“I liken social change to the shifting of tectonic plates underneath the earth’s surface.  The process is incredibly slow but when the plates collide the results are life-altering earthquakes and tsunamis.  Social change does occur, but it occurs far too slowly.  I’m an impatient man.  I want to see real change in my lifetime, and I want The Other Film Festival to act as an agent for that change.  I want complete cinema access for people with disabilities to be taken for granted in the future.”

This impassioned opening address from festival director Rick Randall kicked off five days of films, forum discussions and after-parties at the 2010 edition of the The Other Film Festival; a fully-accessible (i.e. accommodating every body) festival of new cinema by, with and about people with a disability; the 4^th since its 2004 inception.

The program featured short and feature-length films, and documentaries, from an astounding array of global perspectives – from up and down the Americas, across the UK and Europe, and down through South Korea, India and Australia.  All of the films explored a common theme of what it is like to live with a disability.  The appeal of any film festival is being able to front up unprepared with the confidence that you will be able to see a quality selection of interesting films.  Some of my highlights included:

Coming Out, a quirky British short-film about a young man who is having difficulty revealing to his mother that he is deaf – the film not only serving as a clever twist on ‘coming out’ as a homosexual, but also expressing the common unwillingness from parents to accept a child with a disability.

Rita, a very confronting Italian film shot from the perspective of a young blind girl who is oblivious to violence which surrounds her.  The perspective taken allows for a translucent style, with some shots falling out of frame or focus, creating an intriguing and dark cinematic experience for the audience.

Nobody’s Perfect, a German documentary about a group of people who have been the victim of thalidomide poisoning (the disastrous sedative drug developed in the 1950s that resulted in over ten thousand birth defects in the children of its users).  The group are brought together by the film’s director Niko von Glasow (himself a victim of thalidomide poisoning), who attempts to have them all pose naked for a calendar he is producing.  The director engages in philosophical discussion with the group, exploring – and ultimately breaking down – the feelings of insecurity and isolation associated with being perceived as different.  This documentary was at once uplifting, shocking, sad, and as the festival patron Adam Elliot announced during the closing awards ceremony, it “represented the very ethos of The Other Film Festival.”

The remarkable thing was that despite such a vast spectrum of cultures on screen, there was fluidity across all of the films.  The cultural barrier lifted and we were all engrossed in the age-old art of story-telling; of expressing the human condition through art.  It is this desire to experience other people’s stories that is the reason why millions of Australians flock to cinemas every weekend.  The only difference was that at this particular festival the stories told were the ones that are rarely given a platform to be heard.

Similar to any minority group of people – for example Aborigines, refugees, or the homeless – the most frustrating thing that those with disabilities are confronted with from mainstream society is indifference.  People just don’t take any notice.  This indifference usually stems from feelings of insecurity; of uncomfortableness, fearing the unfamiliar.  The only way to break through those barriers is to put yourself in a position where you are able to engage with ‘the other’.

Through establishing The Other Film Festival, Rick Randall and the team have presented to mainstream society an opportunity to engage with and embrace the unheard stories of proud, strong, and brave people.  The numbers of people attending the festival have doubled with each program, with Rick declaring that this year, “after taxiing across the runway, the plane has finally taken off”.  All the signs are indicating that the next time The Other Film Festival hits our screens the scale will be significantly greater.  I urge you to join in and embrace this film festival, the rewards are rich and transforming.

The Other Film Festival is currently held every two years at the Melbourne Museum.  Keep up to date with details of the next festival here.

Article written by Ryan Nance  /  Photography by Jorge De Araujo (click here for website)

Check out whats on at the Brisbane Powerhouse this September: Monday 20 September to Sunday 26 September 2010 as part of the Brisbane Festival for 2010

Brisbane Powerhouse and Brisbane Festival 2010 present:
First Love THEATRE

Leading Interpreters of Samuel Beckett’s work, Gare Saint Lazare Players will visit Australia for the first time for Brisbane Festival 2010. Performed by Conor Lovett and directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett, First Love, is one of Samuel Beckett’s early short stories and contains much of his distinctive black humour and a plot that is regarded as a masterpiece of Beckettian perversity. A young man, expelled from the family home, takes refuge on a bench by a canal. There he meets a woman who takes him home, with comically disastrous consequences. Gare Saint Lazare Players have toured internationally with their critically acclaimed presentations of Beckett’s prose works. Conor Lovett’s exceptional performance animates the bone-dry humour of a character besieged with a clutter of emotions.Gare Saint Lazare Players’ precise and elegant work has made Beckett accessible to a whole a new audience and earned the company an enviable reputation around the world.

Tue 21 – Sat 25 Sep 8pm
$34 (f) $26 (c) $25 (group 6+)
Visy Theatre
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

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Brisbane Festival 2010 presents QUT Festival Theatre:
The Dark Party COMEDY

The Dark Party is a journey both literally and metaphorically through the lives of men. Produced by The Dirty Brothers Sideshow from Melbourne, who have just returned from a triumphant season at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Dark Party is enjoying rave reviews for rattling the cage of modern circus and bringing sideshow to the world of contemporary theatre.

Tue 21 – Sat 25 Sep 9pm
$35 (f) $25 (group 10+)
QUT Festival theatre
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

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Brisbane Festival 2010 presents QUT Festival Theatre:
Strange Familiar Angel THEATRE

We are all beautiful strangers to ourselves. The latest creation from Circa’s young performance group, Strange Familiar Angel, is a mesmerizing collision of circus skills and young people coming together in a supernova of light, bodies, sound and action. Performing at the open-air QUT Festival Theatre at the Brisbane Powerhouse, Circa Zoo takes the audience on a white-knuckle ride of metaphysical exploration where performers find their limits then leap off into the unknown through acrobatics and action, trapeze and touch, contortion and coming of age.   

Tue 21 – Sat 25 Sep 7.30pm
$35 (f) $25 (group 10+)
QUT Festival theatre
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

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United Way Queensland and Brisbane Powerhouse presents:
Local Eyes Brisbane VISUAL

This exhibition offers a voice to those yet to be heard. Eighteen young storytellers have taken up the camera to allow others a glimpse into their lives. Local Eyes showcases photo stories by 18 individuals from United Way Queensland’s community groups in the greater Brisbane area. We all have an image of Brisbane. We know what it looks like, how it works and how it feels. But our view of Brisbane is just one perspective among thousands. It is through the sharing of stories that the community is formed.   

Tue 21 Sep – Sun 3 Oct
9am – 5pm Mon – Fri, 10am – 4pm Sat + Sun + during performance times.
FREE
Brisbane Powerhouse
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

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Brisbane Festival 2010 presents:
The Oracle DANCE

This sensual and intense dance work by celebrated choreographer Meryl Tankard, featuring dancer Paul White, explores the conflicting forces of nature and man, masculinity and femininity, violence and nurturing, strength and vulnerability. Inspired by the sometimes disturbing human forms in Scandinavian artist Odd Nerdrum’s work, The Oracle is set to Stravinsky’s seminal composition for the infamous 1913 ballet The Rite of Spring, which caused riots at its Paris premiere. The intensity of the subject, the power of the complex, rhythmic musical score and the stark and brooding aesthetic, created by visual & set designer Regis Lansac, deliver an atmosphere of coiled-spring emotions and conflict in this haunting and critically acclaimed work.

Wed 22 – Sat 25 Sep 7pm
$35 (f) $30 (c) $25 (group 10+)
Powerhouse Theatre
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

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Brisbane Festival 2010 presents QUT Festival Theatre:
Bang! Crash! Tap! DANCE

Bang! Crash! Tap! From Raw Dance is a mind-blowing dance and percussion stage spectacular featuring one of Australia’s most talented drummers, the London Beat Boxing Champion, and two of the fastest tap dancers ever to hit the earth.Creative Producer and Raw Dance founder Andrew Fee has toured the world as Director, Producer and Performer for many of Raw Dance’s outstanding works. His trademark mix of funk/hip-hop, tap and acrobatics is a cornerstone of Raw Dance’s style.

Thu 23 – Fri 24 Sep
Thu 1pm, Fri 10am + 1pm
$20 (f) $10 (c)
QUT Festival theatre
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

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Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane Marketing and Brispop Present:
The Residents MUSIC

September Resident: Mr Rascal

MR RASCAL are a contemporary folk collective from Brisbane, Australia. Combining eclectic instrumentation and a musical repertoire ranging from ‘confessionary gospel’ to ‘ramshackle barnyard grumble’ the group’s music is described by Time Off Magazine as ‘songs that sound like old friends even before you’ve heard them’.  Mr Rascal’s latest release ‘My, What a Big Black Cloud!’ is an experiment in song-writing and musicality. Written, recorded and completed in 30 days the release captures the energy and vitality of live performance with the types of universal experiences that can affect any individual in the space of a month. The release has already received glowing reviews, described by Scene Magazine as ‘rather beautiful!’

Friday 24 September 6pm
FREE
Turbine Platform
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

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Saturday Sessions

Qut Creative Industries and Brisbane Powerhouse present:
Popalicious MUSIC

Everybody’s talking about it and QUT students are making it on the fourth Saturday of every month.Fresh Tunes – Contemporary young musicians from QUT’s innovative school of music perform their own original compositions.

Duration: 2 hrs
Every 4th Saturday of the Month
25 September Fornika
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

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Brisbane Powerhouse, Brispop.com and Hutchinson Builders Present:
Live Spark MUSIC

Sunday 26 September 3.30pm
Princess One Point Five + Seja
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

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Brisbane Powerhouse Presents:
Livewired  COMEDY

Funny, free and freakin’ awesome.

Sunday 26 September 6.30pm: Stephen Head
FREE  
Turbine Platform
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

No, not the Sydney Film Festival, and not the Melbourne Film Festival… The Other Film Festival!

Check out something a bit different and adventurous as the 2010 festival of New Cinema By, With and About People with a Disability kicks off at the Melbourne Museum this Wednesday 25th August through to Sunday 28th August.

The festival dares to dream that one day everybody’s story will be written boldly across the cinema screen and that universal access to the cinema will be the norm not the exception. The program this year offers an exhilarating array of choices: sessions dedicated to the experience of people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, films that celebrate the power of expressive dance, workshops for emerging actors and filmmakers, a forum on accessible cinema, and of course Rob Spence and the world premiere demonstration of the Eyeborg prosthetic eye.

So come and check out the future, because it’s right here, right now.

Click here to view the program and buy tickets!

Melbourne’s annual celebration of its vibrant poetry scene, the Overload Poetry Festival has a new logo, a new website on the way and a penchant for technology as it gears up to run from 10-19 September 2010.

Melbourne’s Overload Poetry Festival has selected ‘Screening the Word’ as this year’s theme to reflect the different mediums poets are tackling with this playful, critical and ever evolving art form.
To screen the word suggests the meeting of tradition and technology. While poets have struggled to find their place among traditional mediums such as books, they are now revolutionising the way they create and publish their work.

It also brings home the message that to this day some poets remain persecuted for their ideas, and emphasises
those whose work is under the threat of censorship in many places around the world.

The 10-day festival will be held from 10-19 September across various Melbourne venues with Luis Gonzalez
Serrano at the helm as this year’s Festival Director.

“We’re extremely excited about this year’s theme. Words meet the concepts of visual arts in concrete poetry, they meet the storylines of film in video poems, and they meet the growing demand of alternative media in podcasts and blogs,” Festival Director Luis Gonzalez Serrano said.

“This year’s program reflects these changes by showcasing contemporary poets in Melbourne on big screens, electronic banners, websites and podcasts as well as the more traditional spoken word events.”

Highlights for this year’s Festival include:

• Melbourne Poetry Map – podcasts by Melbourne poets, which guide visitors around the places that have inspired them.
• Azahares, a tribute to Miguel Hernandez – a collaborative work between poets, dancers, musicians and multimedia artists, to celebrate 100 years since the birth of one of Spain’s most captivating and moving poets: Miguel Hernandez, an emblem of the civil war.
• Poetry at the movies – our selection of “voems” or video-poems from all over Australia plus a special presentation of works by ABC Radio National’s Mike Ladd.
• Mightier than the sword – a keynote speech by Judith Rodriguez, Vice President of Melbourne PEN about the plight of poets whose words have been silenced and a panel on silenced voices, featuring guest speakers from the Asia Pacific region as well as Australia.
• Poets in Time Lapse at the NGV – a selection of readings by poets in response to photographic works dealing with the idea of time.
• Tri-Nations Skype slam: Overload once again goes head to head with a poetic opponent through cyberspace in a virtual slam. This year they take on Singapore’s LIT UP festival and Scotland’s STANZA.

It’s back! The Comedy Event of the Year, World’s Funniest Island, returns on October 16 and 17 on Cockatoo Island in Sydney.

The event will feature more than 200 performances of every imaginable kind of comedy.  The event transforms the former colonial prison and bomb shelters into the island of hilarity for two days. 

Aussie headliners include The Umbilical Brothers, Wil Anderson, Beached Az Live, Julia Morris,Fiona O’Loughlin, Heath “Chopper” Franklin, Axis of Awesome, Tom Ballard, Tom Gleeson,Mikey Robbins, Claire Hooper and Christa Hughes in Beer Drinking Woman.

The event will pack in everything from top comics, sketch shows, comedy burlesque and cabaret to the best of campus comedy.

“This really is a chance to sample the best of the year in comedy. There’s new stuff from old friends, big favourites and amazing new talent from all over the world,” said World’s Funniest Island Creative Director, John Pinder.  “And there’s art, booze, food, camping out and spectacular harbour views to contemplate if you need to calm down amidst all the mayhem.” 

Special ferries run day and night all weekend and are included in the ticket price. 

Cockatoo Island on October 16 and 17.
www.worldsfunniestisland.com

In her former role as Education Minister, Australia’s new Prime Minister The Hon Julia Gillard MP, welcomed Australia’s first national awards program established to recognise the enormous impact of philanthropic activity in Australian schools.

SchoolAid’s inaugural Kids Helping Kids Awards is open for entry until 15 September, with entries streaming in from schools in each and every state and territory in Australia.  Interest in the Awards and the work of SchoolAid delivers an overwhelming message from educators that this long overdue program provides much needed acknowledgement of the estimated $11 million* generated for charities and kids in need by schools-based giving in Australia each year.

The Awards will recognise and reward the outstanding fundraising achievements of Australian schoolkids, as well as the tireless work of the teachers and principals helping to develop the next generation of philanthropists. Kids Helping Kids Awards partners, Microsoft and Cartoon Network, are providing an incredible range of technology and entertainment prizes to recognise and reward these achievements, whilst the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation is a primary supporter of the Awards.

In addition to strong government and community support, the Kids Helping Kids Awards has the endorsement of the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA), Principals Australia (PA) and state Education Departments across Australia. SchoolAid encourages philanthropy in Australian kids, tapping into their innate concern for their peers and kids in need everywhere, whilst fostering leadership, resilience and independence. The ‘Kids Helping Kids Awards’ provides a much-needed avenue for these critical life skills and values to be rewarded through a national Awards program.

Registrations for the Kids Helping Kids Awards are open now. Visit www.schoolaid.org.au to download the registration form.

Curating a salacious group show titled Off the Strip, in which 25 artists put their own deviant spin on the wholesome comic strips we all know and love, Industrial Squid will turn the walls of the WWA gallery into a veritable who’s who of your favorite funny pages’ characters this July.  Open to the public, the Off the Strip gallery reception is from 7- 10pm on Friday, July 16^th.  The exhibition will run until September 4^th. 

A truly unique opportunity, Off the Strip gives a rare glimpse at the usually upright citizens of the comic pages as they leap off of their Sunday strips and land in the type of deplorable situations you’re more likely to find off the Vegas strip.  What scandalous acts could Calvin and Hobbes be capable of?  What evil lurks in the hearts of Ignatz and Krazy Kat?  The only way to find out is to come and see…

As an additional treat, featured in WWA gallery’s  Project Space will be original art from Charles Schulz, Carl Barks and other legendary comic strip creators, providing a “behind the scenes” look at how their iconic strips were made.

Off The Strip features a diverse line-up of artists including:

Adam Reker, Casey Weldon, Damian King, Daniel Elson, David Bray, David Sheets, David Sossella, Downtimer, Frank M. Hansen, Jan Avendano, Jason Graham, Jeff T. Owens, Jing Wei, Jon Vermilyea, Keith Noordzy, Ken Garduno, Kyle Kesterson, Mark Bodnar, Matthieu Bessudo, Nate Van Dyke, Ric Stultz, Scott Stulen, Tommii Lim, Trevor Zammit, and Valery Milovic.

Opening Reception: Friday, July 16th, 2010 from 7- 10pm
On View: July 16^th – September 4^th, 2010

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One marvels at how an isolated teenager from the remote town of Westerway in Tasmania has arrived at the age of 25 and in the possession of such self-assured exuberance.  With one album already released and a second currently being recorded, I meet with Pross just as she is busy packing her bags for Sydney, having just won an APRA-sponsored trip to attend music discussions and workshops at Song Summit 2010.  “Everything is happening at once,” Pross grins.  “I’ve had this massive spurt of creativity and I’m waking up with songs in my head.  It’s so good, it’s just happening, my music is happening.”  For the envious among us, the truth is that Pross’s road was not always paved with yellow bricks.  It’s just that she learnt how to put on a brave face and get on with it.

From a young age Pross knew that her destiny lay beyond the restrictive confines of Tasmania.  Life at home continuously presented difficult challenges: at the age of four Pross and her two year old sister went to live with their mother’s new partner, whom had 6 children from a previous relationship.  Though the household atmosphere was always lively and high-spirited – Pross’s new dad, who loved to sing, referred to himself as American folk hero Davy Crockett – Pross struggled to find her place within the new family and never felt completely accepted.

These feelings of not belonging carried over into the schoolyard.  Rather than spending lunch-breaks gossiping and smoking cigarettes with the other girls, Pross chose to make tea for her Japanese teacher and chat about life.  “She used to say, ‘Bridgey, I think you are a very special person and you will go a long way if you want to’,” recalls Pross, with warmth in her eyes.  In fact as a result of those lunchtime chats, and a subsequent class trip to Japan, Pross realised that she wanted much more out of life than was available to her in Tasmania.

Unable, or unsure, to effectively communicate her thoughts and feelings with her loved ones, Pross instead vented her emotional baggage with the only tools she had at her disposal: a diary, her lungs, and an acoustic guitar gifted from her uncle.  “When I got my first guitar I had all this stuff to say,” Pross sighs, calmly, “’cause growing up I could say what I wanted to an extent, but not to the fullest potential like if I’d had my real father.  I knew it wasn’t my real Dad so it was a different dynamic.  I never called him Dad, it was always Dave.  It was just really, really different and I think that’s why I write songs now, ‘cause going through all that was a hard thing for me.”

Pross’s emancipation began towards the end of high school with trips to Hobart to play gigs within the local music scene.  Her talent was immediately recognised, winning the Most Promising Female award at the Tasmanian Rock Challenge.  A mini-tour of America followed, where Pross began recording tracks for an album.  In 2007 Pross found a new home in Melbourne and at the beginning of 2008 released her debut album, I Wanted To. The album collated songs Pross had been accumulating throughout her life.  With an agent and publicist now on board Pross’s star began to shine brightly.  Positive album reviews streamed in and a list of support gigs that would leave even the cream of Australia’s musicians slack-jawed followed; The Indigo Girls, Joe Cocker and Snow Patrol.

Pross’s destiny appeared to be on a trajectory towards chart success, international fame and riches.  So only one question remains: Why haven’t you heard of her yet?  “Too much too soon,” Pross answers thoughtfully, “the publicist and all that was great but I want to go back to playing solo gigs at wineries and develop a following that way, then take my band there.”  So money isn’t a driving force?  Pross shakes her head, laughing, “Even if I did make money it would just go into building a studio.”

Pross has begun studying Music Management and Development at TAFE with the goal of self-empowerment over her craft into the future.  A newly-blossomed romance brings hope and excitement into her life along with a renewed understanding of who she is and what her priorities are.  “I’m putting myself first and relationships come second.  It’s such an uplifting thing to be able to say ‘I’m Bridge, and then there’s someone who cares about me, but I’m Bridget Pross first’.”

Meanwhile, writing songs and performing live continues to be therapeutic for Pross.  “You can get something out of that sadness and do something with it as opposed to just being sad all the time.  It’s good to be in touch with who you are, it sets you free, which I’ve just realised.  You gotta be yourself, you can’t hide behind anything.”

Keep following Bridget’s journey here

Article written by Ryan Nance

The exhibition is a collaboration between 9 talented young printmakers with a multitude of different aesthetic and conceptual practices, each testing the boundaries of their practice and taking printmaking to the cutting edge.

Dirty Hands have chosen to adopt the concept of torn edges for their show at Hardware Gallery. Referencing the deckled edge often seen in fine art printmaking, and also the tearing away from traditional practices of printmaking and testing new boundaries, playing with combinations of new and old techniques, whilst still retaining a love for quality fine art printmaking.

What: Dirty Hands – Torn Edges Exhibition
When: 22nd June to 10th July 2010
Where: Hardware Gallery – 263 Enmore Road Enmore
Ph: 02 9550 4595
Cost: Free

Since 1997, audience figures for the event have increased at an average rate of 30% each year, rapidly outgrowing the intimate surrounds of the Greenwich Club. Today, the event includes in excess of 100 international films presented over 75 sessions at established cinema and nightclub venues across Perth. Revelation is Australia’s fastest growing annual film event.

It sees over 500 films submitted for selection from local and international filmmakers and includes an active, creative and argumentative screen conference component. Programmed as part of the Australian film festival season, Revelation actively interacts where possible with the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and New Zealand International Film Festivals and a range of Australian screen culture organisations with program and print sources and curated projects and guests and as a result fills the gap in the development of a truly national independent screen community.

Revelation was (and still is)  concerned with the conservative nature of film distribution and exhibition practice in Australia. It has always sought to deliberately challenge current marketplace modes and biases through unusual and contextualised screening concepts, focused curation and active interaction with industry guilds, independent curators, the academic community and other Arts related activity and practitioners.

Revelation maintains its focus on progressive and inspiring works and embraces audiences of all ages, tastes and backgrounds. Like the films it presents, the event maintains an energy and enthusiasm for the industry quite unlike any other film festival in the country.

What: Revelation – Perth International Film Festival
When: 8th till 18th July 2010
Where: In & around Perth
Cost: Varies