MIFF 2021

Despite all the planning and risk mitigation efforts by the organisers of the Melbourne International Film Festival to have an in-person festival this year, COVID-19 reared its ugly head again and Melbourne went back into its sixth lockdown on 6 August (which also coincided with me taking a month's annual leave from work). While in-cinema screenings scheduled in regional Victoria were able to proceed, Greater Melbourne only had access to the MIFF Play online screenings once again, which contained a portion of the films that were due to be part of this year's program. 

 

Of the seven films I had originally booked only three were available to watch on MIFF Play, along with another film that I was interested in seeing. Once again, my main focus was documentaries:

The Gig Is Up by Shannon Walsh is a documentary that showed the true impact of the gig economy in different countries around the world. It explored not only the tech companies making trillions of dollars off the backs of vulnerable workers, but the true cost of all this convenience, particularly as the coronavirus pandemic started to hit in 2020.

Set! was a fantastic documentary by Scott Gawlik about a group of nine competitive table setters vying for the Best In Show ribbon at the Orange County Fair. They were a bunch of interesting and diverse people, and you learned about their backstories, histories competing against each other, and what drives them to enter these competitions every year.

Moments Like This Never Last is a documentary by Cheryl Dunn about the life of artist Dash Snow, who was an iconic figure of the 2000s New York art scene. Using archival footage from the time period along with present day interviews with his friends and colleagues, you got a very raw portrait of Snow, his short life and the underground art scene of that time.

Palazzo di Cozzo was one of the films I was most looking forward to seeing, and thankfully it had its world premiere on 14 August as a special online screening. Franco Cozzo is a well known iconic figure in Melbourne through his baroque furniture stores in Brunswick and Footscray. This documentary by Madeleine Martiniello told the story of his life, from growing up in Sicily to migrating to Australia in the 1950s, and how he worked to build his furniture empire through a combination of entrepreneurial spirit and media charm. It's a fantastic film that also provides the historical and sociological context of the times, particularly for that generation of European migrants, along with some amazing footage of homes completely decorated with his furniture.

 

Fingers crossed that next year I will finally get to enjoy MIFF again in a cinema after two years of watching films online.

MIFF 68 1/2

Normally at this time of year I would be racing between cinemas to line up for my next movie as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). However, this year's physical festival was cancelled once the coronavirus pandemic hit. With Melbourne currently in Stage 4 lockdown, MIFF thankfully has gone online as MIFF 68 1/2 and is available for streaming across Australia. Since there weren't any mini passes available this year, I was good and only purchased six films to watch instead of my usual 10 plus.

I started with the Opening Night film First Cow by Kelly Reichardt, which is based on the Jonathan Raymond novel The Half Life. Set in the Oregon Territory in the 1820s, the movie is about the unlikely friendship between Cookie (John Magaro) and King-Lu (Orion Lee) as they enter business together selling oily cakes at the market with the secret ingredient of cow milk they've stolen from wealthy Englishman Chief Factor. The tension of the film is will they eventually be found out?

My usual preference of film genre at MIFF is documentaries, and this year was no exception. The Go-Go's told the story of one of the greatest all female bands as they emerged from the LA punk scene in the late 1970s to international stardom. It contained archival footage of them performing, photos and interviews with all of the band members as they detailed the trials and tribulations of the band's history. Martin Margiela: In His Own Words featured the avant-garde Belgian fashion designer speaking for the first time about the inspirations for his key fashion collections throughout his career. Margiela shunned fame and publicity in order to let his clothes be the focus (and he still doesn't show his face in this film).

My other three films were part of the Social Justice 3 Pack bundle. 9to5: The Story of a Movement detailed the women who came together and organised female office workers in the 1970s and 80s into a huge movement for better pay, professional recognition and ultimately as a union. These office women's stories were the inspiration for the movie 9 to 5, and unfortunately the struggle of underpaid primarily female workforces continues to this day. My favorite film of all the ones I watched was Coded Bias, which explored the research done by some female academics into the racial and gender biases that are written into the coding for AI and algorithms used by the main tech companies. It's an incredibly important film that shows the real life impacts of this so-called "impartial" technology on society. 

 

My final film was Hong Kong Moments, which documented key dates in the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong as told from seven citizens from all walks of life on both sides of the movement. Filmmaker Zhou Bing allows them all to speak for themselves and the film documents daily life alongside the street battles between police and protestors. It culminated with the local district council elections, which saw a large group of pro-democracy candidates elected.

MIFF 68 1/2 is available for streaming from 6 - 23 August 2020.

MIFF- The Dead Don't Die

Tonight was the last of my films for MIFF this year as Belinda and I met up at Hoyts Melbourne Central for Jim Jarmusch's latest movie The Dead Don't Die. This comedy/zombie horror film contains an all star cast and revolves around the small town of Centerville. Polar fracking has caused the Earth to tilt off its axis, and as a result it has thrown out electronics and when day and night time occur. Zombies start to gradually emerge from the local cemetery, and the local cops (Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Chloe Sevingy) along with a small band of locals (including Danny Glover who runs the local hardware store and Tilda Swinton as a samurai sword toting coroner) try and fight off the zombies and prevent themselves from being eaten. It's a very deadpan film with some recurring gags, breaking down of the fourth wall, and a lot of blood and gore.

MIFF- A Family, Skin, Judy & Punch, and Martha: A Picture Story

In order to fully take advantage of my MIFF mini pass I took a few days off work so I could attend some daytime sessions. On Thursday afternoon I went to see the Australian film A Family, which was shot in Ukraine in a local Ukrainian dialect. Director Jayden Stephens was there to open the film and do a Q&A afterwards. The film centers around a man who hires actors to play his family. He writes up scripts and then films the interactions like home movies. I thought the premise would be funny, but the overall tone of the film was creepy, and I didn't feel any empathy for him or get an understanding of why he was doing all this.

Today I started my afternoon of movies at the Sofitel Auditorium with Guy Nattiv's film Skin. Based on a true story about reformed white supremacist Byron Widner, the film jumps back and forth from Widner (Jamie Bell) getting his racist tattoos removed to flash back scenes of how he tried to extricate himself from the Vinlanders Social Club and start a new life with his girlfriend Julie (Danielle Macdonald) and her three daughters. The film obviously had strong parallels to what we're facing in the world today, and both Bell and Macdonald gave great acting performances.

Next I headed over to The Capitol for the Australian film Judy & Punch by Mirrah Foulkes. A feminist retelling of Punch and Judy, the film stars Mia Wasikowska as Judy and Damon Harriman as Punch, two puppeteers who return to Judy's hometown of Seaside with their baby daughter. In this black comedy, Judy manages to battle the misogyny she and the other women in the town face, and after nearly being killed by Punch works with inhabitants of the hidden heretics camp in the woods to get her ultimate revenge against the abusive Punch. It was a well done and entertaining movie.

My final film for today, also at The Capitol, was the documentary Martha: A Picture Story about US photographer Martha Cooper. Australian director Selina Miles and US Consul General Michael Kleine introduced the film, which tells the story of Cooper's amazing career photographing people for National Geographic, the New York Post and as a freelancer. She manages to build relationships with the people she photographs, and has focused a lot of her work on capturing American gentrification and street art around the world. Her 1984 book with Henry Chalfant Subway Art is considered a bible for street artists, and she still travels globally to photograph street artists at work. Her archives are simply amazing, and she captured a historic period of time in 1970s and 1980s New York City with the emergence of street art and hip hop culture. After the film there was a Q&A led by Melbourne artist Rone with Cooper, Miles and producer Daniel Joyce. She was just as lovely in person as in the film, and admitted one of her main reasons for coming to Australia was to catch some rare Pokemon Go characters.

MIFF- It Must Schwing! The Blue Note Story and We Are Little Zombies

My first MIFF film for the evening was with Sally at the Kino Cinemas for Eric Friedler's documentary It Must Schwing! The Blue Note Story about the famous jazz label. I had no idea that it was founded by two Jewish/German immigrants who escaped the Nazis in Berlin. Childhood best friends Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff had a deep love of jazz music and set up the label in 1939. They both took care of the musicians who worked for the label during a time of racial segregation, and those musicians considered them to be friends. The label's distinctive album covers were due to Francis Wolff's amazing photographs and some cutting edge graphic design. It's a wonderful story of friendship and features some amazing music and interviews with key people in the history of Blue Note Records.

Next I headed to Hoyts Melbourne Central for the Japanese film We Are Little Zombies. This incredibly creative film by Makoto Nagahisa is about four young teens who meet at a crematorium after the deaths of their parents from different circumstances. The film is structured like a video game as you learn about Hikari, Ikuko, Ishi and Takemura and their lives. The four end up forming a pop band that becomes a viral sensation with their very catchy songs, but it's all short lived. The film is visually exciting with a unique storytelling structure. Definitely check it out if you get the chance.

MIFF- Suede and Extra Ordinary

This afternoon I continued my MIFF journey at Hoyts Cinema with the British documentary Suede: The Insatiable Ones. Belinda and I were both big fans of Suede back in the day, so it was interesting to watch the story of the band's history, which included unexpected people like Mike Joyce of The Smiths auditioning for the band, and Ricky Gervais, who managed them at the start for a short period. The film contained interviews with many of the key players and band members over the years as well as archival footage from the studio and on the road shot by drummer Simon Gilbert. I didn't know lead singer Brett Anderson had such a bad drug addition in the late 1990s that it led to the band breaking up. They did reform in 2010 for a charity gig, which went so well that eventually the band started recording together again. It's a really good film and those early songs still stand the test of time.

After dinner at Cookie I headed back to Hoyts and met up with Sally for the quirky Irish comedy Extra Ordinary. Rose (Maeve Higgins) is a driving instructor in her small town, but she also has a not so secret past in dealing with paranormal activity. It is only when she meets widower Martin (Barry Ward) who is being haunted by his dead wife, that she agrees to use her talents to help him and his teenage daughter Sarah out. However, things get a bit more serious when one hit wonder Christian Winter (Will Forte) decides to resurrect his music career through doing a virgin sacrifice, and targets Sarah as his victim. Rose and Martin team up to help save Sarah, and the movie really kicks into gear once they end up at Christian's castle to fight for Sarah's soul. It was a funny little film and very entertaining.

MIFF- Watergate and What You Gonna Do When The World Is On Fire?

The latest two films I saw at MIFF were both American documentaries. On Sunday afternoon Sally and I met up at the newly renovated, beautiful art deco Capitol Theatre on Swanston Street for the *four and a half hour* documentary Watergate - Or: How We Learned To Stop An Out Of Control President by Charles Ferguson. The films used a mix of archival footage from the news and Congressional hearings, interviews with many of the key players, and re-enactments of the Nixon tapes with actors to tell the story of Watergate and how it all unfolded. Despite the length it was quite engrossing, and of course there are many parallels to what we are currently living through with the Trump administration.

This evening Megan and I went to the Forum Theatre to see Roberto Minervini's documentary What You Gonna Do When The World Is On Fire? about New Orleans. Shot in high contrast black and white, the film follows four different members of the black community in the city over a summer. There's Judy who owns a local bar, brothers Ronaldo and Titus, Mardi Gras chief Kevin, and members of the New Black Panther Party who are fighting for social justice. The film cuts back and forth between the different people, and there isn't much of a cohesive narrative to bring all the different threads together. The highlight of the film for me was the lovely relationship between the brothers as Ronaldo looked after and taught his younger brother Titus about the realities of life they face.

MIFF- Beats and Come To Daddy

Last night I attended another two films at MIFF. I started my evening at the Kino Cinemas for the Scottish film Beats, based on the play by Kieran Hurley and shot in black and white by director Brian Welsh. Set during the mid-1990s rave scene in Scotland, childhood best friends Johnno (Christian Ortega) and Spanner (Lorn MacDonald), who have very different home lives, are in search of an illegal rave warehouse party advertised via pirate radio. They make some friends along the way and have a night to remember, although not entirely as they planned. It was a really enjoyable film although the thick Scottish accents were at times difficult to understand.

Next I headed to the Sofitel Auditorium where I was joined by Belinda for the late night showing of the comedy/horror film Come To Daddy. There was a brief intro by the director Ant Timpson, which gave us a glimpse of what was to come. The movie stars Elijah Wood as Norval, a thirty-something hipster who after receiving a handwritten letter travels to the remote coastal home of his father, who abandoned him as a child. It's a bit of a slow burn at the start but there are lots of twist and turns in the plot (which I don't want to give away) and it became a comedic bloodbath towards the end with some completely over the top ways of killing off the villains.

MIFF- Matthias & Maxime and The Australian Dream

It is time once again for one of my favorite winter events in the city- the Melbourne International Film Festival. This year's festival runs from 1-18 August, and I have even become a MIFF member this year to make my moving going experience even easier. I began my festival last night at Hoyts Melbourne Central for French-Canadian film director Xavier Dolan's latest film Matthias & Maxime. It focused on twenty-something childhood best friends Matthias (Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas) and Maxime (Dolan) and their circle of friends over a few months before Maxime moves away for two years to Melbourne (which was an amusing subplot for those of us in the audience). While up at a summer cabin the two agree to appear in a short student film by Matthias' sister in which they have to kiss, and this event triggers underlying dormant feelings that drive the plot for the rest of the film. The film was good and has some recurring familial themes from Dolan's previous films, but I think it didn't have the same cinematic beauty of some of his earlier works.

This morning Sally and Megan joined me at The Plenary in the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre for the film that opened MIFF, the Adam Goodes documentary The Australian Dream. While the other current documentary out about Adam, The Final Quarter, pulled together media and archival footage from the last few years of Adam's AFL playing career when constant booing forced him from the game, this documentary involves Adam himself. It focuses on his life story, from his family life growing up to his AFL playing career, and sets his story within the broader context of racism in Australia and how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been treated since European settlement. The film has interviews with with a wide variety of people involved in Adam's life as well as journalist Stan Grant, who was a screenwriter for the film and did the fantastic speech in 2016 that really set the broader context of what Adam was dealing with to the Australian public. After the film there was a Q&A with the British director Daniel Gordon, and their goal is for this film to have an international release.

MIFF- Won't You Be My Neighbor? and McQueen

My last two films for this year's MIFF were appropriately both documentaries. I started my afternoon at Hoyts Melbourne Central with Morgan Neville's film Won't You Be My Neighbor? about the children's television host Fred Rogers. I grew up watching Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS, so this film was like reliving my childhood. It mixed archival footage with interviews of family, friends and crew members. It was amazing to see how trailblazing the show was, from teaching children about kindness and empathy to addressing serious topics such as death, divorce and war. During the Civil Rights movement Mister Rogers made a point to share a wading pool with Officer Clemmons, played by Francois Clemmons who was African American. In addition, through national tragedies such as Bobby Kennedy's assassination and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, Mister Rogers was there to help children make sense of it all. It was an emotional film to watch, but a great tribute to Fred Rogers and the important role he played in educating children for over 30 years.

My other film for the afternoon was Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui's documentary McQueen about the British fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen. Using his personal archives, fashion show footage, and interviews with family, friends and those who worked with him, the film told the story of how McQueen went from an apprenticeship on Savile Row to being one of the great fashion designers and couturiers of the 1990s and early 2000s. The film was broken up into different sections based around key collections for his McQueen label and Givenchy. It gave you a glimpse of his life as became more popular, and how he kept pushing the envelope with his often controversial runway shows. After the screening Dr Hannah McCann, a lecturer in gender studies from the University of Melbourne, read a short essay about the film and McQueen himself.

MIFF- I Used To Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story

This afternoon I headed to the Comedy Theatre for the MIFF film I Used To Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story. This documentary by Jessica Leski takes an empathetic look at four generations of female fans of US and British boybands. US teenager Elif was the main focus of the movie as she was followed across her later teenage years during her fandom of One Direction. The other three participants, Australians Susan (The Beatles) and Dara (Take That), and American Sadia (Backstreet Boys), looked back and spoke fondly about those core years of fandom and what the bands meant and still mean to them. Their honesty about their lives and fandom was a reflection of the filmmakers taking this topic seriously and really exploring things with no judgement. I absolutely loved this film and could relate my own fandom for Crowded House/Neil Finn to what they all experienced, from collecting memorabilia (everyone has a box of treasures) to making lifelong friendships with other fans and travelling around the world to see my favorite artists play.

We were fortunate to have a Q&A after the film hosted by Brodie Lancaster with the filmmakers Jessica Leski and Rita Walsh and two Australian participants Susan and Dara. They spoke about the making of the film, how they picked the participants and did a bit of an update about everyone (which I won't say because it will spoil things that happen in the film). If you have ever been part of a fandom, I highly recommend checking out this film.

MIFF- Kusama: Infinity, Rafiki and Hearts Beat Loud

Today I took the day off work so I could attend three MIFF films throughout the day. I began my morning at the Forum Theatre for the documentary Kusama: Infinity on Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. It covered her entire career, from a troubled childhood that has influenced her art, to her decision to move to the US in the 1950s where she became an innovative artist in the 1960s New York Pop-Art scene. Kusama was the first artist to exhibit work with soft sculptures, mirrored infinity rooms and room-scale wall installations, but her male peers copied those ideas for their own shows and gained more popularity. She also led a lot of happenings and anti-war protests around New York before her mental illness made her decide to move back to Japan in the early 1970s. It wasn't until later through a couple of retrospective exhibitions of her work and being chosen to represent Japan at the 1992 Venice Biennale that Kusama's talents were finally recognised on a broader scale. This resurrected her career and resulted in her becoming the top-selling female artist in the world. It's an honest and engaging portrait of this trailblazing artist. I was fortunate enough to see her interactive piece Flower obsession at the recent NGV Triennial, which was one of the most popular parts of the exhibition.

My next film in the afternoon was the controversial Kenyan film Rafiki at ACMI. In this drama, written and directed by Wanuri Kahiu, tomboyish teen Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) is drawn to and strikes up a friendship with the outgoing Ziki (Sheila Munyiva). Their main problem is that they are both the daughters of rival candidates running for local office. As the town gossips catch wind of their romance, it results in horrible consequences for both girls and their futures. This simple coming of age love story screened at Cannes, but has been banned in Kenya due to its theme of homosexuality.

I then met up with Ebony at Hoyts Melbourne Central for my final film of the day, the US dramedy (and my second Gen-X mid-life crisis film) Hearts Beat Loud. Starring Nick Offerman as Frank, a former musician and record store owner, it's about his last summer with his daughter Sam (Kiersey Clemons) before she heads off to UCLA in the fall. While Frank is dealing with closing his record store and finding something else to do with his life, his jam sessions with his daughter bring him the most joy. They result in a song, which he uploads to Spotify under the moniker We're Not A Band that then gets picked up on a new indie playlist. Finally getting a glimpse of possible musical success, he pushes his daughter to write more songs with him. It's a sweet and funny little film that captures key transitional stages in both of the main characters' lives, with some pretty good songs as an added bonus.

MIFF- Woman At War and Three Identical Strangers

This evening I began my MIFF films at ACMI with the quirky Icelandic movie Woman At War by director Benedikt Erlingsson. Halla (Halldora Geirharosdottir) is a one woman eco-activist trying to stop multinationals taking over Iceland's energy utilities. She heads out on her own to rural areas to repeatedly sabotage power lines using simple tools such as a bow and arrow or hand power saw. She ultimately releases her manifesto as the Mountain Woman as the pressure mounts from authorities try to figure out who Mountain Woman is. While all this is happening Halla gets word from an adoption agency that an application she put in four years ago was successful and she will soon be the mother to a four year old girl from Ukraine. There is a lot of humor and funny plot twists throughout the film, which are enhanced by the soundtrack of Icelandic folk musicians and female Ukrainian singers who appear in scenes at various time as Halla wanders through.

Next I headed over to the Comedy Theatre to meet up with Sally for the incredible documentary Three Identical Strangers. It tells the amazing story of Bobby Shafran, Eddy Galland and David Kellman who learned at the age of 19 that they were identical triplets separated shortly after they were born. While they became media sensations and the toast of New York, it's the darker truth of why they were separated in the first place that turns this initial good news story into an investigative thriller about the ethics of the adoption agency and a long-term psychological study on nature vs nurture. If you get a chance to see this film check it out as it's amazing.

MIFF- Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. and Juliet, Naked

One of the big events in Melbourne during the winter is the Melbourne International Film Festival, which is running from 2-19 August 2018. Tonight were my first two MIFF films, which had a bit of a music theme. I began the evening at Hoyts Melbourne Central for the documentary Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. about the life and career of the Sri Lankan/British rapper Matangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, best known as M.I.A. Drawing on her own personal footage and that shot by longtime friend Stephen Loveridge, it showed her teen years as a Sri Lankan refugee in London (her father, a leader of the Tamil resistant movement, remained in Sri Lanka), time in art school, filming on the road with Justine Frischmann of Elastica, trips back to Sri Lanka, and rise as a musician. While her debut album Arular was critically acclaimed, it was the global success of the Grammy nominated song "Paper Planes" off her second album Kala that made her well known worldwide. M.I.A.'s political activism, particularly around Tamil people in Sri Lanka, has often caused media controversy for her career, with a key flash point also being her performance with Madonna at the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show where she flipped off the camera. This film was an insightful portrait on M.I.A. and gave me a better understanding of her art, activism and music.

Next I headed over to the Comedy Theatre to meet up with Ebony for the romantic comedy Juliet, Naked, which was adapted from Nick Hornby's novel. Set in the British coastal town of Sandcliff, the film stars Chris O'Dowd as Duncan, an obsessive fan of 90's alternative US rocker Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke) who has long since disappeared from music. One day Duncan's long suffering girlfriend Annie (Rose Byrne) opens a package addressed to Duncan that contains the demo recording of Crowe's album Juliet (titled Juliet, Naked). While she listens to it and thinks it's insipid, Duncan loves it and posts a long review about it to the fan site/forum he runs. When Annie then posts a negative review, Tucker Crowe himself gets in touch with her to say he agrees with her assessment, and they begin to secretly correspond with each other about their lives. Duncan and Annie break up shortly thereafter, and Tucker ends up coming to London to visit his daughter who is having a baby and arranges to meet Annie. It's not all smooth sailing, but this Gen-X midlife crisis film was quite funny and sweet, with great performances by the whole cast.

MIFF- Step and City Of Ghosts

Today was the last day of the MIFF and my final two films of this year's festival. I began my afternoon with the documentary Step about the girls representing the Lethal Ladies step team from the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women. The film focuses on three of the girls as they go through their senior year of high school and try not only to win the state level step competition but also get into college. It's a fantastic film that honestly shows the struggles the girls and their families face, along with the great support provided by school staff and their step coach to help the girls to succeed.

Next I watched the documentary City Of Ghosts about the Syrian citizen journalists from the website Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (R.B.S.S.) who documented the atrocities of ISIS' occupation of their city. Risking their lives to show the world what is happening in their homeland, this group of men fight against ISIS not with guns but by transmitting the truth and facts to counteract the ISIS propaganda machine. The men end up in exile in Turkey and Germany, but still work with informants inside Syria to get stories of the war and realities of life under ISIS out to the public. It's a difficult film to watch, but one that is really important for everyone to see.

MIFF- Something Quite Peculiar, Westwind and Mountain

On Wednesday night I attended two more MIFF documentaries. The first was Something Quite Peculiar: The Life and Times of Steve Kilbey. The film focuses on Steve's 40+ years in the music industry, mainly as the lead singer of The Church. While the film covers the history of the band, it focuses more on the present day and doesn't use much archival footage. It also uses their greatest known song "Under The Milky Way" as a character throughout the film. It's an interesting device which I don't think quite works. Steve Kilbey himself is quite honest about his past and present and needing to continue to tour in The Church for money. One of the funniest lines in the film is when he admits that in the 1980s he autographed a bunch of albums as Neil Finn. After the screening we had a Q&A with both Director Mike Brook and Steve Kilbey. A few members of the audience voiced their concern that Steve was a bit harsh on the Gold Afternoon Fix album (which I really like), but Steve feels it was The Church paint-by numbers. It's not your typical documentary, but was still interesting to watch.

My second film on Wednesday night was the world premiere of the film Westwind: Djalu's Legacy. We had a Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy and short musical performance by some of the key people in the film before it started. Filmed over eight years it tells the story of Yolngu elder and master Yidaki (didgeridoo) player Djalu Gurruwiwi. As the keeper of his people's Songlines and culture, he is desperate to pass them on to his son Larry, who is not quite ready to take on the responsibility. As Djalu allows outsiders to come and learn about culture and the Yidaki from him, he develops an unlikely friendship with Wally De Backer (aka Gotye), who manages to help bridge the musical gap between Djalu and his son. The film culminates with their performance together at WOMADelaide. After the screening we got to hear from Producer Kate Pappas, Director Ben Strunin and Djalu and Larry Gurruwiwi in the Q&A session.

Today I got to see the breathtaking film Mountain, which was a collaborative project between Director Jennifer Peedom, Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra Richard Tognetti, and author Robert Macfarlane. Exploring the increasing human fascination with mountains, footage was primarily sourced from that shot by Jennifer Peedom and cinematographer Renan Ozturk, along with other Go-Pro and drone material from high adventure athletes. The score by Tognetti includes original pieces as well as ones from classical composers, and the film is narrated by actor Willem Dafoe. Being able to see this film on a massive screen was fantastic, and some of the shots of people climbing up sheer wall faces or skiing down from the tops of mountains is nerve wracking. There was a Q&A after the screening with Director Jennifer Peedom where she described the process of putting this film together and collaborating with the others.

MIFF- The Song Keepers and Ingrid Goes West

I began this evening of MIFF films with the documentary The Song Keepers about the Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir. These women (and two men) from remote towns in the Northern Territory come together to sing 14th-century Lutheran hymns that were brought over by German missionaries. The really special thing is that they sing them in language. The film focuses on their 2015 tour of Germany with their choirmaster Morris Stuart. It's a lovely film that tells the story of the choir members and how they have kept their culture alive. After the screening we were incredibly lucky to have the choir there to sing a few songs and then do a Q&A.

My next film was the American dark comedy Ingrid Goes West. It stars Aubrey Plaza as Ingrid Thorburn, a troubled social media addict who becomes infatuated with Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), an Insta-star and social media influencer. Ingrid moves to Los Angeles and manages to insinuate herself into Taylor's life. This movie is like the Instagram version of Single White Female, and is a biting commentary on the truth behind those living a #blessed life on social media.

MIFF- Faces Places and The Go-Betweens: Right Here

Today's Melbourne International Film Festival films were both documentaries. I began my afternoon with the French film Faces Places, which featured the pairing of French New Wave artist Agnes Varda with the much younger street artist JR. The film follows them as they drive around rural France in a mobile photo lab van photographing people and doing large scale paste ups of images both past and present. They meet some interesting people along the way and hear about their personal stories and the history of the villages they visit. The pair also develops a sweet relationship and rapport with each other, and bring together their artistic talents to create some amazing large scale pieces. I absolutely loved this film and cannot recommended it highly enough.

Next I saw The Go-Betweens: Right Here, a film that chronicles the life and times of the Brisbane band and the relationship between its founders Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. The film is organised chronologically from the mid-1970s to mid-2000s, and intersperses archival photos, audio and video footage with present day interviews with each band member as well as the people around them in the scene at the time. I really liked the device used by Director Kriv Stenders of having a rural Queensland property as the base where each band member came and went from the house to document their time in the band as they experienced it. There were many turbulent times, including line-up changes, their break-up in 1989 and Grant's untimely passing of a heart attack in 2006, which is where the film ends. We were fortunate to have both Kriv Stenders and Robert Forster do a Q&A after the screening, in which Robert joked that he felt he came across too serious and would be more funny in a future film. It's a very well done documentary done by someone who intimately knew the band and its importance to Australian musical history.

MIFF- The House Of Z, Pecking Order and Patti Cake$

It's that time of year again with the start of the Melbourne International Film Festival this week. On Friday night I went to see my first MIFF film, the documentary The House Of Z on the American fashion designer Zac Posen. It covered his childhood growing up in an artistic family in NYC, and the rise of his fashion label with his mother and sister working by his side. As his popularity grew he got funding support from Sean Combs ("the hip-hop years"), but his celebrity and the GFC ultimately led to the downfall of the label and his relationships with family members. Zac then started over from scratch, assembling a new team and going back to his atelier roots to re-energise his creativity. With interviews from all the key players in Zac's life and fashion label, it's an interesting insight into what can happen when you gain success at such an early age.

Tonight I started my evening with the New Zealand documentary Pecking Order about the members of the Christchurch Poultry, Bantam and Pigeon Club. It covered not only the internal (and generational) politics of the club, but also everyone's preparations for the annual National Show, which was like the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for chickens. There were some amazing characters in the film, and we were fortunate enough to have Director Slavko Martinov introduce the film and do a Q&A after the screening, where he spilled some of the secrets of the bird show circuit.

My other film for the night was the drama/comedy Patti Cake$, which featured Aussie actress Danielle Macdonald as Patricia Dombrowski, an aspiring rapper from New Jersey. With her friend Hareesh by her side, they strive to make their dreams come true while facing down the doubters both within the community and her own family (her mother is brilliantly played by comedian Bridget Everett). Once Patti and Hareesh encounter the African-American anarchist Basterd they form an unlikely musical union under the name PBNJ and record a demo in the hopes of breaking into the music business. It's a great film about not giving up on your dreams and being resilient in the face of adversity.

MIFF- Emo The Musical, Kiki and The Lovers And The Despot

It's the final weekend of MIFF and the last of my films for this year's festival. Last night I started my evening at The Forum to see the world premiere of director Neil Triffett's Australian musical comedy Emo The Musical. Most of the cast and crew were in attendance to watch this film, which originated from Triffett's 2014 Berlinale award-winning short film. It starred Benson Jack Anthony as Ethan, an emo boy who starts at a new high school after getting expelled from his old one. Navigating the different tribes at the school he soon found a group of fellow emos and joined their band Worst Day Ever. Their rivals at school were a Christian worship group, who decided to compete in the same local band competition. Ethan falls for one of their members, Trinity (Jordan Hare) and they try to keep their budding romance a secret. The film is a bit like Glee as the students break into song, with my favorite bit being when Trinity realised that "Jesus was an emo." It was an entertaining film with the ultimate message of being true to yourself. After the screening Lawrence Leung hosted a Q&A with Triffett and his producer. They are hoping to get the movie picked up for distribution more broadly.

Next I saw Sara Jordeno's documentary Kiki about today's New York City ballroom scene. Featuring LGBTQI youth of color, the kiki scene is more organised and socially active than its earlier counterparts captured in the landmark documentary Paris Is Burning. Set to a soundtrack by Qween Beats, the film followed the heads and members of a few different houses as they competed in ballroom and provided a support network for each other. It was a fantastic look at this often marginalised community with some really insightful commentary, political discussion, as well as amazing dance sequences and costumes from the ballroom competitions.

Today I headed to the Comedy Theatre for my final film of MIFF, the documentary The Lovers And The Despot by Ross Adam and Robert Cannan. It tells the true story of South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok and his ex-wife, actress Choi Eun-hee, who were kidnapped in the late 1970s by Kim Jong-il's agents to help bolster North Korea's film industry. While under captivity they gained Kim Jong-il's trust and had the freedom and financing to make whatever films they wanted. As they met the goal of getting North Korean films into international film festivals, it provided Sang-ok and Eun-hee the opportunity they needed to ultimately make their escape. It's a bizarre tale and unfortunately doesn't really cover the aftermath or reaction in North Korea to their defection back to the West.