VALE JOHN PILGER: FIVE FILMS TO WATCH

Australian journalist and documentarian John Pilger has passed away, aged 84, in his London home. Born in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, Pilger would become the most important and influential factual filmmaker in his nation’s history. His camera and his pen captured, with acute insight, the geopolitical turmoil in many of the world's most dangerous zones of conflict, while also profoundly recording the human suffering left in the wake of wars.

From 1963 to 1986, Pilger was a reporter, sub-editor, feature writer and, finally, Chief Foreign Correspondent for U.K.’s Daily Mirror, a role that saw him on the ground as a war correspondent in such hotspots as Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Biafra and the Middle East. The experience would steel his resolve in the face of often shocking inhumanities to expose the brutality of dictatorships and regimes, a focus that led to his most important work as a fearless writer and director of often incendiary documentary works.

Here are five of his works that exemplify the integrity and power of his filmmaking…

VIETNAM: THE QUIET MUTINY (Writer, Presenter / Directed by Charles Denton; 1970) Pilger's first film, broadcast September 28 1970, on the British current affairs series World in Action, broke the story of insurrection by American drafted troops in Vietnam. In his classic history of war and journalism, The First Casualty, Phillip Knightley describes Pilger's revelations as among the most important reporting from Vietnam. The soldiers' revolt – including the killing of unpopular officers – marked the beginning of the end for the United States in Indo-China.

WATCH HERE: Vietnam: The Quiet Mutiny from John Pilger on Vimeo.

YEAR ZERO: THE SILENT DEATH OF CAMBODIA (Writer, Presenter / Directed by David Munro; 1979) Pilger’s landmark documentary alerted the world to the horrors wrought by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge. His spontaneous, vivid reporting of the power politics that caused such suffering is a model of anger suppressed. Originally broadcast on commercial television in Britain and Australia without advertising, Year Zero won many awards, including the Broadcasting Press Guild’s Best Documentary and the International Critics Prize at the Monte Carlo International Television Festival. Pilger won the 1980 United Nations Media Peace Prize for ‘having done so much to ease the suffering of the Cambodian people’. The British Film Institute lists Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia as one of the ten most important documentaries of the 20th century.

WATCH HERE: Year Zero: The Silent Death Of Cambodia from John Pilger on Vimeo.

DEATH OF A NATION: THE TIMOR CONSPIRACY (Writer, Presenter / Directed by David Munro; 1994) Pilger has said that the making of Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy, about genocide in East Timor following the Indonesian dictatorship’s 1975 bloody invasion and occupation, as”the most challenging to my sense of self-preservation and the most inspirational”. With concealed Hi-8 video cameras, Pilger and director David Munro entered the country clandestinely, and were able to capture footage of mass graves and accounts of widespread slaughter of resistors to Suharto’s reign. Death of a Nation is journalism and history as topical today as it was 30 years ago; members of the UN Human Rights Commission credit the documentary with influencing their decision to send a special envoy  on extrajudicial executions to East Timor to investigate massacres such as the infamous Santa Cruz cemetery.

WATCH HERE: Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy from John Pilger on Vimeo.

BREAKING THE SILENCE: TRUTH AND LIES IN THE WAR ON TERROR (Writer, Presenter / Co-directed with Steve Connelly; 2003) Six months after the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and two years after the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, Pilger’s documentary highlighted the hypocrisy and double standards of the American and British military misadventures, actions which led to the deaths of more than a million people. “What are the real aims of this war and who are the most threatening terrorists?”, he poses. Interviews with administration officials – described by former CIA analyst Ray McGovern as ‘the crazies’ – are perhaps the highlight of a film made when 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq were raw. The film achieved something of a ‘cult’ status in America, thanks in part to McGovern, who took the film on a screening tour of campuses and small towns.

WATCH HERE: Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror from John Pilger on Vimeo.

THE COMING WAR ON CHINA (Writer / Director; 2019) His 60th documentary and arguably his most prescient, The Coming War on China was completed in the month Donald Trump was elected US President; the film investigates the manufacture of a ‘threat’ and the beckoning of a nuclear confrontation. When the United States, the world’s biggest military power, decided that China was a threat to its imperial dominance, two-thirds of US naval forces were transferred to Asia and the Pacific. Seldom referred to in the Western media, 400 American bases now surround China, in an arc that extends from Australia north through the Pacific to Japan, Korea and across Eurasia to Afghanistan and India. The Coming War on China was broadcast on ITV-UK and SBS Australia, as well as China, where a pirated version was shown to possibly its biggest audience.

WATCH HERE: The Coming War on China from John Pilger on Vimeo.

(SOURCE: https://johnpilger.com/, with thanks)

SHAYDA TO REP OZ FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS

Australian drama SHAYDA, from Iranian-Australian debut writer and director Noora Niasari, has been announced as the official Australian submission for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

SHAYDA had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition in January, where it won the World Cinema Audience Award. The film then opened the Melbourne International Film Festival and was the closing-night screening at Locarno Film Festival, screening for 8,000 in the Piazza Grande. It is next set to bow at TIFF on September 13th and will be in Australian cinemas from October 5th 2023.

Produced by Vincent Sheehan and Noora Niasari and executive-produced by Cate Blanchett, Andrew Upton and Coco Francini of Dirty Films, potent drama stars Cannes Best Actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Holy Spider) alongside Osamah Sami, Leah Purcell, Jillian Nguyen, Mojean Aria, Rina Mousavi & Selina Zahednia.

A young Iranian mother and her six-year-old daughter find refuge in an Australian women’s shelter during the two weeks of Iranian New Year (Nowruz) which is celebrated as a time of renewal and rebirth. Aided by the strong community of women at the shelter they seek their freedom in this new world of possibilities, only to find themselves facing the violence they tried so hard to escape.

SHAYDA is the directorial debut of Tehran-born, Australia-raised Niasari, a writer-director and co-founder of Parandeh Pictures, whose short films and documentaries have screened at film festivals worldwide. Of the selection, Noora said, “I see this film as an open invitation for audiences to recognize and celebrate the courage and resilience of Iranian women. Australian women and all women fighting for freedom and independence from domestic violence. And so, to have SHAYDA represent Australia on the world stage with this submission gives me an immense sense of hope and pride.”

Australia only infrequently sends non-English language films to the Academy Awards. With only one Australian nomination in the Foreign Language category in the past, Bentley Dean and Martin Butler’s Tanna in 2017, and a steady stream of submissions in the category since 2012, the selection represents an exciting persistence in the diversification of Australian cinema.

Representatives at Dirty Films said, “Our hearts immediately connected to the story of Shayda. Its central theme of defining one’s own path is deeply rooted in the Australian psyche, but Noora Niasari has created art for a global audience. This is a powerful and resonant story of family that couldn’t be more timely, and we’re so proud that audiences are responding so enthusiastically as it embarks on an international journey.” 

Producer Vincent Sheehan said: “Seeing festival audiences around the globe be so affected by Shayda's powerful story of female empowerment and equally moved by the films' celebration of Iranian culture has been a rewarding experience so far. And now, as the official Australian submission, there is an opportunity for the story of Shayda to reach many more”

An Origma 45 production produced in association with Dirty Films and Parandeh Pictures, SHAYDA received major production investment from Screen Australia in association with The 51 Fund and was financed with support from VicScreen and the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) Premiere Fund.

NSW SECTOR NATION'S PRODUCTION LEADER, SAYS ABS SURVEY

The eighth Film, Television and Digital Games Survey released on Friday, June 23 provides a detailed snapshot of how the Australian industry has changed since 2015/16. The survey, commissioned by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), shows the NSW screen industry has grown more in size and value than any other state in the past six years.

A sample of 1,252 businesses was selected for the ABS initiative, with each asked to provide data sourced primarily from financial statements via online questionnaires. Businesses were also asked to supply key details of their operations by state and territory, enabling production estimates, and selected measures of production activity, such as the number and type of productions and hours for which they were responsible. The period covered by the information collection was, in general, the 12 months ended 30 June 2022.

Head of Screen NSW, Kyas Hepworth (pictured, right) said the 2021/22 figures show NSW production, post-production and digital games businesses now employed about 15,600 people, up 60%, and contributed almost $3.5 billion to the state economy, more than double since the last survey.

“The results are further proof of the massive financial contribution our screen and content creation industry have on NSW, and improving the rich cultural life enjoyed across the state,” Ms Hepworth said. “This data gives us clear direction for where we need to offer greater support and will help guide all our program and funding decisions going forward.”

The survey found NSW is home to about 47% of Australia’s production businesses (2105 out of 4106 employers) with 13,200 staff, up from 8,200. NSW did not have it all the good news; state industry body Screen Queensland boasted a notable increase in employment of 2,885 people (226.8%) from the end of June 2016 to the end of June 2022, driven by an influx of international films (Aquaman; Ticket to Paradise; Godzilla vs. Kong; Elvis) and television (Young Rock; Joe vs Carole) to the state.

Almost half (49%) of Australia’s post-production facilities are in NSW (284 out of 575 businesses), employing 1755 out of 3405 people and contributing $308.5m to the state’s economy.

Screen NSW acknowledges work needs to be done in digital games despite an increase in the number of NSW developers from 13 to 32, or 17% of the nation’s 188 (an increase of less than 1%), although the state over-performs when it comes to income, contributing $136.1m (30% of the national total) to the NSW economy. The South Australian Film Corporation is actively seeking digital gaming entities, with the ground-breaking SA Video Game Development (VGD) Rebate enabling video games studios to claim a 10% rebate on costs incurred to develop game tech in the state.

The most significant financial challenge facing the industry is as indicated by the survey is rising production costs, which have increased by 104% over the period. Gender parity is still an issue within several sectors, with a refocusing on equality essential in the nation’s film and video production businesses (62.1% males, 37.9% females) and post-production facilities (67.5% males, 32.5% females).

The results come at a time when the Government has provided further pivotal support for the industry with two competitive screen production incentives – the newly legislated Digital Games Tax Offset (DGTO) and the Government-announced, increased 30% Location Offset – providing a vital springboard from which to continue the growth of the entire screen ecosystem.

About the author: Simon Foster is a film industry freelance journalist with over 30 years experience in the Australasian sector. In addition to his role as Managing Editor of SCREEN-SPACE (founded 2012), he is the Festival Director of the SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL; co-host/producer of the SCREEN WATCHING podcast; and, film reviewer for the ABC-FM Statewide Drive and NINE MEDIA National Radio outlets. Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

COASTAL SURGE FEST LATEST REGIONAL LOVE-IN FOR NSW FILM TALENT

In a move that many locals feel is long overdue for an area so rich with artistic communities and creative entrepreneurs, the New South Wales’ Central Coast on Australia’s eastern seaboard will finally have its own film festival.

On June 29 at the historic Avoca Beach Theatre, the inaugural Coastal Surge Film Festival will highlight three mini-features made almost entirely by filmmaking talent from the region in front of and behind the camera and funded by local government arts grants.

The event is the brainchild of experienced producer Glenn Fraser who, with partner Amelia Foxton (both pictured, right), operate 9th Circle Entertainment from their Central Coast base. The pair acquired crucial funding through Central Coast Council, and the production of all three premieres on the night was financed by Creative Art Central - an annual commissioning program which offers funds for established and emerging creatives of diverse disciplines living in the region.

Fraser and Foxton also contribute one of the three films to have their world premiere at Coastal Surge. The program’s only fictional narrative, Mother Tongue is a horror-comedy about a childless couple who turn to the dark arts to conjure what biology and bureaucracy fail to provide.

Foxton wrote and stars in the darkly entertaining film (which does come with a content warning) alongside Chiara Gizzi and character actor Stephen Hunter, who played ‘Bombur’ in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy and who will take part in a Q&A following the session (the Monster Tongue cast; pictured, left). 

Also on the program is the documentary Music Central, the latest deeply humanistic work from veteran non-fiction storyteller Kaye Harrison (Crossing the Line, 2005; The Long Goodbye, 2010; The Sunnyboy, 2013; Sanctuary, 2019) and her team at Treehouse Media. A celebration of life through song, the film features Uncle Gavi Duncan, Ruby Archer, Patrick Brennan and the students and staff of Woy Woy Public School.

The third premiere at the festival is Bouddi Wild Swim (pictured, right), from award-winning documentarians Toni Houston and Sarah Beard. Capturing some of the region’s most beautiful beaches, including Avoca, Copacabana, McMasters, Umina, Terrigal and Killcare, the film chronicles the efforts of six swimmers to conquer 23 kilometres of open ocean currents along a coastline that includes vast expanses of the iconic Bouddi National Park. 

With red carpet photos, live music, filmmaker Q&As, drinks at the bar and informal gatherings with cast and crew following each screening, Coastal Surge could not have secured a more appropriate venue than the Avoca Beach Theatre, a Central Coast landmark since trading began in 1948.

The Coastal Surge Film Festival will be held June 29 from 5.00pm. Tickets and session details can be found at the venue’s website.

(Footnote: Screen-Space has strong ties to the region, with founder and editor Simon Foster launching the blog in 2012 from his home at McMasters Beach).

2023 REMIX SUMMIT SYDNEY TO EXPLORE CULTURE, TECHNOLOGY & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 The global REMIX Summit returns to Sydney for a special national event to explore the future of the cultural and creative industries. To be held at the Australian National Maritime Museum from June 8-9, the summit coincides with the Federal Government's new National Cultural Policy, ‘Revive’ that promises new investment of $286 million over the next 4 years.

“Cultural organisations and creative entrepreneurs around the world are developing new types of creative experiences that are bringing people back into our cities and fuel new forms of tourism,” said Peter Tullin, Co-Founder of the REMIX Summits initiative. “The pandemic made us realise how much we value shared experiences. New technologies are also transforming the future of storytelling, online, in-person and through hybrid experiences. As the experience economy rapidly evolves, Australia’s creative industries need to be ready to tap into this booming market.” (Pictured, right; Peter Tullin, of REMIX Summit)

In addition to the re-imagining of the cultural and creative industries, The 2023 REMIX Summit will explore how the creative economy can play a leading role in Australia’s future. Social goals on the agenda include bringing people back to the Sydney CBD on the back of growth and innovation, the development and implementation of future public spaces and defining how new technologies are reshaping how we tell stories.

Says Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, "We want Sydney to be a creative city for all ages and phases of life. Sydney is committed to supporting our local creative economy and we’re delighted to bring REMIX here to keep building on our reputation as an artistic and creative hub."

The roster of guest speakers represents one of the largest single gatherings of leaders in the immersive storytelling industries that Australia has ever seen. 

REMIX Summit attendees include Margot Mottaz (pictured, left), curator of Superblue Miami, an immersive art experience covering over 30,000 square metres; Sakchin Bessette, co-founder of Canada’s Moment Factory, and the creative force behind more than 550 multimedia shows and installations globally; Lāth Carlson, Executive Director of the Museum of the Future in Dubai, a monument to  expansive storytelling and one of the first future-oriented museums in the world; and, Jody Malam, Creative Director of Outernet (UK), which claims to be “the world’s most advanced public building” and the largest digital exhibition space in Europe.

Australian forward-thinkers to speak include Linda Sproul of Museums Victoria, who will be talking about their recent immersive exhibition, the First Nations-themed 'TYAMA' at Melbourne Museum; Kip Williams (pictured, right), Artistic Director at Sydney Theatre Company, whose blockbuster The Picture of Dorian Gray stage experience offered a glimpse into how technology is shaping the future of theatre; Dr Georgie McClean, Executive Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships at the Australian Council for the Arts; Seb Chan, Director & CEO of ACMI and Board Member at ArtScience Museum; and, Katrina Sedgwick, CEO & Director of Victoria’s new A$1.7billion cultural project, The Melbourne Arts Precinct.

Full event details and registration can be found at the REMIX Summit Official Website

About the author: Simon Foster is a film industry freelance journalist with over 30 years experience in the Australasian sector. In addition to his role as Managing Editor of SCREEN-SPACE (founded 2012), he is the Festival Director of the SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL; co-host/producer of the SCREEN WATCHING podcast; and, film reviewer for the ABC-FM Statewide Drive and NINE MEDIA National Radio outlets. Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

WARWICK THORNTON'S LATEST IN CANNES CONTENTION

Award-winning First Nations filmmaker’s Warwick Thornton’s spiritual drama The New Boy has been selected for this years’ Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard program. This is the second film from Thornton to appear at the festival, after winning the Caméra d'Or Award for Samson & Delilah in 2009.

The New Boy stars Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair, and newcomer Aswan Reid (pictured, above) in the titular role. An ensemble of new faces, including Shane Brady, Tyrique Brady, Laiken Woolmington, Kailem Miller, Kyle Miller, Tyzailin Roderick and Tyler Spencer, round out the cast.

Set in 1940s Australia, The New Boy is the story of a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy (Reid) who arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery, run by a renegade nun (Blanchett), where his presence disturbs the delicately balanced world in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.

The New Boy was filmed in South Australia, with major production funding from Screen Australia’s First Nations Department. The film is produced by Kath Shelper for Scarlett Pictures, Cate Blanchett, Andrew Upton and co-producer Georgie Pym for Dirty Films, and Lorenzo De Maio (of De Maio Entertainment), with Coco Francini serving as executive producer for Dirty Films alongside Gretel Packer for Longbridge Nominees.

Screen Australia’s Head of First Nations, Angela Bates said, “It’s one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world and it’s fantastic to see Warwick return. He is a creative genius whose auteurial voice creates conversation, and this film is no different. Warwick is also known for discovering new talent such as Aswan Reid, who shines in this exquisite and thought-provoking film.”

Thornton is one of Australia’s most celebrated filmmakers, most notably for his critically acclaimed Sweet Country, for which he won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017; and Samson and Delilah, for which he won the Caméra d’Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Both films won the AACTA Award for Best Film.

MERCURY CX PITCHING HARD FOR DOLLARS, INDUSTRY SUPPORT AS CLOSURE BECKONS

An 11th hour effort to raise crucial funding dollars for Adelaide’s Mercury CX will be the key agenda item at what has been dubbed the Extraordinary General Meeting. In what amounts to an industry-wide cry for help from the current board members, the gathering will be held on November 24.

Established in 1974 as the Media Resource Centre, the not-for-profit organisation operates the 186-seat Mercury Cinema and 36-seat Iris Cinema on Morphett Street, adjacent to the Lion Arts Factory in Adelaide’s West End, as well as overseeing the national Screen Makers Conference, the South Australian Screen Awards and several development programs for emerging talent. Operations may cease in a matter of weeks unless it secures $700,000 worth of funding via government or philanthropic means.

Speaking to Inside Film in September, Mercury CX CEO Karena Slaninka (pictured, right) said, “This is a pivotal moment in time.”

Board members and prominent identities in the South Australian sector have issued the following statement, encouraging members and supporters to attend in person or via remote access to help fight for the organisation’s survival. 

Please RSVP here to register your attendance at the EGM.
 

“We’re writing to you as a group of MCX members and industry representatives with a strong interest in ensuring the continuation of MCX as a valuable member-led screen development agency in South Australia.

We have been meeting with CEO Karena Slaninka and Board Chair Gena Ashwell to share in their concerns about the organisation's potential closure and offer our assistance in exploring all options as to how the MCX can potentially be managed within their existing budget to avoid the worst-case scenario of the organisation closing its doors. 

We all feel strongly that the MCX's doors should not close until the membership and industry is convinced that this is absolutely the last resort, and that it is vital that members and supporters are aware of all potential options for the future of the organisation, including a scenario in which the MCX is able to operate within expected 2023 income figures. 

Our primary goal remains to ensure the MCX continues to operate – even if this means it must do so at a reduced capacity for a period of time. From what we currently understand, we are optimistic that with further membership activation and strengthened industry / philanthropic / government partnerships, a brighter financial future for the organisation is possible.

We are writing to request your attendance at the upcoming Extraordinary General Meeting on the 24th of November, to be a part of deciding the future of this well loved and important organisation which has been a pillar of the South Australian screen industry for nearly 50 years.

This is the key way you can show your support for keeping the MCX open, and those of you who have been a financial member for 28 days prior to the EGM will have an opportunity to vote in any motions put forward.

It would also be great if you can help in spreading the word to other members of the film community with an interest in supporting the organisation.

We look forward to speaking with you more and seeing you at the EGM.

Yours sincerely,

Kirsty Stark (Producer, Epic Films), Madeleine Parry (Director), Lisa Scott (Producer, Highview Productions), Kath Dooley (Associate Professor, Screen Production - University of South Australia), Peter Hanlon (Producer, Mess Productions), Kristian Moliere (Producer, Triptych Pictures), Rebecca Summerton (Producer, Closer Productions)”

CASTING SECTOR HERALDS NEXT GEN TALENT POOL IN RISING STARS LIST

The Casting Guild of Australia has crowned Australia’s top emerging talent of 2022, revealing its 8th annual list of CGA Rising Stars.

The annual list has a strong track-record of picking Australian talent who are truly on the cusp of greatness. Previous recipients include Milly Alcock (House of Dragon), Eliza Scanlan (Little Women), Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why), Thomas Weatherall (Heartbreak High), Zoe Terakes (Nine Perfect Strangers) Olivia De-Jonge (Elvis) and Alexander England (Little Monsters).

CGA President Thea McLeod said, "We’re so proud to watch these talented performers skyrocket from the casting room to our screens and stages. The annual Rising Star awards highlight the fantastic calibre of talent we have here in Australia. We send our deepest congratulations to the Rising Stars of 2022 – a very talented bunch!"

Actor, gymnast and dancer Christopher Bunton made his feature film debut in Down Under and since then has gone on to star in Nude Tuesday, Relic, Lone Wolf and Kairos. He will soon be seen alongside Josh Gad and Isla Fisher in the second season of Stan’s Wolf Like Me.

James Majoos’ (pictured, right) recent role as ‘Darren’ in the worldwide Netflix reboot hit, Heartbreak High, has this year earned them an AACTA nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama. On stage he featured in Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Grand Horizons and Belvoir’s Fangirls.

Hattie Hook starred in Stan’s Ten Pound Poms and ABC’s Savage River alongside Rising Star alum Katherine Langford. This year she debuted in her first feature, Goran Stolevski’s Of An Age, which opened the 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival. Onstage, Hook’s credits include Gypsy, Mary Poppins and Annie.

Mabel Li was nominated for a Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress and won an Asian Academy award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the SBS drama, New Gold Mountain (trailer, below). She has shone onstage in Never Closer (Downstairs Belvoir), Miss Peony (Belvoir), Delilah by the Hour and D.N.A (Seymour Theatre). Next year she will star in Kindling Picture’s Safe Home for SBS.

Maggie (Max) McKenna has appeared on television in the Foxtel comedy series Open Slather and the ABC drama series The Doctor Blake Mysteries. In 2018 McKenna joined the American touring production of Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen. Most recently, they’ve been seen in Sydney Theatre Company’s Melbourne and Sydney seasons of the Alanis Morrisette-inspired musical, Jagged Little Pill.

Michelle Lim Davidson (pictured, right; with co-star Magda Szubanski) has been seen on Nine Network’s After the Verdict and prior to that, The Newsreader, for which she received an AACTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama. Filming for the second season of The Newsreader has just wrapped and is set to air in 2023. Davidson is also a regular presenter on Play School and ABC KIDS Listen’s Story Salad.

Born in South Africa, Sana’a Shaik has starred in Stan’s Jack Irish, US mini-series Reckoning and as Xanthe in the sci-fi climate change feature 2067. She quill soon be seen in the feature film It Only Takes a Night, Amazon Prime's original Australian series Class of '07 and ABC's anthology series, Summer Love.

A proud Innawonga and Yindjibarndi man from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, Shaka Cook toured with The Secret River to the Edinburgh Festival and the National Theatre in London with the Sydney Theatre Company. On television he has appeared in Cleverman, The Leftovers, Black Comedy and Operation Buffalo, and in film, Top End Wedding and a lead role in critically acclaimed The Flood (trailer, below). 

Steph Tisdell is one of the brightest stars to explode on the Australian comedy scene in recent years. In 2014 she won the Deadly Funny National Grand Final and has gone on to sell out award-winning shows around the country. In 2021 Tisdell made her acting debut in ABC’s Total Control and will soon appear in the Amazon Prime series Class of ‘07.

Since her first major acting role came as ‘Ruby’ in the play Stolen by Jane Harrison, Tuuli Narkle has acted in the Sydney Theatre Company’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (pictured, right) and made her Melbourne Theatre Company debut playing the role of ‘Roxanne’ in a modern adaption of Cyrano. She starred in the comedy series All My Friends Are Racist for ABC iView and in the Corrie Chen-directed drama series Bad Behaviour for Matchbox Pictures. This year she joined a stellar cast for Season 3 of ABC TV’s Mystery Road and received an AACTA Award Nomination for Best Lead Actress in Drama.

From November 18, audiences can meet this year’s Rising Stars as part of a 10 day series on CGA’s Instagram, with a new interview posted each day in the lead up to the official in-person presentation at the CGA Awards ceremony on Friday 2 December in Melbourne.

PRAYERS ANSWERED AS CHURCH CITY AUDS FLOCK TO ADELAIDE FILM FESTIVAL

The 2022 Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) has wrapped with the news that the 12-day event achieved a new box office and audience attendance record.

With audience attendance up 13% from the last AFF in 2020 (also a record result) and box office 56% up on the last pre-pandemic festival in 2018, the newly-annualised Festival’s expansion into multiple venues across Adelaide has proven to be a resounding success.

Ahead of Sunday’s Closing Night screening of Michael Philippou and Daniel Philippou’s debut feature Talk to Me, CEO & Creative Director Mat Kesting (pictured, right) announced that director Sinem Saban’s Luku Ngarra, which had its World Premiere at AFF 2022, won the Change Award. Bestowed upon works that inspire positive social or environmental impact and cinema expressing new directions for humanity, Luku Ngarra is an unflinching, Indigenous-funded documentary on the history and culture of Arnhem Land, seen through the eyes of one of Australia’s most respected Indigenous elders and traditional lawmen, Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM. 

The winner of the Flinders University Short Film Prize was announced as Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund film Are You Really The Universe (pictured, below), directed by Tamara Hardman and starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey. The Audience Award for Feature Fiction goes to Ribspreader, directed by Adelaide’s Dick Dale, and The Last Daughter, co-directed by Nathaniel Schmidt and Brenda Matthews, has won the Audience Award for Feature Documentary.

Previously announced were the two Jury determined awards. The AFF Feature Fiction Award 2022 was presented to Indonesian feature film Autobiography, with a $10,000 cash prize awarded to director Makbul Mubarak, and the AFF Feature Documentary Award went to The Hamlet Syndrome, with a $10,000 cash prize awarded to directors Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosolowski. The directors have since announced they are to donate the prize money to their film’s Ukrainian subjects, who are fighting in the war against Russia.

Kesting noted that the surge in attendance is a clear indication that the theatrical experience and a dedication to film culture is alive and well in South Australia. “Audiences embraced the AFF program and demonstrated a clear desire to go out to the cinema. The record-breaking box office and attendance results reaffirm the desire to see films in cinemas and engage with courageous filmmaking,” he said.

“An extraordinary cross section of work from around the world was presented, including a remarkable crop of new films from South Australia. We congratulate all the filmmakers [and] are proud to have supported numerous directorial debuts within the festival,” Kesting pointed out, referencing the AFFIF feature investment films Talk to Me; Sean Lahiff’s Carnifex; Matt Vesely’s Monolith; The Last Daughter, from co-directors Brenda Matthews and Nathaniel Schmidt; and, Madeline Parry’s The Angels: Kickin’ Down the Door. (Pictured, right; director  Sinem Saban and Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, from Luku Ngarra)

“The AFF’s 2022 results demonstrate why the South Australian Government has decided to invest $2 million to help annualise and expand the program,” declared S.A. Arts Minister Andrea Michaels in response to the festival’s success. “Congratulations to the entire Adelaide Film Festival team on these outstanding results. They have demonstrated that the event is a huge drawcard, not only for audiences, but also for film industry creatives globally.”

CAMERAS ROLL ON KINGDOM OF THE PLANETS OF THE APES AT DISNEY STUDIOS AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY – 20th Century Studios’ Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, starring Owen Teague,, Freya Allan, Peter Macon and Kevin Durand, has begun production in Sydney at the newly-renamed Disney Studios Australia. The previously-monikered Fox Studios Australia fell under the large restructuring of Fox assets now under The Walt Disney Company’s Australian footprint, resulting in the name change.

Under the direction of The Maze Runner helmer Wes Ball, the new film starts an all-new chapter in the Planet of the Apes saga, picking up many years after the conclusion of 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and Patrick Aison (Prey). Joe Hartwick Jr., Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Jason Reed are the film’s producers; Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping are the executive producers.

Steve Asbell, President of 20th Century Studios, said: “We’re thrilled to be in Sydney filming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes at the world-class Disney Studios Australia. ‘Planet of the Apes’ is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history and an indelible part of our studios’ legacy. The extraordinary director Wes Ball and cast and crew are continuing the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema. We can’t wait to share this new chapter with audiences in 2024.”

The production will receive some A$17 million in funding support through Screen NSW’s Made In NSW fund and broader tax breaks from the federal gov ernment. Estimates suggest that the production will provide more than 400 local jobs and inject more than A$128 million into the local economy. No announcement has been made regarding whether or not post-production will also be undertaken on the expansive studio lot. 

Planet of the Apes is one of 20th Century Studios’ most popular and enduring franchises, amassing more than $1.7 billion worldwide. Based on a novel by Pierre Boulle, the first film in the series was released by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1968 and went on to become one of the year’s biggest hits, winning a special Academy Award® and followed by four theatrical sequels and two television series.  A remake was directed by Tim Burton in 2001, then a 2011 reboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes was followed by two sequels, 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes.