Tsilimidos' Latest Film

Alkinos Tsilimidos' latest film, Blind Company, is due to premiere at this year's MIFF. Shot entirely on the east coast of Tasmania last October, the film stars Colin Friels (Tom White), Nick Barkla (Em 4 Jay) and Gloria Ajenstat (Tom White). Written and directed by Tsilimidos, it's his first film not using cinematographer Toby Oliver, using Adam Arkapaw instead, who filmed the very fine and well-received looking short, Jerrycan (2008).

The premise:

Geoff Brewster is seeing out his final days at the family's isolated coastal shack - walking the beach and leaving tape-recorded confessions for his estranged wife, Sally. But when his Porsche driving nephew, Josh, arrives unannounced, a deadly game ensues that threatens to destroy both men.

In my opinion, Tsilimidos is Australia's finest director whose work is on a par with the best of the European independents. Like Catherine Breillat or the Dardenne brothers, his films are serious dramas that grapple with social issues. Cinema is, at its best, an art form that challenges an audience and their prejudices, and this is true of a Tsilimidos film.

Alkinos Tsilimidos and Colin Friels on location for Blind Company.