddled with bruises, most inflicted by others, some inflicted by himself. He's a jellyfish of a person, consuming enough to survive, but otherwise floating through Perth on a journey to nothing.

After one paid beating, he meets Maddy (Orly Beringer), and sparks a bond, of sorts. Yet, it's a relationship that doesn't last long. I'm reminded of the song Rosemary Mushrooms by Jack Davies & the Bush Chooks, which in the dissolution of the bond in that song he wails: 'How can I love somebody if I'm frightened of myself?'

Jellyfish left a mark on me, a similar mark in the way that Giles' short film Interview did when that screened at Perth's Revelation Film Festival. That short film explores how the capitalistic society we live in restricts any sense of self, with people being pushed into a box of servitude.

In this conversation, recorded ahead of the Revelation Film Festival in July, and being released today to honour Jellyfish's inclusion in my annual Best Australian Films of 2025 list, Giles talks about his journey into filmmaking, the literalisation of emotions in his films, and the presentation of pain on screen.

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Even though we're only five days into the new year, one of the standout shows for 2026 is the ABC adaptation of Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Suburbia. This glorious animation carries a stop motion vibe as it invites us into a version of suburbia, one where deep sea divers roam the streets and single mums try to keep their family together.

We follow Klara and Pim and their mum Lucy, voiced with beautiful attentiveness and care by Geraldine Hakewill. The focus is on the kids, but each time they return home, Lucy is there to tend to them and to set up their new life in outer suburbia.

In the following interview, recorded ahead of the shows launch on ABC, Geraldine talks about the creative process of voicing Lucy, about how her varied roles throughout her career have influenced what choices she makes as a storyteller, and much more.

Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Suburbia is currently on ABC iView. Head along and give it a watch, it's a great show for kids and adults alike.

If you like this chat with Geraldine, then make sure to check out my earlier conversation with Shaun Tan, or consider becoming a paid subscriber to listen to the conversation with director Noel Cleary. To join up and help keep the Curb independent, visit thecurb.com.au/subscribe where you can support us from as little as $2 a month. Even if you're unable to financially support us, join up to our free newsletter where you'll be able to read my annual Best Australian Films of 2025 list when it goes up on 6 January.

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