Saturday, February 21, 2009

News - various press releases

Australian Human Rights Arts and Film Festival needs volunteers
HRAFF is in need of Melbourne-based volunteers for the next three weeks to help the organisation prepare for the new year so if you have some time spare before you start uni and want to get a bit of experience in a unique arts and cultural festival, then email volunteers@hraff.org.au, with your cv, brief cover letter (no more than 100 words) and the times you would be available between now and 5th March 10:30am - 4pm.

Alternatively, drop by the office Level 6, 225 Bourke St Melbourne 3001 between 10:30am - 4pm.

Tasks will include: film databasing, marketing databasing, grants/funding researching, filing, compiling reports, newsletter editing and designing, recruiting and other administrative assistance.

See also www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=1049325287702&aref=28344613


Closed for Winter
Closed for Winter will Premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival on February 27. The James Bogle-helmed film, starring Natalie Imbruglia and based on Georgia Blain’s acclaimed Australian novel of the same name, will open in cinemas across Australia in April 2009.

Closed for Winter is the emotional and poetic story of Elise, a beautiful young woman haunted by the disappearance of her sister when they were both children. Natalie Imbruglia stars as Elise in a stunning performance in her first leading film role.

“The film is about how we respond to grief and loss. It is about a woman who has been emotionally shut down for 20 years, but a series of events leads her to examine her past and discover the power within herself to recover and heal,” says producer Ben Grant.

Writer and Director James Bogle (In the Winter Dark, The Circuit) said: “Natalie Imbruglia has the serenity, charm and depth of character to play a woman quietly fighting for something more. She possesses a focused, no-nonsense approach to the craft of acting. She has the capacity to see the world in a certain way and there is a lot of compassion that she is feeding back into the world in all sorts of ways, so this film seemed right for her.”

Closed for Winter features extraordinary newcomer Tiahn Green as the young Elise, Danielle Catanzariti (Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger), Deborah Kennedy (The Sum of Us, Swimming Upstream), Daniel Frederiksen (Bastard Boys) and Tony Martin (Candy) as the family doctor who may hold the key to the disappearance.

"The impact of any major loss or tragedy when we are young doesn’t go away just because we grow up. Closed for Winter is a powerful story of hope and courage. I am tremendously grateful to Natalie Imbruglia for taking on a very demanding role and delivering such a mature, accomplished performance,” Ben Grant says.

Natalie Imbruglia will attend the Australian premiere in Adelaide.


Animal Kingdom

On February 16, 2009, cameras will start rolling on ANIMAL KINGDOM, one of the most compelling and ambitious feature films to be produced in Australia.

With an all-star ensemble cast including Guy Pearce (THE HURT LOCKER, TRAITOR, MEMENTO), Ben Mendelsohn (AUSTRALIA, THE NEW WORLD), Joel Edgerton (THE SQUARE, KINKY BOOTS, KING ARTHUR), Luke Ford (THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR, THE BLACK BALLOON), veteran star of stage and screen, Jacki Weaver (COSI, CADDIE, THE REMOVALISTS), Sullivan Stapleton (CARLA CAMETTI PD, UNDERBELLY), and sensational newcomers James Frecheville and Laura Wheelwright, ANIMAL KINGDOM is a taut thriller set amidst the explosive world of a family addicted to crime, as experienced through the eyes of a naïve 17 year-old youth who enters their lair. It’s the Wild West, where criminals and police wage their war on the city’s streets, while the innocent suffer the consequences.

Violent, haunting and utterly mesmerizing, ANIMAL KINGDOM is the debut feature of writer/director David Michôd whose previous short films have screened extensively internationally and in Australia, including the multi-award winning CROSSBOW which screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Venice and Melbourne in 2007, and most recently NETHERLAND DWARF, which has just screened in the 2009 Berlin and Sundance Film Festivals. An AFI award-winning writer, Michôd also penned the screenplay for this project.

Liz Watts, of dynamic Sydney-based production company, Porchlight Films, whose previous credits include THE HOME SONG STORIES, LITTLE FISH, JEWBOY and WALKING ON WATER will produce, with additional key crew including cinematographer Adam Arkapaw (JERRYCAN, EDGE OF TOWN) production designer Jo Ford (LAST RIDE, CRACKER BAG) and costume designer Cappi Ireland (BALIBO, THE HOME SONG STORIES).

A Porchlight Films production, ANIMAL KINGDOM is presented by Screen Australia and Porchlight Films, in association with Film Victoria, the NSW Film and Television Office, Showtime Australia and Fulcrum Media Finance. Madman Entertainment in conjunction with Jetty Distribution will distribute throughout Australia and New Zealand and Maximum Films will handle international sales. Filming will take place entirely on location in Melbourne, Australia over seven weeks from 16 February until 3 April 2009. ANIMAL KINGDOM was developed through the NSW Film and Television Office’s Aurora program and post production will be completed in NSW.


ACMI's First Look program
The month of May becomes a celebration of music through film at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. ACMI's First Look program will showcase four of the freshest musical documentaries by new local and overseas directors.

ACMI Head of Film Programs, Richard Sowada, said of the program; "We've programmed the best of the newest crop of music documentaries from across the world. All of these films debuted in 2008 to critical acclaim and even more extraordinary is that all the directorial talent of these films are all relatively new, and for three of these directors, this is their feature debut. What's more, with two Australian and two Melbourne premieres it is a unique opportunity for ACMI audiences to see these new films on the big screen."

From the Junior Eurovision Song Contest to seminal songwriter Dennis Lambert's revival tour; from serene African beats and vocals to Aussie rock; this special season has something for everyone, capturing the beauty of the music through performance and exploring the lives of the people behind it.

ACMI's First Look music documentary season will run for the entire month of May, with one film showcased each week.

May 2009 Program:

Thursday 30 April - Sunday 3 May 2009
Sounds Like Teen Spirit: A Popumentary Unclassified 15+
Jamie Jay Johnson, 100mins, UK, 2008, Digital Betacam, English, Flemish, Bulgarian, Georgian, Cypriot Greek with English subtitles Source: Beyond Entertainment

Thursday 7 May - Sunday 10 May 2009
Of All the Things Unclassified 15+
Jody Lambert, 83mins, USA, 2008, Digital Betacam, Source: Shot Clock, USA

Thursday 14 May - Sunday 17 May 2009
Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love Unclassified 15+
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, 102mins, USA, 2008, 35mm, English, French, Wolof, Arabic with English subtitles Source: Madman Entertainment

Thursday 21 May - Sunday 24 May 2009
It's Raining Pleasure Unclassified 15+
Steven Levett, 126mins, Australia, 2008, HDcam, Source: The Project Group Courtesy: Steven Levett

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