As I reflect on the four days I spent at the 2009 Dungog Film Festival, it is the above quote – from festival director Allanah Zitserman – that seems to be the easiest way to describe my experiences to you all.

Dungog is unlike any other film festival I have been to.  I saw many great Australian films, met many interesting people (film-makers, film-goers, and local residents), and listened to many enlightening film industry discussions.  What made it unique was that all of this took place in a small, northern-NSW rural town, three and a half hours out of Sydney.  This was not the Dendy in Newtown (my local inner-city cinema), this was foreign turf, and I was a wide-eyed tourist having my own little personal adventure.  I’m sure that every single one of the 6,000 people that flocked to the festival this year had their own personal adventure as well.  It’s the sort of thing that you really need to experience for yourself.

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“Film should act as a mirror to society, it should make people think”

I heard this quote – by Greek director, Carlos Gavros – via Australian film critic, David Stratton, during one of his film history lectures in 2008.  As some time passed, and my passion for cinema matured, this quote (or even mission statement) has become more and more resonant with me.  Film, as a medium, became more than simply a 90 minute cinema experience; it became an experience which got me thinking about the structure of our society.

I recently traveled out to Bankstown (a suburb in Sydney’s west, and one of Australia’s most culturally diverse areas), to see the Australian film ‘The Combination’.  The film is set and shot in another western Sydney suburb, Parramatta.  In fact, it was screened exclusively in these suburbs (apart from one inner-city arthouse cinema) – with distributors deciding that only those residing there would want to see it.

Put simply, ‘The Combination’ is not a technically brilliant film, it will not revolutionise Australian cinema (at least not in the conventional sense).  Yet David Stratton awarded it 4 ½ stars.  This is because the film explores issues both real and relevant – the structure of contemporary Australian society: where we are at as a country, and what the concerns are as the cultural demographics evolve.

‘The Combination’ focuses on the clash of cultures between Lebanese-Australians and white Anglo-Australians.  It is set during 2005, at the time of the infamous race-related riots in Cronulla, in Sydney’s south.  The story – written from personal experience by George Basha – follows the struggle of 2 Lebanese brothers as they try to find their place within Australian society.  Established Australian actor, David Field, directs the film; a role he gravitated towards because he strongly felt that similar social struggles could be understood by Vietnamese-Australians, Indian-Australians, African-Australians, South American-Australians, and so on and so on.  During meetings with George Basha, Field was surprised to learn that Basha had not seen the Australian films he was raising for discussion.  “Why would I, we [Lebanese-Australians] aren’t in any of them”, Basha retorted dismissively.  Field was silenced, as he realised that Australian films were not adequately portraying contemporary Australian stories.  It was this realisation that further solidified his drive to get the film made, despite a total lack of support from the Australian film industry funding bodies.

Australian cinema has a proud history of making quality human dramas; films which can confidently stand up to the esteem of European productions.  It would be great if we can continue this tradition with our eyes and ears open to the constantly changing nature of the structure of our society.  In doing so, we would be inviting our culturally diverse peoples to participate in, and embrace, our film industry.  ‘The Combination’ is one example of a full-length Australian feature film which explores the contemporary issue of racial tensions in Sydney’s western suburbs.  It will also be great when we start to see stories with universal themes (such as love, mistrust, and infidelity) featuring similar minority groups.  I look forward to seeing a ‘Lantana’ set in Bankstown.  Let’s advance Australia with a fair combination of cultures represented in our films.

Article written by Ryan Nance

You can also check out Two Flat Whites interview with one of the stars from The Combination, Clare Bowen here.

Also check out George Basha’s interview here.

Prey tells the story of six friends who head to the outback on a four-wheel drive adventure and come face-to-face with an ancient supernatural evil.  The three couples drive into a sacred site where they unknowingly awaken a 5000 year-old curse. Inspired by true unsolved events, Prey follows the group of 20-something’s into a vortex of serpentine fear; afterlife and psychological confrontations that make them question what is real and what is imagined.

Starring Aussie superstar Natalie Bassingthwaighte and US heart-throb Jesse Johnson, Prey is Bassingthwaighte’s first feature film. Of the experience, she says she embraced the challenge immediately and is looking forward to seeing it in cinemas. “I really enjoyed the opportunity and challenges of making my first film; I can’t wait to see it on the big screen. Prey is targeted towards teenagers but it easily appeals to anyone who enjoys thrillers. “This was my first film, so as an actor you tend to pocket your own instincts and rely more on the advice and vision of the film maker. Making Prey was a great experience and I hope it’s well-received,” says Bassingthwaighte.

Filmed in Victoria and central Australia, the film stars Natalie Bassingthwaighte as Kate, Jesse Johnson (Nash Bridges (with father Don Johnson), Redline) as Gus, and in supporting roles, Christian Clark (Squid and Gabriel) as Jason, Natalie Walker as Ling, Ben Kermode as Matt, Kristen Sargent as Annika, with guest appearances by the legendary Nicholas Bell, Dawn Klingberg and world poker champion, Joe Hashem.

Prey premieres in cinemas on the 5th May in Sydney and on the 7th May in Melbourne. The movie will run for a strictly limited season at selected cinemas throughout Australia ahead of the film’s DVD release.

This film hit me where it hurts.

Ever since I was old enough to have even the very beginnings of a social conscience, I felt that the colour of my skin automatically aligned me with a group of people who seemed to consistently invade lands, and hurt the people who lived there. In school you were taught about Australian history as it pertained to settlers migrating from the “motherlands” of England, Ireland, Scotland, etc. Never about how the people who ALREADY lived here used to go about their lives before that migration, *cough*, invasion… Never about their languages, beliefs, customs and traditions. Never.

This film depicts the all-to-real reality of what it’s like to be born into a downward spiral. Samson, a 15 year old Walpiri boy, and the film’s leading man, lives a monotonous and isolated outback life. His day begins with a compulsive inhalation of petrol from a can. Whilst a repetitive reggae riff is played outside his bedroom window by his brother’s band. The rest of his days are spent trying to stave off complete boredom – more often than not, unsuccessfully. The altered state of consciousness that petrol-sniffing brings is his only escape – and his only hobby.

In the same town is the teenage Delilah, with whom Samson is completely in love. Delilah is a mature-beyond-her-years young woman, who spends her days caring for her only apparent relative and companion, her nana, Kitty. Delilah wakes Kitty each morning to take her medication. She wheels Kitty to the local health clinic and church, then spends the rest of the day helping her to paint the dot-paintings that are in such high demand. The utter poverty in which they are forced to live is made all the more poignant when, later on, you discover how much these dot-paintings are sold for in the cities.

There is little more than a few sentences of dialogue in the entire film, perhaps less than half of that is in English. The lack of conversation between characters makes every gesture and glance feel as though it were magnified. The director, Warwick Thornton’s, attention to visual detail amplifies this even more. He is also the screenwriter. For someone who loves dialogue and conversation – I was surprised that I didn’t want to hear anyone speak. Like there was a danger it might detract from what was unspoken.

The beaten-black-and-blue love story between Samson and Delilah barely equates to more than a smile and a quick peck on the forehead, but rarely have I been so moved by an on-screen love as I have with these two.

This film must come with a warning: it will confront you and, quite likely, move you to tears, as it did me. You’re likely to feel the absolute desperation that these kids are living. You might ask yourself, ‘how did we come to this?’ and you might, like me, want to slap a few smug cafe-dwelling whities… I guess I should start with myself?

Samson & Delilah opens in Australian cinemas April 30th.

Director: Warwick Thornton
Screenwriter: Warwick Thornton
Cast: Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson, Mitjili Napanangka Gibson, Scott Thornton, Matthew Gibson, Steven Brown, Gregwyn Gibson, Noreen Robertson Nampijinpa

Article written by Hayley Van Es. You can catch Hayley on 3CR community radio as a co-presenter on the program ‘Girly is Good’.

Writer/Director Warwick Thornton is from the Katej people of Central Australia and grew up in Alice Springs.  His passion is to document his people’s stories and share them on a big screen.  He makes movies about his community, for his community.  While Thornton’s short-films have received numerous accolades from international film festivals, ‘Samson & Delilah’ is his debut feature-length film.

‘Samson & Delilah’ follows a straight narrative, with a beginning, middle, and end – or three acts.  The first shots of the film are centred on an adolescent Aboriginal boy, Samson (played by first-time actor Rowan McNamara), as he wakes up in his makeshift single-mattress bed.  The blazing Central Australian sun is streaming into his room, and his radio, tuned to an Indigenous country music station, is bursting with song praising the beautiful new day.  Samson adorns himself in a radiant yellow checked shirt, sweeps his sun-bleached matted hair from his face, and reaches for his morning mug.  These images are all quite delightful, so when we then see Samson engulf his entire mouth and nose in the mug, and inhale deeply, the depressing reality shatters this illusion.  Inside the mug is not freshly brewed coffee, as one may have thought, but greasy, grotty petroleum.  This opening montage sets the tone for the film, and informs the audience that there will be no rose-coloured glasses approach.

Despite this grim introduction, Thornton’s film is still best labeled as a (very raw) love story.  Samson’s clumsy and juvenile displays of affection are directed towards Delilah (also a first-time acting performance, played by Marrisa Gibson) – a girl around the same age, who lives with and cares for her elderly grandmother (Mitjili Naparangka Gibson).  At first, Delilah shrugs off Samson’s persistent advances, although her grandmother cackles at what she sees as an inevitable romance.  It is not until Delilah by chance spots Samson dancing in the middle of the night that she sees something in him that sparks an unconditional love.  Even as a voyeuristic audience member, there is a real feeling of intimacy in watching the half-naked young man express himself free of all inhibition.  Perhaps this outpouring of pure freedom is what ignites Delilah’s senses, and gives her a vision of hope for a brighter future.  In any case, it is a really profound moment and one that will be forever etched into the history of memorable scenes from great Australian films.

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The really wonderful thing about film is that it can be open for anyone and everyone to participate.  All that is required is a video camera and an idea – whether you’re making a movie in Hollywood, in Bollywood, or…in Glebe.

Indeed, there I was – just five days after Hollywood’s night of nights, the Oscars – strolling through the gritty streets of Glebe on my way to a community cinema event put on by Glebe Youth Service.  One of the primary goals of the Youth Service has been to help guide the young (and often disadvantaged) people of Glebe to a positive future.  The youth workers firmly believe that this can be achieved by working with the youth on activities that bring the community together.  Tonight’s event was coordinated by one of their tireless workers, Keiran Kevans.  Keiran is surely one of the most selfless people you’re likely to meet in the welfare industry – and that’s saying something!

One of the movies screened – a short-film called The Badge – was produced by Short Black Films.  Short Black Films is an initiative funded by the City of Sydney Council and run by Australian actor Vincent McManus.  The idea behind Short Black Films is that they go into various inner-west suburbs and work with the local Aboriginal youth to put together short-films.  The young people are involved in all aspects of the process.  This includes initial brainstorming and discussion of themes, through to writing the script, acting in the film, and even producing music for the sound track.  It is through this open collaboration that the great success of Short Black Films reveals itself.  Show me a teenager who wouldn’t be excited to see him/herself in a movie.  Or be thrilled to hear their music accompany a movie.  Or revel in hearing a crowd laugh at a joke they had written.  As soon as any form of ownership is associated with a project, there comes a feeling of pride, worth, and ultimately, inspiration.

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The Combination saw its world premiere at Parramatta’s Riverside theatre last night, after “seven years in the making”.

Although rain had been expected, it didn’t stop the celebrities from turning out in full force to what might be this year’s sleeper film. Sports stars Anthony Mundine and Hazam El Mazeri, as well as Underbelly’s Gyton Grantley, Matthew Newton and Peter Phelps mingled with the crowd on the red carpet before the screening.

(Photo by Gaye Gerard/Getty Images AsiaPac)

The atmosphere was intense with anticipation, as many people had not seen the preview screenings and had no idea what to expect. We were then ushered into the Riverside’s glorious theatre. Parramatta’s Lord Mayor Tony Issa took the stage for a “short” speech, before John Pirrie, David Field and George Basha held the audience’s attention, outlining the struggle it had been to get The Combination off the ground.

There was a rapturous applause as the final credits rolled and the actors took the stage. The acting from the first timers, especially Rahel Abdul Rahmen, was outstanding. Let’s hope the rest of the country gets behind The Combination.

Lateline Article and Video on The Combination

Article written by Klaus Kinski

It’s not often you get to see how Australian films are put together. So it was exciting to see how The Combination progressed – from looking for people in a local newspaper, to early rehearsals in a small office space in the middle of Rydalmere (surrounded by industrial sites), and then finally to garnering screenings in some of the biggest cinemas across the country.

Australian films with violent Middle Eastern themes generally don’t have the government rushing to support them, and you would be right in recalling the old adage It’s not what you know. This rings true in most cases and that’s why we see so much rubbish on screen. In any case, it’s no surprise that while HoWARd was in power, funding to the arts diminished at a rate not seen since the great depression.

The Combination was put together with private funding and filmed mainly in Granville, which is why it’s great to see a movie like this finally make its way to the big screen.

The Combination is a story written by and starring George Basha, who grew up in Guildford and who, between stints as a tradesman, has had minor acting roles in other Australian films including Blackrock.

Directed by one of Australia’s most respected actors, David Field, The Combination will be his directorial debut. The film is produced by the lovable screenwriter John Pirrie of See Thru Films.

Filming was completed by none other than Toby Oliver of Looking For Alibrandi fame and was filmed on RED (you can read about it on his blog). The film was edited by Ken Sallows whose work includes the brilliant Australian film Chopper (Hi Chop!). So whatever you might think, you know it will look fantastic.

Will The Combination be anything like Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Café Lumière? No, It will be more like a Takeshi Kitano Flick, say Sonantine. Excitement, violence, and a few kicks!

http://www.thecombination.com.au/

The Combination is in Cinemas Feb 26th.

Article brought to you from our friends at Design Federation.

Two of Australia’s most widely recognised and respected film critics are undoubtedly David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz.  Both have a long-standing, often symbiotic, relationship with the Australian film industry, and both are as supportive as they are critical towards any new release film produced by our nation.  Like most others with an interest in quality adult cinema, it is with great pleasure that I tune into their weekly film review TV show, ‘At The Movies‘.  Mostly I agree with their opinions.  However, while discussing the 2008 Australian film, ‘Ten Empty‘, a bemused David pondered, “what audience the film is targeting?”  Margaret hummed in agreement.  This comment has been floating around in my head whenever I think about the state of the Australian film industry.

Having seen, and really enjoyed “Ten Empty”, I struggled to understand this somewhat dismissive remark from such highly influential reviewers.  The film is basically a winter version of the comparatively sun-tanned Australian production ‘The Black Balloon‘ (a film which was both critically and commercially well received).  Both films centre around the son in a disadvantaged family and his journey to find his position within the family. The films are thematically similar, though the tone is much bleaker and more realistic in ‘Ten Empty‘.  Both are very powerful films, and both are superb representations of Australian filmmakers exploring meaningful social realism.

What audience does it target?  My immediate reaction was “anyone and everyone”.  Whether or not you personally relate to the situations in the film, there is still a great deal of empathy one can gain through the shared experiences of others – on and/or off screen.  However, I understand where David and Margaret were coming from: both are well aware of the dire state of the general public’s attitude towards Australian films.  Over the last 10 years an average of just 4.3% of box office revenue in Australia has come from Australian films.  American films swallow up a greedy 82%.

Should this mean that we gear our movies towards a more US-centric audience?  Well, they would probably be more profitable (‘The Black Balloon‘ focused its marketing campaign around its tabloid magazine co-star, Gemma Ward), but would they remain an honest and credible reflection of Australian culture and values? (Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Australia‘, for all its joy and heart, is still very much tailored to an American mythology of Australian life).

And since when does the notion of profitability act as any kind of barometer of the success or relevance of a film?  That in itself is an Imperialist American theology. Discussing his most recent film, 2007’s ‘The Diving Bell & The Butterfly‘, artist/director Julian Schnabel scoffed at the question of how profitable the film would be:  “I make money from selling my paintings, I don’t expect to make any money from my films, I make them because they are stories I want to tell”.  If one were to judge the success of  “The Diving Bell & The Butterfly” by how it affected people, then it wouldn’t be off the mark to label it as one of the most successful films ever made.  The film, based on the real-life story of a man with a severe disability conveying his memoirs to a nurse, was screened in hundreds of hospitals around Europe, inspiring patients who were uplifted by the brave and determined tale.

Filmmaking coming from this ethos – of giving rather than taking – is what makes cinema, as an art form, so wonderful.  “Film should act as a mirror to society, it should make people think”, declared Greek director Costa Gavros.  Australian cinema has a long, proud history of making good quality Australian stories.  Whilst the general public’s apathy towards our industry is an issue that needs to be addressed, I don’t think that compromising to cater for their current tastes is in any way helpful.

Finally, a quote from James Jupp (author of ‘From White Australia To Woomera, The Story Of Australian Immigration’), which I believe can be aptly applied to the future of the Australian film industry -  “I accept that politicians must work within limits set by public opinion.  But I do not accept that majority opinion is always right.  Changing public opinion is a necessary feature of democracy and, in this area, often essential”.

Article written by Ryan Nance.

Ryan’s passion for good adult cinema has really blossomed, and shows no sign of waning. Check out some of his other reviews right here.

Horror films are not normally my cup of tea, but don’t let that stop you from watching this little Aussie gem, low budget, no stars cast of a film set in one of the most beautiful places in the world, outback Australia.

Three everyday, exoteric Australians stop by to visit Mum. From there, they hump the bluey on a short holiday to the Northern Territory. They come across a little tour company & decide to embark on a spot of angling. There fishing trip turns into a thrilling adventure whereby a 12 foot Crocodile spoils there party. The cast of Diana Glenn, Maeve Dermody, Andy Rodoreda, Ben Oxenbould & Fiona Press turn this flick into one must see movie. They ensure that your eyes are glued to the big screen.

Black Water depicts mate ship, hard ache, love, terror, ingenuity & courage. Directors David Nerlich & Andrew Traucki debut with a wonderful effort showing that the Australian film industry has much to offer. Get out & grab yourself a copy of this Australian film today.

Article written by Liam Gibbs