Welcome Shout Outs from the Soapbox, a rundown of the reviews, interviews, and news that have taken our interest over the past fortnight.
The Curb is a reader supported website, with support from as little as $1 a month through Patreon. Please consider becoming a member to keep The Curb independent.
Here in Western Australia, we’ve been sweltering away attempting to keep some level of cool, but struggling as temperatures sat over 40 degrees for days. I promise these Shout Outs won’t become a weather report, but it feels particularly problematic given the way our climate catastrophe continues to make living difficult.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been immersing myself in the exploits of Perth Festival, with the ongoing film screenings being an absolute delight, alongside the singular Courtney Barnett who performed the soundtrack to Anonymous Club with fellow muso Stella Mozgawa (of Warpaint fame). I also managed to catch a night with the ever engaging and enlightening Fran Lebowitz when she was in Perth; a nice moment of the evening was having my question about whether there will be a role for literary editors in the future received with a ‘good question’ remark. Ego suitably sated.
In the midst of Perth Festival fever, I’ve been catching a wide array of delights from the Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival, as well as the Antenna Documentary Film Festival. Highlights include The Missing (listen to my interview with director Carl Joseph Papa here), In the Room Where He Waits (an interview with Daniel Monks is on the way), and at Antenna, Knit’s Island, a documentary inventively made in the online game Day-Z.
The borrow from Smash Mouth briefly, the festivals keep coming and they don’t stop coming, so let’s take a look forward to see what’s on the horizon in March.
Film Festivals
The Palestinian Film Festival Australia has announced its highly anticipated 2024 program featuring a mix of Australian premieres, award-winning features and ground-breaking documentaries.
Navigating universal themes of people, place and politics, this year’s Festival delivers yet another enthralling program of the finest and newest Palestinian films to Australian audiences in Sydney (7-10 March), Canberra (8-10 March), Brisbane (8-10 March), Adelaide (8-10 March), Hobart (8-10 March), Melbourne (14-17 March) and Perth (15-17 March). Find out more here.
Melbourne’s biannual First Nations literature festival, Blak & Bright, is set to return 13-17 March, empowering and celebrating First Nations writers and storytellers, with an almost entirely free program. Find out more here.
Flickerfest arrives in Perth at its new home: Luna Outdoor Cinemas on 29 February to 2 March 2024. Find out what shorts will be screening and how to get tickets here.
If you’re an Australian filmmaker who’s eager to make their mark at the Sydney Film Festival, then time is running out to submit your film for the 2024 event. Find out how to submit your film here.
Australian Arts
After shocking audiences with the Wyrmwood series which zombified the outback, Kiah Roache Turner tries his hand at a different kind of shit-scarer: spiders with Sting. This Aussie-shot, New York set flick sees a young girl befriending a spider and turfing the apartment complex she lives in into absolute mayhem. Give the trailer a watch below – if you dare – and spot a neat Aussie screen legend cameo too.
Keeping with the horror theme, the absolutely unhinged flick from the Cairnes brothers, Late Night with the Devil, ushers into Aussie cinemas on 11 April 2024. Check out the teaser trailer here:
Binge has revealed the first trailer for the upcoming series High Country, launching on 19 March 2024. This mystery-thriller features Leah Purcell, Ian McElhinney, Sara Wiseman, and Aaron Pedersen.
The latest romance from Jaggi Entertainment, One Perfect Match, will launch in select Australian cinemas from Thursday 29 February. Visit Romance Club for screening venues.
Aussie horror trend-setter Alice Maio Mackay will be releasing her third flick T Blockers on VOD and DVD through Umbrella entertainment on 20 March 2024. T Blockers features a predominantly queer, non-binary, and trans cast. Check out the trailer here.
Feature film Red Rock Run greenlit for production in Karratha in Western Australia. Find out more here.
Amazon MGM Studios have announced a feature-length documentary about Aussie music superstar the Kid LAROI, Kids Are Growing Up. TI’s due to launch on the service on 29 February 2024. Find out more here.
The upcoming ape-spectacle Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes recently got prime billing during the AACTA awards, blurring the line of what constitutes an Australian film or not. That’s a deeper discussion for another day, but for now, check out the trailer ahead of the Australian release on 9 May 2024.
Other Releases
Patagonia have announced the launch date for their short film Kin, directed by Lauren L. Hill and Andrew Buckley and set on the World-Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island. Kin will launch for free on Patagonia.com.au on 29 February 2024.
Amazon MGM Studios have announced a 27 February 2024 Australian release date for the Jennifer Lopez film The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
After starring in the AACTA award winning film A Stitch in Time, Hoa Xuande is reaching major heights with the upcoming Binge series The Sympathizer, which premieres on 15 April 2024. The Sympathizer sees Hoa co-starring with Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh, who are guided by acclaimed filmmaker Park Chan-wook behind the camera.
At the Cinema
The Film of the Fortnight is Ethan Coen’s comedy Drive-Away Dolls. Keep an eye out for a review in the next day. This is one you do not want to miss.
Other films in cinemas now worth your time include:
The Zone of Interest – read Nadine’s review here
Dune Part One is also in limited re-release around the nation ahead of Part Two‘s release next week
Mutt screens at QueerScreen this week – read Kahn’s review here
And if you’re in Melbourne, there’s still time to catch Groundhog Day The Musical – read Kahn’s review on that here
The Curb is a reader supported website, with support from as little as $1 a month through Patreon. Please consider becoming a member to keep The Curb independent.
If you have a news item or film festival that you would like covered on the fortnightly wrap up, please get in touch via our contact form here.
For now, that’s it for this fortnights Shout Outs from the Soapbox.
Stay safe, stay sane.
Andrew F Peirce
