The mega-budget extravagance of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby faces off against the meagre means of Kim Morduant’s The Rocket in what is shaping up as a David and Goliath arm-wrestle at this year’s Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards.

Nominations for the 3^rd annual industry sector backslap were announced today, with Ivan Sen’s Mystery Road, Tony Krawitz’s Dead Europe (5 nominations) and the anthology effort The Turning (7 nominations) rounding out most nods in the key categories.

Our most flamboyant director’s take on F Scott Fitzgerald’s very American literary classic divided critics but did enough to earn 14 nominations, the most of any film from the qualifying period. Amongst its noms are Film, Director, Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Actress (Carey Mulligan) and three names across the two supporting acting fields (Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Elizabeth Debicki). As expected, the state of the art production dominated the technical sections, with costume design, production design, sound and editing all honoured. Craig Armstrong’s music and Luhrmann and Craig Pearce’s adapted screenplay are also in the running.

MIFF’s Audience award winner, The Rocket (pictured, right), nabbed 11 nominations, including Film, Director and Original Screenplay. The film’s diminutive and charismatic leading man, Sitthiphon Disamoe, scored a Best Actor nomination (a category that he has already won, at the Tribeca Film Festival). Co-star Alice Keohavong snared a Supporting Actress mention; Thep Phongam, so memorable as ‘Uncle Purple’, is Supporting Actor nominated. 

The Rocket is one of the films that explore the plight of indigenous cultures that have been recognised by the AACTA voting committee. Ivan Sen’s crime thriller Mystery Road (6 nominations) and Catriona McKenzie’s Satellite Boy (2 nominations) are contenders, as is Rodd Rathjen’s Himalayan-set story of personal discovery, Tau Seru (Small Yellow Field), which is vying for Best Short Fiction Film honours.

No doubt surprising some but delighting many of those that saw the film was the recognition afforded Colin and Cameron Cairnes pitch-black horror-comedy 100 Bloody Acres, which snared Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Angus Sampson; pictured, left) nods. Categories were further filled out by Mark Lamprell’s Goddess (3 nominations), Anne Fontaine’s Adoration (4 nominations) and Ben Nott and Morgan O’Neill’s Drift (4 nominations).

First among notable omissions must be Aaron Pedersen’s commanding lead turn in Mystery Road, along with stellar work by Robin Wright (Adoration), Damon Herriman and Anna McGahan (100 Bloody Acres), Judd Overton (DOP on Return to Nim’s Island) and several of the creative team behind Boyd Hicklin’s cricket comedy Save Your Legs.

The full list of nominees for the 2013 AACTA Awards, including Short Film, Documentary and Television categories can be found here. 

The films that will battle out the 2014 Oscar ceremony convey a sense that the power brokers amongst Hollywood’s ivory towers are rewarding their own Generation X influences, ie money, fame and fantasy, with a thin coating of honourable indignation. David O’Russell’s wildly self-indulgent spin on self-indulgence, American Hustle, and Alfonso Cuaron’s existential sci-fi saga, Gravity (pictured, below) lead the nominations with 10 nods, followed by Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave with 9, in a field that showed scant regard for old-school, Oscar-friendly contenders.

BEST PICTURE:

American Hustle Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
Captain Phillips Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers
Dallas Buyers Club Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers
Gravity Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers
Her Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers
Nebraska Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers
Philomena Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
12 Years a Slave Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers
The Wolf of Wall Street Nominees to be determined
But what about…?: Oscar voters displayed a sparrow’s attention span this year, with no film prior to the early October release date of Gravity earning a Picture nomination. Which meant no glory for Lee Daniel’s The Butler, Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station or Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. The Coen Brother’s long, happy history with the Academy was halted with the shut-out of Inside Llewyn Davis; Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight might’ve figured at one point. Unlike past years, no foreign language or animated feature stepped up.

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

Christian Bale in American Hustle
Bruce Dern in Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club (pictured, below)
But what about…?: Bale and DiCaprio were no certainties and point to a younger influence amongst AMPAS members; even Bruce Dern, the one veteran amongst the group, is a counter-culture figure who has often been at odds with the studio system. The most glaring no-shows are Robert Redford (All is Lost) and Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips and Saving Mr Banks), though consider that Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Joaquin Phoenix (Her), Forrest Whittaker (Lee Daniel’s The Butler), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt) and Hugh Jackman (Prisoners) also missed out.

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Amy Adams in American Hustle
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine (pictured, below)
Sandra Bullock in Gravity
Judi Dench in Philomena
Meryl Streep in August: Osage County
But what about…?: The British. Sure, Judi Dench is deservedly present, but where are past Oscar favourites Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) and Kate Winslet (Labor Day), both of whom deserved a nod over Ms Streep’s histrionics in August: Osage County. The presence of Dench and Aussie icon Cate Blanchett can’t hide the fact that international cinema was disgracefully ignored in this category, with Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Berenice Bejo (The Past) and Zhang Ziyi (The Grandmaster) all missing out.

BEST DIRECTOR:
American Hustle David O. Russell
Gravity Alfonso Cuarón
Nebraska Alexander Payne
12 Years a Slave Steve McQueen
The Wolf of Wall Street Martin Scorsese (pictured, below, on-set)
But what about…?: Spike Jonze earned an Original Screenplay nomination for Her, but if the film was going to be a serious contender he needed to feature here. Hanks’ snubbing suggests Captain Phillips fell out of favour at some point, explaining Paul Greengrass’ omission. Perennials such as Allen and the Coen’s lost momentum; newcomers JC Chandor (All is Lost) and Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyer’s Club) have put the Academy on notice. A longshot was PeterBerg for his masculine handling of the action in Lone Survivor, but that didn’t pan out.

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper in American Hustle (pictured, below)
Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club
But what about…?: Jonah Hill is the category bolter, having found no love from most of the award ceremonies to date. His inclusion probably bumped the late James Gandolfini (Enough Said), John Goodman (Inside Llewyn Davis) or possibly James Franco (Spring Breakers). Daniel Bruhl was unlucky, having been great in both Rush and The Fifth Estate, two box-office non-starters.

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts in August: Osage County
June Squibb in Nebraska
But what about…?: Oprah. Also Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour) and Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street), but it was Ms Winfrey who appeared podium-bound when The Butler became a breakout hit.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
The Act of Killing Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen (pictured, below)
Cutie and the Boxer Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
Dirty Wars Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
The Square Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
20 Feet from Stardom Nominees to be determined
But what about…?: The role that Gabriella Cowperthwaite’s stunning Blackfish has played in changing the way the public view sea mammals in captivity has been as profoundly impactful as the similarly-themed 2010 Oscar winner in this category, The Cove. Also notably absent is Sarah Polley’s vividly original Stories We Tell, which has won LA and NYC film critic honours and the National Board of Review Best Docomentary prize.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
The Croods Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
Despicable Me 2 Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
Ernest & Celestine Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
Frozen Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
The Wind Rises Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
But what about…?: Pixar. Planes was sub-par and never stood a chance, but surely Monster’s University had the edge on Despicable Me 2. It is only the second time Pixar have not featured in this category; the previous no-show was Cars 2.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
The Broken Circle Breakdown Belgium
The Great Beauty Italy (pictured, below)
The Hunt Denmark
The Missing Picture Cambodia
Omar Palestine
But what about…?: AMPAS really stuck it to their French colleagues, all but ignoring the eligible films that featured amongst the Cannes 2013 winner’s list (The Past; Ilo Ilo; Heli). Despite critical momentum, Australia’s The Rocket (utilizing the Lao dialect), Brazil’s Neighbouring Sounds, Hong Kong’s The Grandmaster and Saudi Arabia’s Wadjda were unrewarded.

For a full list of nominations for the 86^th Academy Awards, click here.

The 86th Academy Awards will be held on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles.

The most critically divisive Australian film of 2013 has swept the pool at the 2013 AACTA Awards. Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby carried momentum from the the luncheon awards function, where his F Scott Fitzgerald adaptation acquired all the technical categories on offer.

The highly-touted, ‘David-vs-Goliath’ showdown between Kim Morduant’s The Rocket and Luhrmann’s mega-budgeted, studio-backed pic proved far less potent than the match-up promised. Mordaunt’s Lao-language critical darling, whose 12 nominations placed it in a neck-&-neck tussle with Gatsby’s 14 nods leading into the contest, went home with just a single trophy for Original Screenplay.

Baz Luhrmann’s passion project captured six gongs at the gala event, snaring Best Film, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actor (for Leonardo Dicaprio), Supporting Actor (Joel Edgerton) and Supporting Actress (Elizabeth Debicki). At the daytime function, Luhrmann’s American Dream epic took home trophies for Cinematography (Simon Duggan), Editing (Matt Villa ASE, Jason Ballantine ASE and Jonathan Redmond), Sound (Wayne Pashley MPSE, Jenny Ward MPSE, Fabian Sanjurjo, Steve Maslow, Phil Heywood and Guntis Sics), Original Music (Craig Armstrong), Production Design (Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Ian Gracie and Beverley Dunn), Costume Design (Catherine Martin, Silvana Azzi Heras and Kerry Thompson) and Visual Effects (Chris Godfrey, Prue Fletcher, Tony Cole and Andy Brown).

Gatsby’s sweep did not envelope the Best Actress category, which went to Rose Byrne for the portmanteau project, The Burning.

Pre-ordained recipients included Jackie Weaver,  who took home the AACTA Raymond Longford Award; the Australian Cinematographers Society left with the prestige Byron Kennedy Award honours.

The full list of winners (highlighted below) are:

FEATURE FILM

 AACTA AWARD FOR BEST FILM
DEAD EUROPE Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Liz Watts

THE GREAT GATSBY Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher and Catherine Knapman.
MYSTERY ROAD David Jowsey

THE ROCKET Sylvia Wilczynski

SATELLITE BOY David Jowsey, Julie Ryan and Catriona McKenzie

THE TURNING Robert Connolly, Maggie Miles and The Turning Ensemble

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION
THE GREAT GATSBY Baz Luhrmann
MYSTERY ROAD Ivan Sen

THE ROCKET Kim Mordaunt

THE TURNING The Turning Ensemble

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
100 BLOODY ACRES Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes

DRIFT Morgan O'Neill and Tim Duffy

MYSTERY ROAD Ivan Sen

THE ROCKET Kim Mordaunt

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ADORATION Christopher Hampton

DEAD EUROPE Louise Fox

THE GREAT GATSBY Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce
THE TURNING The Turning Ensemble

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio THE GREAT GATSBY
Sitthiphon Disamoe THE ROCKET

Ewen Leslie DEAD EUROPE

Hugo Weaving THE TURNING

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Rose Byrne THE TURNING
Carey Mulligan THE GREAT GATSBY

Tasma Walton MYSTERY ROAD

Naomi Watts ADORATION

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Marton Csokas DEAD EUROPE

Joel Edgerton THE GREAT GATSBY
Thep Phongam THE ROCKET

Angus Sampson 100 BLOODY ACRES

AACTA AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Elizabeth Debicki THE GREAT GATSBY
Isla Fisher THE GREAT GATSBY

Mirrah Foulkes THE TURNING

Alice Keohavong THE ROCKET

The 2014 Byron Bay International Film Festival (BBIFF) is a mere four days into its 10 day run and already its well-earned reputation as a festival committed to fostering Australian talent has been strengthened. The eclectic tastes of Festival director J’aimee Skippon-Volke (pictured, below) ensured that opinion was widely divided amongst the festival crowds, who have enjoyed passionate discussions about the Australian content programmed. Below are snapshot reviews of some of the more challenging works from the festival’s opening salvo of homegrown works…

HEAVEN (Dir: Maziar Lahooti; 14 mins)
Confronting the local smack dealer James (Wayne Davies) at gunpoint, an elderly man (Don Reid) demands to be taken through the process of injecting a dangerously high amount of heroin. Maziar Lahooti’s beautifully shot but relentlessly bleak drama unfolds in a compellingly fragmented structure that provocatively asks its audience to consider not only the nature of one of modern societies most divisive issues but also their own definition of true love. It is a downer, though… Rating: 3.5/5

HUNGRY MAN (Dir: Jordan Prosser; 17 mins; Official website)
Echoes of Wes Anderson’s idiosyncratic characters, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s darkly-stylish composition and David Cronenberg’s body-horror ickiness are evident in Jordan Prosser’s gleefully ghoulish romp. Declan (Brendan Barnett) eats what the tapeworm in his gut tells him to eat; the lovely Jennifer Feathers (a wonderful Jennifer Frew; pictured, right) is attracted to Declan, and he to her. But only because the tapeworm craves the one meat that Declan has yet to injest… An edgy, odd, engaging tone turns downright horrifying in a final shot that left an unsuspecting audience gasping. Rating: 4.5/5

ADVANCE AUSTRALIAN FILM (Dir: Courtney Dawson; 60 mins; Official website)
Courtney Dawson parades a bevy of talking heads before her camera in Advance Australian Film, a cry for help in answering the question, “How do we revive the commercial life of our film industry?” The debutant documentarian employs historical context, current ‘buzz’ topics and solid star wattage; A-listers such as Russell Crowe and Baz Luhrmann were nabbed unawares at red carpet premieres and offer soundbite responses at best. It is the opinions of the more low-key festival directors, curators, analysts and up-and-comers that provide Dawson’s films with its most worthwhile moments. Occasionally sounds a little too much like a boozy Friday arvo on a film shoot, where everyone knows what’s wrong (“I mean, where’s the next Mad Max?!”) but no one has an answer. But Dawson’s passion for the sector is clear and commendable. Rating: 3/5 

CONDOM (Dir: Sheldon Lieberman; 4 mins)
The latest hilarious short from the Spike and Dadda web-series had its World Premiere at BBFF and proved every bit as hilariously winning as the episodes to date (all of them online here). Dadda is faced with one of those parenting moments, when his little boy Spike wants to know what a condom is; Dadda finds himself spiralling down a rabbit hole of awkwardness. Minimalist but wonderfully expressive animation and a great script earned Condom the biggest laughs of the Festival to date. Rating: 4/5

TWO BROTHERS WALKING (Dir: David Salomon; 49 mins; Official website)
The spiritual legacy passed through centuries of indigenous culture is explored within the framework of two men - one raised by tribal bush laws, the other only just beginning to fully comprehend his ancestry. Together they impart the essence of Wanampi Inma, a song and dance ritual that tells the story of the Rainbow Serpent and continues to bind generations. David Salomon’s bare-bones, ‘old school’-style doco is an intimate, densely-layered exploration of Aboriginal lore as it pertains to the lives and journeys of two fascinating individuals. Rating: 4/5

A WOMAN’S DEEPER JOURNEY INTO SEX (Dir: Sally McKenzie; 75 mins; Official website)
Even at 75 minutes, Sally McKenzie’s playful but puerile glimpse inside the hearts, minds and vaginas of the modern woman overstays its welcome. The director would serve both her film and her audience a great service by discarding all the bridging scenes that involve the construct ‘Detective Lacey’, a film noir-ish character who guides us through this ‘investigation’ of female sexuality. There are some interesting facts and fun characters, but McKenzie struggles to offer anything very new to say; how women relate to pornography, sex toys, male prostitution, etc is addressed, but the first person accounts are trite, the tone giggly and the academic input undervalued. An extended sequence of female-friendly porn clips is gratuitous. The concept may work better as smallscreen fare, where the ‘Lacey’ scenes can be jettisoned and content left on the cutting room floor can be reinstated for a more in-depth study. Rating: 2/5

The Byron Bay International Film Festival will run until March 9 at venues in Byron Bay and selected regional venues. Ticket and program information can be found on the Festival site.

SCREEN-SPACE is on the Festival judging panel and attending as a guest of the Festival.

Few come close to the unbridled joy that David Hannay felt for cinema. The Australian producer was at the forefront of the local film resurgence in the 1970’s and remained a passionate promoter of talent up until his passing, on Monday March 31, having been diagnosed with cancer in April 2012. He was 74.

Known for shepherding such productions as the Ozploitation classics Stone (1974) and The Man From Hong Kong (1975), Hannay was, in fact, the true ‘multi-hyphenate’. He stepped before his own cameras to fill bit parts, most recently in his 2001 family film, Hildegarde; provided uncredited screenplay doctoring in conjunction with his writers on several projects, despite only seeking one writing credit, on 1988’s The Shadowed Mind; and, would oversee pre- and post-production duties on his films with an encyclopaedic knowledge that earned him the utmost respect from his colleagues.

Born June 23, 1939, in New Zealand, he began his love affair with the performing arts at the age of nine, debuting on stage in a school production. By 1958, he had entry into the production sector with a casting assistant position at Artransa Park Studios in Sydney’s north-west for Leslie Norman’s Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (pictured, right; aka, Season of Passion), an international production of Ray Lawler’s Australian classic starring Ernest Borgnine, John Mills and Anne Baxter. He spent the next decade accumulating experience in a multitude of production tasks across both film and television mediums.

His first production credit would be in 1970, as executive producer on Frank Brittain’s groundbreaking drama, The Set. One of the earliest and most forthright depictions of homosexuality on Australian screens, it exhibited Hannay’s particular skill of combining hot-button social issues with insightful commentary and commercial instinct. This ethic secured him the role of Head of Production at Gemini Productions in 1970 and led to his guiding influence on such projects as the top-rating docos Jesus Christ Superstar (1972) and Kung Fu Killers (1974) and hit TV series The Godfathers, The People Next Door and The Unisexers.

In the early 70s, Hannay (pictured, left; in 1973) began developing a tough-minded undercover cop story set against the world of outlaw bikie gangs. The vision began to coalesce as a vehicle for wild-man actor/director Sandy Harbutt, whom Hannay had met whilst producing the 1972 TV movie Crisis. In 1974, the R-rated action thriller Stone was released and became a box-office smash; Hannay, who also had a production credit on the bawdy big-screen version of the TV series Number 96 and executive-produced Brian Trenchard-Smith’s The Man from Hong Kong, was at the forefront of one of the most commercially successful periods in Australian cinema history.

Hannay parlayed his profile into several interesting projects. He would co-produce with writer/director Tony Williams on the drama Solo (1978), an Australian-New Zealand co-production; exhibit a playful touch with Peter Maxwell’s action/comedy Touch and Go (1980), with Wendy Hughes and Chantal Contouri; cast up-and-comer Jon Blake in the thriller Early Frost (1982), a troubled production that saw Hannay step into the director’s chair for the only time in his career; and, secured Hollywood star James Coburn for his 1986 prestige picture, the true-life story Death of a Soldier, from director Phillipe Mora.

Other highlights from a production career spanning five decades include Oliver Schmitz’s anti-apartheid thriller, Mapantsula (1988; pictured, right), for which he was given the Human Rights Australia Film Award; George Miller’s Gross Misconduct (1993), with Jimmy Smits and Naomi Watts; Aden Young and Zoe Carides in Shotgun Wedding (1993), from director Paul Harmon; the Australian/French co-production, Love in Ambush (1997), adapted from Loup Durand’s novel by director Carl Schultz and starring Jacques Perrin and Sigrid Thornton; and, Murray Fahey’s black comedy/horror Cubbyhouse (2001), with Joshua Leonard. Hannay’s final producer’s credit was David Huggett’s 2012 musical documentary, Once Around The Sun.

David Hannay’s full silvery beard made him easy to spot at industry events, where he enjoyed networking with old friends and making many new ones (he was particularly proud of the thirteen first-time directors whose debut projects he produced). An avid attendee of the Cannes marketplace, the Screen Producer’s Association of Australia (SPAA) annual conference and the exhibitor/distributor confab The Australian International Movie Convention, the adoration for the late David Hannay can be measured by the honours bestowed upon him by his peers – the Producer’s and Director’s Guild Lifetime achievement honour in 1996; the Australian Cinema Pioneers Society highest honour, Pioneer of the Year; the inaugural Maura Fay Award recipient for industry service at the 2002 SPAA event; the coveted Raymond Longford award, the highest honour bestowed by the Australian Film Institute, in 2007; and, the National Film and Sound Archive Ken G Hall Award for Film Preservation in 2011.

A long time resident of Yeltholme in the New South Wales rural western region, he established the Bathurst Film Factory co-operative in November 2012, to foster the filmmaker talent in the area. In one of his final interviews, he spoke of influencing his favourite artform long after his demise, which he knew to be imminent. “Whatever time I’ve got, I want to devote to the next generation,” Mr Hannay said. “That’s my obligation, my passion.”

David Hannay is survived by his wife, author Mary Moody (pictured, right), and their four children. A memorial service will be held at a date to be advised in the weeks ahead.

Footnote: I spent many hours talking movies with David, a gentleman whose grace, enthusiasm and experience inspired me. I lunched with him in 2011, discussing a documentary project on the loss of regional cinemas, which I regret never came to fruition. The meeting went well into the afternoon, allowing David to reminisce about his career and friends. I will be forever grateful for the time he afforded me. My prayers go to his family. He will be missed.

The Rocket upped its award season tally further with director Kim Morduant (pictured, below) taking home the top honour at the Australian Director’s Guild annual ceremony, held tonight at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney’s CBD.

Morduant’s trophy cabinet has grown heavy since the film hit the international festival circuit; in addition to the honours he has amassed as director of the low-budget drama, his script was recognised by the Australian Film Institute and Australian Writer’s Guild.

The win represents the 26^th international trophy that the Australian/Laotian/Thai co-production has snared, which has previously won kudos from such renowned judging bodies as Berlin Film Festival, Calgary Film Festival and Film Critics Circle of Australia; it has also won audience awards at the Tribeca, Leeds, Cinekid, Sydney, Melbourne and American Film Institute festivals.

The Feature Documentary Award went to Sophia Turkiewicz (pictured, right) for her autobiographical chronicle, Once My Mother. The deeply moving film tells of the director’s investigation into her family heritage, where she explores why her Polish mother might have abandoned her when she was only seven years of age.

Julietta Boscolo received the Best Director Short Film Award for her drama, Sam’s Gold, a project that was awarded Screen NSW’s Emerging Filmmaker Fund. It is the first win for Boscolo, who has enjoyed warm acceptance for her film from such festivals as Perth’s Revelation Festival (where it premiered in 2013), the Brisbane International Film Festival, the recent Byron Bay Film Festival and will screen at the prestigious St Kilda Film Festival on May 28. Her previous short, Safe, was nominated for top honours at the Canberra Film Festival. (Read the SCREEN-SPACE interview with Boscolo here).

In a cross-cultural show of support, the Director’s Guild of America partners with their Australian colleagues and funds the Finders Award, an initiative that ensures US exposure for a feature film that has yet to find American distribution. The 2014 recipient was Catriona McKenzie for her film Satellite Boy; the director will now accompany the film at industry screenings in Los Angeles and New York.

The honorees reflect the progressive industry stance adopted by the Australian Director’s Guild, with seven of the sixteen category winners being female filmmakers; all six directors nominated for the Documentary Feature honour were women.

The full list of winners from the 2014 ADG Awards can be found here. 

Adelaide’s iconic Mercury Cinema will roll out the red carpet on May 16 for the annual The South Australian Screen Awards, the prestigious event celebrating its 15^th anniversary in 2014. Honouring the filmmakers of arguably the most vibrant state film sector in Australia, the gala welcomes dignitaries to an evening that honours the region’s short-film visionaries across 16 key categories. Ahead of the event, SCREEN-SPACE profiles the nominees in one of the most hotly contested fields, the Best Short Drama.

ENFILADE
Plot: A man awakens in a room with two doors. Each door “loops” into the other. The only objects within the room are a red ball and a revolver containing a single bullet. How do you escape a loop?
Watch if you liked: Cube (Vincenzo Natali, 1997); Symbol (Hitoshi Matsumoto, 2009) 
The most important lesson I learnt from the film-making experience was…: “…resources matter in filmmaking. We made Enfilade without funding on a budget of $2900 with a crew consisting nearly entirely of students. We are incredibly grateful to the kindness exhibited to us by family, friends, filmmakers, non-filmmakers, mentors and local businesses that allowed us to create a film beyond our monetary means.” – David Coyle, Director (pictured, above).

OMEGA
Plot: Australia has gone dark, one city after another fades out into the night. A comet looms in the sky, its silent approach filling the population with dread. What will this comet bring? What is Omega? An apocalyptic vision seen through the eyes of an idealistic soldier (Adam Schmerl; pictured, right) and the nurse he loves (Kate Englefield).
Watch if you liked: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Lorene Scafaria, 2012); Miracle Mile (Steve De Jarnatt, 1988).
The most important lesson I learnt from the film-making experience was…: “…not to underestimate the support and determination of the Adelaide film community. Despite not having a film school behind me, I was still afforded the opportunity of having both industry professionals and fellow new starters (such as myself) to help realise Omega and bring it to completion." – Peter Ninos, Director.

BORDER
Plot: Grief and guilt erode the already fractured existence of the teenage Lara (Emma Watson) and her father (Gary Harrison), all that is left of an idyllic life torn apart by tragedy. When her young love Vince (Russell Lucas) reappears, Lara is torn between the memory of a once happy family and her desire to be with Vince, despite her father’s wishes.
Watch if you liked: Puberty Blues (Bruce Beresford, 1981); River’s Edge (Tim Hunter, 1986).
The most important lesson I learnt from the film-making experience was…: “…trusting the process.  Meaning that if you know what your vision is and if you believe in yourself and your vision, and if you pick the right people to help you in the journey, then most likely the result will be something good." – Nima Raoofi, Director (pictured, left). 

PALE BLUE DOT:
Plot: Franciose (Mandahla Rose; pictured, right) is an astronaut, her interstellar journey bringing her back to a home planet that has all but been destroyed. She reunites with her husband, who lives an idyllic existence by the ocean, but Franciose knows she must return to her time to warn the planet of its impending demise. But can she go back?
Watch if you liked: Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972); The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky, 2006).
The most important lesson I learnt from the film-making experience was…: “…never be afraid of being smart but try not to be too clever for the films good. Showing off can distract from the storytelling.” – Aaron Schuppan, Director.

DELUGE:
Plot: The planet is consumed by a flood of biblical proportions, the rain forcing small groups of survivors into dark, underground enclaves where their faith and sanity are tested. So desperate is this existence, one group has turned to the ritualistic drowning of children. The last in line, a 12 year-old boy named Briggs (Elijah Baker), may be mankind’s only hope of survival.    
Watch if you liked: 1984 (Michael Radford, 1984); Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006). 
The most important lesson I learnt from the film-making experience was…: “…to always follow your vision, no matter how stressful or cluttered the process becomes. Don't take the shortcut. Fight for what you want to be on the screen.” – Danny Philippou, Co-director (pictured, left; with co-director, Michael Philippou).

The 2014 South Australian Screen Awards will be held at The Mercury Cinema in Adelaide on Friday May 16. For full information including winners from all categories visit their website.

SCREEN-SPACE Managing Editor Simon Foster was among the judging panel for the Best Drama Short.

They are the men whose shared visions create the most eclectic and challenging collection of cinema on the Australian film festival calendar. Chairman Richard Sowada who, fuelled by the spirit of the now defunct Revelations magazine and its founder Peter Collins, launched a series of 16mm film screenings at Perth’s iconic jazz venue, The Greenwich, in 1997; program director Jack Sargeant, author and academic on all matters counter-culture and underground, has acted as in-house agitant and revolutionary spirit since 2008. So who better to answer the question, “What have been the defining moments in the 17 year history of Revelation Perth International Film Festival?”, than the men behind the madness...?

“Each year is new and each choice is filled with experimentation and a roll of the dice.” - Richard Sowada, Founder and Chairman (pictured, right).

The Banning of Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist: This appeared in Rev '98. It was passed for screening by the Office of Film and Literature Classification, but the ruling was overturned by the local West Australian office. It made print and TV news around the country and taught us how some arms of government and the media work. A challenging experience, for us and the community. We learnt that as far as politics goes, the issue is never about the issue and that our 'editorial stand' was a strong one, which is something that's never really changed. Aside from that, it was lots of fun. It got unbanned, by the way.

Viola Dana playing The General: In 2009, local outfit Viola Dana played the score to Buster Keaton's silent classic The General. I cried...it was so beautiful and received a standing ovation. The real thing. It was a true moment where the power of cinema crossed generations. It was one of those things you hope has a real impact on people who may not ever expect that kind of tenderness from a silent film.

Going on Tour: In the first two years of the event, we went touring to Sydney and Adelaide. While a great thing to do, it made us realise that that the idea behind the event can't be transferred. It reinforced that the event is not about films necessarily but the ideal behind what we were trying to do. To manage something like this, you need to have the right state of mind - and in a very conservative film exhibition environment, very few people have that. So we keep it in WA. 

The First International Guest: In our second year, a young Japanese experimental filmmaker named Hideo Oshima came over. He flew himself over for his first time ever in Australia. He'd never seen a beach and he spent his whole time with his shoes off walking on Cottesloe Beach, feeling the sand between his toes. It had a real impact on him. When he came over, I thought we were on our way and now we have over 60 guests.

Every Year…: Rev is such an enormous challenge. In all ways we do things like no other event. It's more than a festival - it's a Union for artists and audiences. The event is a point of advocacy for both, that challenges the difficulties in having a community voice. (We address) funding, distribution and exhibition difficulties and the mentoring (of) new practitioners in every sector of the industry.

“(All) the filmmakers who enter seek to push the medium and I think that it is indicative of the limitless potentials of cinema to stimulate imagination.” - Jack Sargeant, Program Director (pictured, right).

Joe Davis Dancing in the Bar: Davis is an incredible thinker, philosopher, scientist and prankster, who was over to introduce a screening of the film Heaven and Earth and Joe Davis which documented part of his life. This is a fascinating movie about a genuinely unique figure, and having him in town was great. Joe hit it off with everyone and opened people's eyes to many things. We have been blessed with many enjoyable guests, and to me that is still a really special part of the festival.

Crispin Glover screening What Is It? and It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine: These are powerful, visionary movies and to watch them was an incredible experience. Not only did he screen his films, he also performed both parts of his Big Slide Show (one part each night, prior to the films) which was a magical and unique dramatic narration of his beautiful books. An incredibly dedicated individual, he answered questions from the audience and then met audience members individually to sign books and talk to people. 

Lawrence English performing a live soundtrack to Harry Smith's Early Abstractions: This was at my first Revelation, and I had commissioned Lawrence to write a new soundtrack to this series of experimental animated films. Of course, his soundtrack was as beautiful and visionary as you would imagine, and people loved seeing the films and listening to the music.  

Revel8: Our annual screening of super 8 movies. Anyone can enter; there have been submissions from experimental filmmakers, students, friends, artists, and jokers over the years. There's a real pleasure in the possibilities inherent in this event. The films may be experimental, visionary, irreverent, entertaining or infuriating, but they are always unique and made with a kind of wild enthusiastic passion. I'd like to think that the potentialities of Revel 8 movies reflect something of the potentialities of all the films we screen at the festival.  

The Revelation Bar: There's a lot of hanging out at Revelation after movies, and one of the key aspects is that everyone is welcome. The bar becomes the de facto centre of the festival with filmmakers, guests, artists, musicians, audience members and academics just talking and discussing ideas. You can see fruitful exchanges taking place, friendships being forged and a real air of enjoyment, which makes the whole thing very special. (pictured, right; Sowada, left, and Sargeant flank revellers at a recent Revelation social event)

The Revelation Perth International Film Festival will run July 3-13 in several venues in and around Perth, Western Australia. For full program details and tickets, visit the official website here.

“Is Richard Wolstencroft for real?” pondered a broadsheet journalist as far back as 2004. He is, albeit in the guise of a larger-than-life figure whose ideal reality is often at odds with the accepted norm. First as a film director (Bloodlust, 1992; Pearls Before Swine, 1999; The Beautiful and Damned, 2010) then, for the the last 15 years, as overseer of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF), Richard Wolstencroft (pictured, below) has been at the forefront of transgressive cinema culture in Australia, clashing with censorship advocates, funding sector bureaucrats and conservative mouthpieces on a regular basis. On the eve of MUFF 2014, a very busy Wolstencroft kindly accepted an editorial assignment from SCREEN-SPACE, when we asked him, “What have been the five most important developments in Australia’s undergrond film sector?”…

Super 8 Film Stock. "What underground and indie films were often made on in the 70’s and early 80’s. A really amazing, versatile and fun film format that meant you could be a big time filmmaker, even when you were a kid. I started making Super 8 films in 1980 at age 11. It taught the tactile art of cinema and helped you get out there and really learn cinema the only way possible - by simply doing it. The New York Cinema of Transgression was mostly shot on this format. And so too the Australian Cinema of Transgression, made up of young filmmakers like myself, Mark and Colin Savage, Phillip Brophy, Jon Hewitt and many others." Watch The Power of Super 8 from SXSW Festival, 2010.

The Advent of Home Video. "The arrival of home video in the early 80’s was a complete revolution in cinema and changed the way cinema is seen forever. As kids and early teens we rented everything – including porn – from the local video shop owners, who turned their backs when we snuck into the adult section. The arrival of horror, cult films and ‘video nasties’ also changed aesthetic standards and tastes forever. This was a much more burgeoning cinema culture than most of the arthouse and critically lauded nonsense around at that time. Few things were not on video and this (distribution method) marked the birth of the home cinema age, that has now become so vital in the internet age."

The Making of Made-on-Video Feature Films. "I was honored to be a major catalyst and to be involved in two out of three of the first made-on-video feature films ever shot in this country. Marauders (1986) by Mark Savage and Bloodlust (1991) by Jon Hewitt and my good/evil self. We both wished to carry on the great tradition of Ozploitation cinema and so we did!"

WARNING: Some content may offend.

The Arrival of Video Cinema. "When my old pal Jon Hewitt opened Panorama, Australia’s first video cinema, in the early to mid 90’s, he was laughed at and mocked by many of the blinkered morons in the industry. Now almost every cinema in the country has gone the way of Panorama. That is vision for you! We both knew it was the future after Bloodlust - and why not embrace the future early, we thought?" (Ed: In 2012 interview with Crikey.com, critic Jake Wilson recalled, "the strangest cinema I’ve ever been to was the Panorama, Jon Hewitt’s ahead-of-its-time videotheque on Brunswick St, Fitzroy, which used to show Sam Fuller triple bills and documentaries on what was called the “modern primitive” movement back when body piercing was considered edgy. Now it’s a community credit co-operative. Unless I dreamt the whole thing.")

The Founding of Underground Film Festivals. "The world’s first two Underground Film festivals were the New York and Chicago events (pictured, right; Todd Phillips and Andrew Gurland, co-founders of the New York Underground Film Festival) . I was inspired by both to start MUFF, now the third oldest in the World, I believe. Soon after they popped up all over the place, most notably in Sydney, after (SUFF founder) Stefan Popescu was an official MUFF guest with his short film, Roseberry 7470, about 9 years back now."

The shutout of Martin Luther King drama Selma (pictured, below) across all key categories bar Best Picture has meant 2015 Academy Award nominations are the first since 1998 not to feature an African American nominee. This year, it will fall to French star Marion Cotillard (a surprise but well-deserved Best Actress nominee for Two Days One Night), Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Norwegian Morten Tyldum and a handful of Brits to bring cultural diversity to the big five categories.

Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead the race with 9 nominations each. The Academy bumped these two from key categories that analysts thought were certainties – Ralph Fiennes for his lead turn in Wes Anderson’s twee masterpiece and editors Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione for Birdman – but 18 nominations across the two is a well-earned windfall for distributor Fox Searchlight. The Murdoch stable’s arthouse wing scored 20 in total, followed by Sony Pictures Classics (18) and Warner Bros (11).

Other titles to score big were The Imitation Game (8), Boyhood (6) and American Sniper (6, including Best Actor for Bradley Cooper; pictured, right). Sony Pictures Classics’ Foxcatcher earned five notices, including Lead and Supporting Actor and Best Director nominations, but was bumped from the Best Picture race by Whiplash (5, including Supporting Actor shoo-in, JK Simmons). Others up for 5 include The Theory of Everything and Interstellar (Christopher Nolan’s love/hate sci-fi spectacle swept the tech categories); categories were filled out by Mr Turner (4, though no Best Actor for Cannes winner Timothy Spall), Into the Woods (3), Unbroken (3, but not for director Angelina Jolie) and two each for Guardians of The Galaxy, Ida, Inherent Vice, Selma and Wild.

Contender for 2014 Most Snubbed honoree are Nightcrawler (starring Jake Gyllenhaal; pictured, right), the dark LA noir thriller earning just one nod, for Dan Gilroy’s script, and Gone Girl, the box office blockbuster which could only snare a single consideration, for Lead Actress Rosamund Pike. In addition to the Selma shut-out, notable omissions include The LEGO Movie, denied a Best Animated Film nod (it scored an Original Song nomination for ‘Everything is Awesome’); Jennifer Aniston for her Lead Actress turn in Cake; Scarlett Johansson, for either Lucy or Under the Skin; American Sniper director Clint Eastwood; Foreign Language Film frontrunner Force Majeure; and, documentaries Life Itself and Jodorowsky’s Dune.

Best Picture
“American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
“The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
“Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
“The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
“Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers

Actor
Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”

Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”

Actress
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”

Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”

Animated Feature
“Big Hero 6” Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
“The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
“Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Adapted Screenplay
“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle

Original Screenplay
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy

Cinematography
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman
“Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
“Mr. Turner” Dick Pope
“Unbroken” Roger Deakins

Costume Design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
“Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran

Director
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum

Documentary Feature
“CitizenFour” Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
“Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
“Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
“The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
“Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Documentary Short Subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
“Joanna” Aneta Kopacz
“Our Curse” Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki
“The Reaper (La Parka)” Gabriel Serra Arguello
“White Earth” J. Christian Jensen

Film Editing
“American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
“Boyhood” Sandra Adair
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg
“Whiplash” Tom Cross

Foreign Language Film
“Ida” Poland
“Leviathan” Russia
“Tangerines” Estonia
“Timbuktu” Mauritania
“Wild Tales” Argentina

Makeup and Hairstyling
“Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

Original Score
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
“The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat
“Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
“Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon
“The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson

Original Song
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”
Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
“Glory” from “Selma”
Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”
Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”
Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Production Design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“The Imitation Game” Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald
“Interstellar” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“Into the Woods” Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Mr. Turner” Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts

Animated Short Film
“The Bigger Picture” Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
“The Dam Keeper” Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
“Feast” Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
“Me and My Moulton” Torill Kove
“A Single Life” Joris Oprins

Live Action Short Film
“Aya” Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
“Boogaloo and Graham” Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney
“Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)” Hu Wei and Julien Féret
“Parvaneh” Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger
“The Phone Call” Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

Sound Editing
“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar” Richard King
“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

Sound Mixing
“American Sniper” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
“Interstellar” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
“Unbroken” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
“Whiplash” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

Visual Effects
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
“Interstellar” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer

It has been a heady couple of weeks for Australian filmmaker, Kiah Roache-Turner. Having topped the iTunes charts with his zombie epic Wyrmwood, the debutant filmmaker then learnt that his low-budget passion-project was also one of the planets most illegally downloaded films. SCREEN-SPACE wanted to know how the turn of events impacted the Sydney-based director (pictured, below; on-set, with one of his creations) who, with his brother Tristan, poured all their money and countless unpaid hours into the production. So, for the first time, we turned our site over to the victim of a crime. Exclusively for SCREEN-SPACE, Kiah Roache-Turner provides a first-person account of how destructive net-piracy truly is…

“My name is Kiah Roache-Turner, I am a filmmaker who has just released my first feature, 'Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead'.

Wyrmwood is currently one of the most torrented films in the world. This is fantastic and horrible, all at the same time. What a lot of these ‘jolly pirates’ don't understand is that the film was made by a bunch of people on weekends over four years on a 'deferred payment' basis. A lot of these amazingly talented actors and crew, including myself, have not seen a cent from this film yet.

In this instance, profits from the film are vitally important because they go directly to very basic things like rent, bills and food for a lot of hardworking artists and technicians who exist in an industry where it is very difficult to find work (pictured, right; on the set of Wyrmwood).

We expected to be torrented. My issue isn't with torrenters; that is a global policing issue that is out of my hands. My issue is with those who pirate the film, love the film and then just move on to the next thing. All I ask is that you think about (your actions) for just a second. I don't mind the 'try before you buy' theory, but if you try it and you like it please pay for a legal copy because artists have to eat. It's really that simple.

I've been following the online comments and a lot of the reaction boils down to "If those fools were too stupid to organise a cross-platform, same-day global release strategy, then they deserve everything they get!" And yes, comments have been that harsh, even harsher; the Internet can be a pretty brutal playground.

When you sign on with a distributor, you sign on to be guided by their existing distribution model. Remember, these guys and gals are really smart and really know how to release a film. They've been doing it for decades to a wildly successful degree.

You don't sign onto one distributer, which would be fantastic; you sign on to many distributers all over the world, who all have different release strategies and key dates and different agreements when it comes to DVD, Blu-ray & VOD. This is a point that needs to be clarified, as most people don't seem to understand how the film industry works. Quite frankly, nor did I until very recently.

In conjunction with Studio Canal, we tried very hard to get 'same day' for Wyrmwood for iTunes but unfortunately our hands were tied due to the window* required by cinemas. In this instance we were able to get a two month window instead of three, which is fantastic. But Aussies were still pissed off when (US distributor) IFC Midnight released theatrical and VOD same day. As soon as the iTunes copy launched, 'BOOM'; somebody ripped that film off the platform, uploaded it to Pirate Bay and the film became one of the most torrented films in the world overnight.

People have been asking, "Then why go theatrical at all?” Unfortunately, funding bodies require a limited theatrical run for funding consideration. And my brother and I (pictured, left) ran out of money for this baby years ago so without funding - NO WYRMWOOD. Thank God Screen Australia believed in us because without government funding for post-production, this film would not be playing in cinemas at all.

People need to understand that this industry has been around for a long time. It is huge and vast and labyrinthine and doesn't change on a dime. I liken it to the 'Titanic'; we've all spotted the iceberg and the ship is turning, but not nearly fast enough. Every single person in every single organisation, from the government bodies to distributors to cinema chains all know what the problems are and they are working their butts off to make these changes. But it is happening in the way that all huge industries generally make gargantuan changes and that is never 'overnight'.

Right now it's in YOUR hands. Yes, YOU the person with the hand paused over the 'download' button getting ready to download my bad-ass ozploitation zombie film RIGHT now. I can't stop you pushing that button nor do I judge you for pushing that button. Mate, that's your decision, it's none of my business. But if you download Wyrmwood and really bloody like it, please do the right thing and purchase a copy. Support independent filmmakers who sweated blood for four long years to bring you that film.

It's all very well to say, "Well, this is how the world is" or "If the industry won't change fast enough, why should I bother?" But the simple fact of the matter is my cast and crew need to eat. So, please - YOU WATCH, YOU BUY and we can eat. It's really that simple.

Yours truly,

Kiah Roache-Turner.”

Australian readers can pre-order Wyrmwood on DVD here.

Wyrmwood can be purchased via the US iTunes store here.

Local screenings (including profit-share arrangements) can be organised here.

*period between a film’s theatrical release and subsequent ancillary platforms (DVD, VOD, Pay-TV, etc).

After a New Year period that saw Chinese cinema attendance top US figures for the first time in history, the Chinese film industry can claim to be on quite a roll having last night swept the 2015 Asian Film Awards, taking out ten of the fourteen categories. The lavish ceremony is overseen by an organizing committee comprising officials from the Busan, Hong Kong and Tokyo film festivals and was held in the vast Venetian Casino on the resort island of Macau.

Blind Massage (pictured, above), a Nanjing-set drama that follows the bittersweet lives of blind masseurs, took Best Picture honours ahead of Black Coal Thin Ice (China/Hong Kong), Haider (India), Hill of Freedom (South Korea), Ode to My Father (South Korea) and The Light Shines Only There (Japan). Already an awards season heavyweight boasting honours from the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Taipei's Golden Horse Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival, the intimate ensemble piece also snared the Best Cinematography trophy for lensman Zeng Jian.

The film’s director, Le You, was again beaten for Best Director honours by Ann Hui, whose helming of the Xiao Hong biopic, The Golden Era, was favoured at the Golden Horse ceremony in November. Other nominees included Tsukamoto Shinya, (Fires on the Plain, Japan], Berlin honoree Lav Diaz (From What Is Before, The Philippines), Vishal Bhardwaj (Haider) and Hong Sang-soo (Hill of Freedom). The Golden Era’s Wang Zhiwen was named Best Supporting Actor, ahead of Jo Jin-ung (A Hard Day, South Korea), Eric Qin (Blind Massage), Chen Jianbin (Paradise in Service, Taiwan) and Ito Hideaki (Wood Job!, Japan).

Black Coal, Thin Ice took home the Best Actor award, with charismatic star Liao Fan topping a strong category that included Kase Ryo (Hill of Freedom), Lau Ching-wan (Overh3ard, Hong Kong/China), Ethan Ruan (Paradise in Service) and Choi Min-shik (Roaring Currents, South Korea) and Sato Takeru (Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends, Japan). Auteur Diao Yi’nan also earned the Best Screenplay honour for his dark procedural thriller.

Other territories represented on the podium were Japan (Best Supporting Actress Ikewaki Chizuru, pictured right, in The Light Shines Only There); India (composer Mikey McCleary for Margarita, With a Straw); and, South Korea, whose Best Actress winner Bae Du-na for A Girl at My Door led in a packed field that included Gong Li, (Coming Home, China), Vicki Zhao, (Dearest, Hong Kong/China), Kalki Koechlin, (Margarita, With a Straw), Miyazawa Rie (Pale Moon, Japan) and pre-event favourite, Tang Wei (The Golden Era). Jiang Wen’s Gone With the Bullets, a grandly-mounted satire of French colonial excess in 1920s Shanghai, topped the trophy tally with three, all for its below-the-line contributions in the fields of Production Design, Costuming and Visual Effects. Gareth Evans rounded out the tech categories with a Best Editing nod for his Indonesian action epic, The Raid 2: Berandal.

Over 1000 kilometres west of Sydney, the township of Menindee garners scant attention. The population of around 1000 claim some fame - explorers Burke and Wills camped there during their fateful 1860 expedition; it holds the record for the hottest day in the state’s history, the mercury topping 49.7 °C on January 10, 1939; and, postmaster John Cleary introduced the state’s first motorised mail service there in 1910. But how did this dusty township on the Darling River become home to the Kinopanorama Widescreen Preservation Association (K.W.P.A.), a crucial film preservation initiative overseen by a Texan-born former record industry executive committed to restoring the long dormant Russian format to its past glory…?

Honouring cinematic history has driven John Steven Lasher for most of his professional life. In 1974, his music label Entr’acte produced the legendary composer Bernard Hermann’s soundtrack for Brian De Palma’s Sisters; he has overseen newly recorded re-issues of such classic scores as Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons and King Kong. But in 1992, Lasher refocussed his love affair with film and took on the daunting task of resurrecting Kinopanorama, a three-lens, three-film widescreen format that emerged from the U.S.S.R. Cinema and Photo Research Institute (N.I.K.F.I.) in the mid 1950s in answer to Hollywood’s own ultra-wide projection brand, Cinerama.

“Kinopanorama's legacy is unique because it was the only three-film system developed by a country other than the United States, which could compete with Cinerama on the world market,” says Lasher. The first Kinopanorama film, Roman Karmen’s rural vista Vast is My Native Land (US title - Great is My Country; pictured, right), premiered in Moscow in February 1958; over the next decade, eight travelogue epics were produced in the format. As Cinerama boomed with the release of Hollywood films such as How The West Was Won (and single-camera conversions such as It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World), the Soviet industry remained committed to its own technology; an advanced camera design called the PSO-1960 (pictured, top) allowed for the use of interchangeable lens kits with different focal lengths. Often viewed as cultural by-products of Cold War one-upmanship, both formats proved expensive and fell out of favour by the mid 1960s.

It would not be until 1992 that Lasher, now head of Fifth Continent Movie Classics, would begin the long process of resurrecting Kinopanorama. His first point-of-contact was the Russian Consulate in Sydney, who steered him to veteran cinematographer Yuri Sokol A.C.S., a Russian émigré who had forged a revered Australian resume in collaboration with director Paul Cox (Lonely Hearts, 1982; Man of Flowers, 1983; My First Wife, 1984; Cactus, 1986). “Yuri Sokol was instrumental in negotiating with N.I.K.F.I. for the purchase of the PSO-1960 camera and ancillary equipment,” recalls Lasher, who would subsidise the restoration and transportation of the camera to Australia, accompanied by respected scientific technician, Sergei Rozhkov. “It was possible over time to form a bond with the Russian organisations thanks to Yuri, (who) had retained contacts with other Russian filmmakers and organisations. In this respect, Sergei Rozhkov was most helpful in liaising with the various Russian organisations and colleagues.” (Pictured, below: The Kinopanorama team, 1993)

With further guidance offered by local D.O.P. John R McLean A.C.S. (The Cars That Ate Paris, 1974; Turkey Shoot, 1982), who had crewed on the 1956 Cinerama travelogue South Seas Adventure, Lasher and Rozhkov guided the first Kinopanorama productions in nearly three decades - Chastity Truth and Kinopanorama (1993), a compile of test footage captured on the restored PSO-1960, shot in Moscow by Soviet director Igor Shetsov; and, Bounty (1993), a picturesque examination of Sydney Harbour from the deck of the famous tall-ship. Over this period, Lasher, Rozhkov and Sokol also undertook location shoots in some of regional New South Wales most photogenic locations, including The Blue Mountains and the central western plains surrounding Dubbo, as well as the hallowed sporting venue, The Sydney Cricket Ground (pictured, below).

It was Lasher’s affinity for the landscape of rural Australia that drew him to Broken Hill, the most remote township in New South Wales, where he lived until 2009. “It was not possible to operate a heritage cinema in Broken Hill, where I lived at the time,” recalls Lasher. “The political landscape, particularly after the proposed film studio complex failed to materialise, was not favourable to launch such a venue.” Determined to further his preservation efforts, he shifted base to Menindee and established the K.W.P.A., which secured all rights to the Kinopanorama brand in 2012. “Menindee offered alternate facilities, including an abandoned building next door to the tourist information centre. We have approached the local council about acquiring it. Until this is sorted out we have no set facilities at present.”

Of course, setbacks have never deterred John Steven Lasher from pushing forward with his passion project. In 1999, Lasher helped fund a partial restoration of the first Kinopanorama feature film, Kaljo Kiisk’s Estonian-shot 1962 drama, Opasniye Povoroty (pictured, right: original lobby-card). Despite the project being abandoned due to spiralling costs, the two complete reels have been screened at widescreen celebrations in the U.S. and U.K.  “We are negotiating with Gosfilmofond of Russia for the purchase of a 4K digital master of the restored Opasniye Povoroty for exhibition at film festivals in Australia and New Zealand. From that point onward, I will contact the various festival organisers as to the possibilities of scheduling the film,” says Lasher, who believes the screening of a Kinopanorama feature in all its majesty would be a unique cinematic experience for local audiences. “After all,” he says, “it would be the first time that a three-film panoramic film format had been exhibited in Australia and New Zealand.”

For more information on the Kinopanorama Widescreen Preservation Association, including membership details and the full range of screen services offered, visit the official website or Facebook page.

The KINOPANORAMA ™ name and logos are the exclusive ™ and © of K.W.P.A.; all images are © of K.W.P.A.

After a full first day of location scouting, Sir Ridley Scott fronted the Sydney press corps to discuss his blockbuster Prometheus sequel, Alien: Covenant, which begins a 16 week shoot in April, 2016.

“I discovered I get on with Aussies,” joked the legendary British filmmaker, the grand façade of the old Manufacturers Hall hiding the early pre-production activity within. “I’ve worked with one of the toughest ones there is five times, a Mr Crowe, and we are now friends. We weren’t always friends, but now we are friends. I think I’m going to enjoy Sydney.”

Joining the director was The Honourable Julie Bishop, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs (pictured, right), who acknowledged that incentives were being re-evaluated in order to attract studio productions to Australia. “I know that film industries, both here and abroad, have been lobbying consecutive governments for a very long time to make our tax arrangements more competitive and attractive,” she said. “Other countries had increased their location off-set to around 30%, so we matched that, and immediately drew a response from 20^th Century Fox and the Alien production team, as well Disney and Marvel studios for the Thor series.” Flanked by NSW Minister for the Arts Troy Grant and Federal Minister for Industry, Resource and Energy, Anthony Roberts, Ms Bishop revealed that, “within the context of the next budget, any permanent changes to be made to the location off-set [will be considered].”

Alien: Covenant represents estimated revenue for the state of US$61million, with approximately 600 jobs to be generated. Having lost out during the bidding to secure Scott’s last film, The Martian, Ms Bishop stated with some circumspection, “The opportunity to have a film of [this] stature, to be filmed by a director of Sir Ridley’s standing, is one not to be missed.”

A savvy businessman, Sir Ridley Scott recounted a time when his native industry suffered due to a lack of concessions for large-scale productions. “I used to own Shepparton Studios in a pre-tax rebate U.K. film industry. Twenty-two stages over twenty-two acres; it’s where I shot Alien, and I wanted to put back into the industry,” he recalled. “Our biggest problem was that when a big film moved out, we had no return business because we had no rebate. So I sold it. Then, God damn, four years later the rebate happened and today, you can’t get into Shepparton or Pinewood or Leavesden. When you combine the frequency of production with the talent and infrastructure already in place, everything gets better.” (Pictured, left; Scott directing Veronica Cartright and Sigourney Weaver in Alien).

When questions turned to the scale of the production, Scott hinted that his narrative would drill down into the epic history of the alien life cycle. “It’s a very complex story,” he said. “Prometheus 1 was born out of my frustration that of the three sequels that followed my 1979 film, Alien, no one posed the question, ‘Who made the alien and why?’ Alien: Covenant further develops that evolution. When this film finishes, there will be another one then another one, which will drive into the back end of the 1979 film, explaining why the ‘space jockey’ was there and why did he have the alien inside of him.”

Prometheus leading man Michael Fassbender (pictured, right) will arrive in Australia in mid-March to reprise the role of android David. Scott revealed that the actor will play, “a doppelganger, so you’ll have two Michaels,” and that Noomi Rapace, as Shaw, will make a brief re-appearance. Other casting is still in contract phase, but the director confirmed that Australian actors will feature. “I would always look to do that,” he said, “It’s a very natural thing to do.”

The windfall for the local industry will be immense over several years, the level of production on a scale not seen since the heady days when the region hosted The Wachowski’s Matrix trilogy, Bryan Singer’s Superman Lives and Rob Cohen’s Stealth in quick succession. Scott confirmed that, should the shoot proceed with relative ease, all three planned instalments will shoot in Oz. “That’s the whole point,” he said. “We will be employing up to 600 personnel, all Australian, and all representative of a highly-skilled labour force.”

During the recent AACTA Awards film sector backslap, the message was loud and clear. “Australian cinema has been reborn!” the presenters continually reassured us, stressing that 2015 was a great year for local content. Homegrown movies earned AU$84million at the domestic box office, 7.7% of total takings; those figures represent the highest gross receipts ever for Oz films in a calendar year and the best market share since 2001. 

But breaking down the statistics reveals some devil in the details. Which Aussie pics wooed local audiences back to the ticket counter? What trends emerged amongst the hits (and misses, of which there were plenty)? And is Australian cinema on the cusp of a new ‘New Wave’, or has the tide already turned? SCREEN-SPACE ponders 'The Year in Australian Film'…

“YA WANNA GET OUTTA HERE, YA TALK TO ME…”
It was a long time coming, and took a very bumpy path to get to its audience, but Dr George Miller’s operatic action extravaganza Mad Max Fury Road was exactly the guzzoline needed to fuel the 2015 box office engine. It wasn’t the singular driving force that blew out the figures, like Moulin Rouge in 2001 or Babe in 1995 or Crocodile Dundee in 1985; in fact, some might counter that our iconic action hero’s return did not carry its weight at the box office, given it was only the 13^th biggest hit of the year with takings sputtering out at AU$22million (beaten by the likes of 50 Shades of Grey, Cinderella and Pitch Perfect 2). But it was unarguably ‘event cinema’ of the highest order, the blockbuster ‘Aussie’ film the likes of which rarely emerge from the Antipodes. (Pictured, right; Charlize Theron as Furiosa)

SYDNEY OR THE BUSH?
The anachronistic ‘rural essence’ of this nation’s DNA is still a crucial and compelling component of our storytelling. Jocelyn Moorhouse’s raucous outback oddity The Dressmaker was the second biggest locally made hit, weaving AU$19million; Russell Crowe’s directorial debut, the WW1-set drama The Water Diviner took the bulk of its AU$17million this year after a Boxing Day 2014 debut; and, Jeremy Sims’ red-centre road-trip tearjerker Last Cab to Darwin earned a solid AU$7million and a Best Actor AACTA for local hero Michael Caton. Traditional Australian iconography and a sense of warm larrikinism were central to these works. What didn’t work were the contemporary narratives. Neil Armfield’s critically-lauded Holding the Man (AU$1million) and Dean Francis’ challenging odyssey Drown (figures n/a) failed to break out of their niche demographic. Brendan Cowell’s Sydney Film Festival opener Ruben Guthrie (AU$300k; pictured, top), Peter Andrikidis’ multicultural romance Alex & Eve (AU$390k), comedian Carl Barron’s self-penned vehicle Manny Lewis (AU$390k), Anupam Sharma’s Bollywood-themed rom-com UNindian (AU$100k) and Wayne Hope’s Melbourne-set misfire Now Add Honey (AU$87k) all bombed. On the upside, Damon Gameau’s new-agey diet doco That Sugar Film worked hard for its AU$1million, a respectful return on investment.

“WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!”
Local producers have occasionally been guilty of neglecting the commercial and cultural potential of all-age films; everyone seems surprised when they hit big. Consider the sector without the likes of Storm Boy (1976), Fatty Finn (1980), The Man From Snowy River (1982), BMX Bandits (1983), Napoleon (1994), Babe (1995), The Wiggles Movie (1997), Hating Alison Ashley (2005), Happy Feet (2006), Red Dog (2011) and The Rocket (2013). Behind the angry road warrior and the snooty seamstress, family films carried the local industry in 2015. Oz production giant Village Roadshow brought all their marketing might to two kid-friendly hits – Stuart McDonald’s country-bumkin puppy-dog tale Oddball (AU$11million; pictured, right) and Robert Connolly’s rousing family drama Paper Planes (AU$10million) defined and maximised their audience with precision. The local arm of Studio Canal invested in Deane Taylor’s contemporary take on Blinky Bill (securing such voice talents as Toni Collette, David Wenham and Barry Humphries) and recouped a healthy AU$2.7million. In 2016, the ‘Aussie teen’ genre will be re-energised by Rosemary Myer’s wonderful Girl Asleep, which warmed hearts at this years’ Adelaide Film Festival.

"WHEN YOU WISH, UPON A STAR"
While the might of the ‘A-list movie star’ continues to wan at the global box office, Australian audiences seem to respond to big name talent in their little Aussie stories. Kate Winslet’s presence in The Dressmaker was a key selling point, earning the film not only acceptance at the local ticket counter but helping to secure the PJ Hogan-produced film a Toronto world premiere. Crowe’s presence both behind and before the camera paid dividends for The Water Diviner, in addition to his uncharacteristic openness with the press and the photogenic charms of Ukrainian co-star Olga Kurylenko. Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron didn’t hurt Mad Max: Fury Road, though the ‘star’ was ultimately the chaotic artistry of Miller’s visuals. The exception that proves this rule is our own Nicole Kidman; her brave lead turn in Kim Farrant’s dusty ‘Twin Peaks’ wannabe Strangerland (to date, a global take is AU$24k) was all but ignored, while her latest US effort, Billy Ray’s Secret in Their Eyes, stumbled to AU$1.5million locally (despite the presence of co-stars Julia Roberts and Chiwetel Ejiofor).

SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR...
None of these films contributed more than loose change to the year’s box-office haul, but each one signals a new breed of commercially-oriented young filmmaker is on the verge of breaking through. Had the scourge of piracy not eaten away at it’s theatrical potential, Kiah Roache-Turner’s Wyrmwood would have certainly expanded upon its meagre AU$133k gross. Everyone of the following should earn its keep, via either the developing self-distribution theatrical model (see Fan-Force or Tugg) or as a 2016 home entertainment hit – Joe Bauer’s hilarious sci-fi/comedy Australiens (pictured, right); Rhiannon Bannenburg’s polished chamber piece, Ambrosia; Sam Curtain’s ruthlessly corpulent Blood Hunt; the unforgettably twisted Cat Sick Blues, from Dave Jackson (you’ve been warned); Deadhouse Film’s anthology A Night of Horror Volume 1; Shane Abbess’ handsomely mounted outer-space thriller, Infini; Jesse O’Brien’s bracing and brilliant sci-fi vision, Arrowhead; and, the off-kilter, heart-warming doco Sam Klemke’s Time Machine, from Matthew Bate.

Read The Year in Review, Part 1: The Ten Best Festival Sessions of 2015 here.
Read The Year in Review, Part 3: Our Ten Favourite Films of 2015 here. 

(All figures courtesy of Box Office Mojo; conversion rates as of 28/12).

Gods of Egypt director Alex Proyas has taken aim at the current crop of movie reviewers in the wake of his film’s critical mauling, calling them “diseased vultures”.

US critics have been scathing in their coverage of the latest work from the typically ambitious Proyas; at time of press, the US$140million production, shot largely in Australia, is at 17% on the Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus site and was posting opening weekend numbers in the low teens domestically.

Born in Egypt of Greek heritage, the Australian director debuted with the startling sci-fi vision, Spirits of The Air Gremlins of The Clouds (pictured, right) in 1989 and has an acclaimed resume of commercials and music videos to his name. Having relocated to Los Angeles in the early 90s, his feature film trajectory has endured a turbulent path; his 1994 American debut, the ill-fated The Crow, was a profitable hit, which he followed with the underperforming Dark City (now, a cult classic; 1998). He enjoyed blockbuster box office with the Will Smith hit, I Robot (2004), only to feel the sting of expensive failure with the 2009 misfire, Knowing, starring Nicholas Cage.

Proyas’ films have often divided critics, as he points out in the extensive diatribe that he posted on his Facebook page earlier today. Each work is a unique, complex genre vision that rarely fits comfortably within mainstream expectations. Even I, Robot, superficially a studio-backed/star vehicle summer tent-pole, was a morally ambiguous, thought-provoking murder mystery at its core. Critics have struggled to define Proyas’ work, usually praising his technical prowess and visionary scope but remaining bewildered or unengaged by his plotting.

But no work has been so savagely attacked as Gods of Egypt and Proyas clearly felt the need to even the playing-field. In his post, he addresses the accusations of ‘white-washing’ (the casting of Anglo actors in ethnically diverse roles); questions whether or not freedom of thought within the critical community exists anymore; alludes to the nature of social media and the need for acceptance within the ‘likes’-driven landscape. With the kind permission of the director, SCREEN-SPACE reproduces the post verbatim:

“NOTHING CONFIRMS RAMPANT STUPIDITY FASTER...
Than reading reviews of my own movies. I usually try to avoid the experience - but this one takes the cake. Often, to my great amusement, a critic will mention my past films in glowing terms, when at the time those same films were savaged, as if to highlight the critic's flawed belief of my descent into mediocrity. You see, my dear fellow FBookers, I have rarely gotten great reviews… on any of my movies, apart from those by reviewers who think for themselves and make up their own opinions. Sadly those type of reviewers are nearly all dead. Good reviews often come many years after the movie has opened. I guess I have the knack of rubbing reviewers the wrong way - always have. This time of course they have bigger axes to grind - they can rip into my movie while trying to make their mainly pale asses look so politically correct by screaming "white-wash!!!” like the deranged idiots they all are. They fail to understand, or chose to pretend to not understand what this movie is, so as to serve some bizarre consensus of opinion which has nothing to do with the movie at all. That’s ok, this modern age of texting will probably make them go the way of the dinosaur or the newspaper shortly - don't movie-goers text their friends with what they thought of a movie? Seems most critics spend their time trying to work out what most people will want to hear. How do you do that? Why these days it is so easy... just surf the net to read other reviews or what bloggers are saying - no matter how misguided an opinion of a movie might be before it actually comes out. Lock a critic in a room with a movie no one has even seen and they will not know what to make of it. Because contrary to what a critic should probably be they have no personal taste or opinion, because they are basing their views on the status quo. None of them are brave enough to say “well I like it” if it goes against consensus. Therefore they are less than worthless. Now that anyone can post their opinion about anything from a movie to a pair of shoes to a hamburger, what value do they have - nothing. Roger Ebert wasn’t bad. He was a true film lover at least, a failed film-maker, which gave him a great deal of insight. His passion for film was contagious and he shared this with his fans. He loved films and his contribution to cinema as a result was positive. Now we have a pack of diseased vultures pecking at the bones of a dying carcass. Trying to peck to the rhythm of the consensus. I applaud any film-goer who values their own opinion enough to not base it on what the pack-mentality say is good or bad.”

In subsequent correspondence with SCREEN-SPACE, Proyas did acknowledge that his film, "seems to be getting a very good response critically and commercially everywhere outside the US."

It is the latest rebuke from a film community frustrated with the standard of modern film writing; last week, British director Ben Wheatley (pictured, right) aimed his own barbs at the current standard of film criticism. The director, whose films Kill List, Sightseers and A Field in England have enjoyed critical warmth, spoke out after a mixed reaction to his latest thriller, High Rise. “Talking about other people’s stuff is weird,” he told Flick Reel. “Why aren’t you making stuff? And if you aren’t, why should you really have a voice to complain about things until you’ve walked a mile in someone’s shoes?”

(Editor’s Note: SCREEN-SPACE gave a ‘4 star’ rating to Gods of Egypt on it’s official Letterboxd page on February 24. In 2009, this writer gave a mixed review to Knowing when contributing to the SBS Movies site.)

The digital revolution represents the biggest shift in the exhibition sector since the ‘multiplex boom' of the 1980s. Old-school projection booths, once the beating heart of the cinema-going experience, have all but vanished, replaced by sterile environments housing touch-screen monitors filled ‘encrypted files’. Dying of the Light is a stirring, melancholy account of American film exhibition up to this moment in time; a point in film history that threatens to reduce to museum pieces 1000s of spools of classic film storytelling and the grand machines that lit them up. In his moving, insightful film, director Peter Flynn, Senior Scholar-in-Residence at Boston’s Emerson College, profiles the projectionists who have forged generations of film-going memories and who are now faced with a ‘change or perish’ life choice. He spoke with SCREEN-SPACE about his loving tribute to the art and romance of movies…

SCREEN-SPACE: Where did your passion for the moving image and how it is presented and preserved originate?

FLYNN: I’ve always loved film.  My earliest memories are of the large-screen cinemas of Dublin City, where I grew up in the 70s and 80s—the Ambassador, the Savoy, and the Adelphi.  Back then it was not uncommon to spend two hours waiting outside in the rain for the doors to open and for the show to start. But it was worth it.  To enter those old theaters, with their ornate surroundings and lush carpeting, their balconies and curtained screens, was to enter another world.  Going to the cinema was something special back then, and it remained so throughout my childhood. The Dying of the Light digs deep into those memories, I suppose.  Try as I might to be balanced in the film, its by no means objective.

SCREEN-SPACE: As a lover of film culture and academic dedicated to film history, how did the research period and the trips to hollow, dilapidated halls in small towns impact you?

FLYNN (pictured, right): The image of the ruined abandoned movie theatre/projection booth became a sort of visual metaphor in the film, I suppose; a way to underscore the loss and ruination of the practice of film-handing and projection.  It was also the right place to start—with this palpable sense of loss, of better days gone by. The idea of the projection booth as an archeological site fascinated me from the start.  So many had the feeling of being tomb-like—relics of an older order, filled with the possessions of the dearly departed.  It was not uncommon as late as three or four years ago to enter a projection booth and find traces of the very early stages of film’s history. Fire shutters dating back to the nitrate days which lasted up until the 1950s; old 1,000 foot reels, which would have held silent films of the 1920s; notes written on the walls from one projectionist to another; old magazines tucked away in corners. Projectionists spent so much of their lives in those little rooms.  How could they retire without leaving something of themselves behind? So the film was inherently sad, or inherently reverential in a way.  But I’m also Irish and I entered into this with the idea that the film would be a wake—mixing the sad and the solemn with a spirit of tribute and celebration, with humor and energy.  I hope balance comes across.

SCREEN-SPACE: The film walks a fine line between eulogising a dying/dead aspect of the industry and celebrating its impact. Was it a struggle not to succumb to the sombre, sad loss of film projection?

FLYNN: Yes, it’s a very fine line.  And I did struggle at times to temper my own nostalgia for, or romanticization of “the good old days.”  But as a documentary maker you have to listen to your interviewees.  And not all waxed lyrical on the old days.  Nor were all critical of the new digital technologies—some “old-timers” embraced the future.  The final lines in the film, spoken by one of the older projectionists (ironically to one of the younger ones), ask that we look ahead to the future, not the past. And I thought that was a very important note to end on—a corrective to the romantic view that so many of us can easily fall into. (Pictured, above; David Kornfeld, projectionist at the Somerville Theatre, Somerville, Massachusetts).

SCREEN-SPACE: How much did your film's tone waver in post-production?

FLYNN: Post-production is where you (hopefully) find the right balance. You go out with your camera, you follow your gut, you engage emotionally and instinctually—in other words “on the fly”—with the world you are capturing and then you come back and you have to edit intellectually.  You have to moderate all the voices you find, give each its proper weight in the film, and hopefully find the right balance in the end. 

SCREEN-SPACE: Did you notice defining personality traits that were common across the projectionists you interviewed? What drove these men and women to commit to a life inside a small, dark room?

FLYNN: There is certainly a love and devotion to cinema uniting these people, but there’s a lot more besides.  There’s a commitment they all share to a quality of performance that is lacking today—to the idea of doing a job to the best of your ability, whether you’re acknowledged for that or not; and also to a notion of showmanship, which is likewise missing today.  The projection booth is a place of arrested development in many ways.  Its easy to hold onto older practices, older standards, when you’re isolated from the rest of the world as you are in the booth. As such, many projectionists may be seen to be out of step with contemporary culture, or normal social conventions—a hazard of spending too much time alone in a darkened room, I suppose—but, without exception, the people I interviewed for this film were wonderful; very warm and welcoming, open and generous.  Many have become good friends. (Pictured, above; projectionist Dave Leamon at the Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts).

SCREEN-SPACE: You address the recent release of The Hateful Eight, noting that it was ultimately a box office disappointment. But the initial 70mm 'roadshow' screenings were sell-outs. Does this indicate that large-scale film projection may still have a place as a 'prestige ticket' event?

FLYNN: The success or failure of The Hateful Eight in relation to the future of 70mm has yet to be determined. It’s a case of “wait and see.” My guess is that 70mm will pop up periodically in specialty theaters (but) not on the grander multiplex scale that the Weinstein Company and Tarantino had hoped for.  For me, the great visual surprise of the holiday season was not The Hateful Eight in 70mm, but Star Wars in 4K Digital 3D.  It was the best digital presentation I have ever seen.  That seems to be the future of large-format, large-screen presentations.  That does not imply that there is no room for 70mm presentations.  In fact, the arrival of digital does not, or rather should not, imply the complete eradication of film presentations.  There’s room for both—maybe less room for film than we’d like, but room for both nonetheless.  Theaters like the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts, prove conclusively that there’s still a place for analog film in commercial exhibition.  And that more than anything makes me feel there’s a future, albeit a limited one, for 70mm.

Dying of The Light is a First Run Features release currently in US specialty venues; other territories to follow.

A sidebar to the Marche du Film distribution marketplace at the Festival de Cannes is NEXT, a gathering of business and tech innovators who are shaping the future of the global film industry. Presently, there is no more energised sector than the world of Virtual Reality (VR), represented at NEXT by designers and financiers from the US, Canada, Switzerland, The Netherlands and France. One of the most enthusiastic VR entrepreneurs is LA-based industry veteran Russell Naftal who, with co-managing partner Alex Barder, is primed for the launch of the VR horror experience, Paranormal Activity, an immersive brand extension of the popular film franchise being developed in-house at their company, VRWerx. SCREEN-SPACE got the latest VR spiel from Naftal (reproduced below, in full), before donning the eyewear and plunging into the Paranormal Activity Cannes 2016 demo footage, recounted in its entirety (in italics) by your quivering correspondent…. 

“Two years ago, Alex and I merged our companies – I had a television and digital company and he had a film company, we’d been doing business together for years. We’d both been looking at VR because distribution in the entertainment business is priority; if you have content, you need a distribution platform. We looked at the industry and it was starting to change; digital was growing fast and my role within it was becoming a little stale, a little standard. So we defined VR as being the new distribution platform, a new way to explore content while providing a more immersive experience.”

Having grasped two lightweight devices that will provide virtual hands as well as allowing freedom of movement within the contained VR environment, a tech assistant fits the HTC Vive eyewear and a headpiece for aural immersion. As large as - but lighter than - a hi-top sneaker, the ‘goggles’ slip comfortably over my eyebrow ridge and rest on the bridge of my nose. My field of vision is immediately engulfed by a 3d greyish-white grid, until the assistant says, “Ok, I’m going to plug you in…”

“Our first consideration was, ‘who are going to be our consumers?’ The gamers were our low-hanging fruit; they’re going to be the taste-makers, the ones who will say, ‘VR, thumbs up!’ And we need them, because there are millions of kids playing games and spending money. Next, we knew if we were going to get a game we needed something that was going to be really immersive. What’s going to be visceral? And, of course, that’s horror. But no one has the time or money to launch a new platform and a new brand. We needed a brand that was already out there.” (Pictured, right; Russell naftal of VRWerx)

The entrance foyer of an average suburban home materialises before me. It is dimly lit, with one white-light source cutting through the shadowy ambience. Illuminated is a square table, upon which I find a torch and a post-it note, which reads, ‘Needs batteries.’ Atmosphere is enhanced with a steady hum pumped through the headset. To the right, glass-panelled sliding doors beckon, but I need those batteries to proceed. To the left, a door is ajar; pushing it open, a chest of drawers stands before me. A lighter is visible, which I grab and consign to my inventory; I lift a soda can, which falls to the floor when I try to file it away (meaning it serves no purpose in this section of game play). In the second drawer are the batteries, which I insert in the torch, and exit the room…

“Paranormal Activity is the second highest grossing horror franchise ever, has a huge fan base and, frankly, who doesn’t love the haunted house experience. We went over to our friends at Paramount, who had just released the last of the movies in October. It was a moment in time when the rights happened to be available, and we acquired them to make the Paranormal Activity interactive VR game. This will be the first time that a feature film will be integrated into a VR environment and is being viewed as a continuation of the franchise, but in the most immersive way.”

As I return to the entrance foyer, I find chairs have been balanced precariously on the small table, recalling the famous fright from Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist (a film referenced often in the franchise).  As I approach the sliding doors, a small child’s voice whispers, “She’s behind you.” Chills run up my neck; suddenly, I am aware of my pulse. I hesitate to look behind me, and when I do, nothing is there. There is a crashing sound, and I turn quickly to find the panelled doors have slammed shut. I move through them, entering the expansive living room familiar to fans of the series. I instantly recall it is where some horrible things have happened...

“We are scheduled to launch around the end of the American summer. The game is about 3½ hours of story, with gameplay coming it at about 10 hours. Our background is as storytellers and that was our focus going into VR. If we were going to get into this we wanted to have something that was immersive, of course, but also engaging. We had all the confidence that we were going to develop a good looking product, but we had to make sure that the story was there and the people that players would be immersed with were real and affecting.” 

To the left is a hallway, at the far end of which is a staircase. To the right are a few steps that lead to a landing, upon which a little girl is nervously pacing. She utters a shrill warning about what haunts her house, and that I should follow her, before darting out of view. At this point, my tension level is growing alarmingly; a presence is in this room with me…

“We are evangelists for VR! We are firm believers that this platform has the potential to impact everyone on the planet. When the last Paranormal Activity film came out, we set up the VR booth right there in cinema foyers; if you bought a ticket to the movie, you also got to experience the game. We knew the gamers would respond, but we wanted to see how the general public would respond. And it was massive. So we know that VR is not just for gamers. I mean, you can travel the world via VR; you can adapt educational programmes. VR is a game-changer, the first one the industry has seen for a while. It is not just about the games industry, or the movie industry. It’s a whole new experience in storytelling.”

I notice a room in the hallway, its darkened interior offering the promise of more frights but none are forthcoming. The staircase beckons, but a rumbling stops me cold. Two heavy pieces of furniture atop the stairs are shaking violently and are hurled down the steps in my direction; I leap back as they land at my feet, and I begin to walk backwards out of this place. A cracking sound fills my head; I look up and see the walls are peeling, paint and plaster falling to the floor. It is time to leave. I turn and, standing before me, is a woman… 

SCREEN-SPACE would like to thank Marie-Emmanuelle Oliver, Head of Marketing for Marche du Film for providing access to the VRWerx team and the NEXT Pavilion.

It has been fourteen years of passionate struggle for Gerald Herman. Hailing from upstate New York, the expat director/producer’s nomadic sense of adventure led him to Vietnam where, in 2002, he founded and has programmed the Hanoi Cinematheque ever since. The only venue in the bustling Vietnamese metropolis that has steadfastly adhered to screening classic international cinema, it has remained the ‘best kept secret’ amongst the cinephiles of southeast Asia. “Cinema has always played an important role in Vietnamese society,” says Herman, who spoke to SCREEN-SPACE from his Paris base…

Set well back from the ceaseless din of Hanoi’s busiest shopping district, Cinematheque patrons walk a darkened, enclosed alleyway before emerging into an art-deco themed courtyard. To the left, an elegant bar services the dedicated few attending the Tuesday evening screening of director Trong Ninh Luu’s 1991 rural drama, The Gamble; to the right, the box office beckons, the ambience enhanced by framed posters heralding some cinema classics (our eye is instantly drawn to an original US one-sheet for Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, one of Herman’s favourite films).

“I set up Hanoi Cinematheque thinking I could educate and inspire a new generation of young Vietnamese filmmakers,” recalls Herman, who now recognises that the birth of the new millennium may not have been the ideal time to launch a celebration of the past. “Young Vietnamese filmmakers were not interested in watching old movies (with so) much new stuff to discover,” he admits, “so we became mostly an expat hang-out, (with) support from foreign embassies in Hanoi, as we do many programs together.”

Having graduated from the prestigious NYU Film School (under the mentorship of one Martin Scorsese), a three-year stint in the Hollywood trenches followed (he would become the youngest ever director to gain DGA membership) before Herman’s wanderlust took hold. By 1992 he had settled in Vietnam, his passion for film production leading to a 24-year career in the sector. In 2009, he directed the acclaimed short, A Dream in Hanoi (pictured, below left); in 2015, his production Finding Phong was praised for its humanistic study of transgender issues in modern Vietnam.

“Making movies in Vietnam is always a challenge, but also rewarding,” he says. “People are keen to help in every way possible, without the kind of salaries one must pay in more ‘developed’ countries. Technical facilities are lacking, but more and more professional services, equipment and people are becoming available.” In addition to his filmmaking endeavours, he has lent his talents to film preservation, including overseeing the digital restoration of Hai Ninh’s landmark 1973 drama Little Girl in Hanoi, in conjunction with the Vietnamese Film Institute.   

Determined to impart this passion and knowledge for global film on the Vietnamese population, Herman spent five years searching for the ideal site for his Cinematheque dream. The Hai Bà Trưng Street building he settled upon was rich in history; in 1954, it had served as the regional headquarters for the Ministry of Culture, before some bawdier times as a massage parlour. “Since the French colonial days, imported films were shown in city cinemas and widely distributed via traveling ciné companies to introduce French culture and life-styles,” notes Herman, who cites the crucial role that film played in unifying the population. “During the war years, locally-produced documentaries and narrative films were effective political and propaganda vehicles.”

Sadly, time has run out for the Hanoi Cinematheque; its elegant screening room and art deco façade will be demolished by years-end to make way for yet another shopping/parking complex. But Gerald Herman leaves behind a rich cultural legacy; when one glimpses his backroom DVD library, you are struck by what an extraordinarily diverse and complex contribution the Cinematheque has made to Hanoi film society. The walls are lined with over 3500 titles, featuring such names as Sidney Lumet (Prince of The City), Jean-Jacques Beinex (Roselyne and the Lions) and Theodoros Angelopoulos (Ulysses’ Gaze). Across the few days that SCREEN-SPACE was in Hanoi, sessions included Regis Wargnier’s Indochine, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and Nguyen Viet Linh’s 1988 local industry classic, Travelling Circus.

Perhaps of even greater resonance will be the bridge that the Hanoi Cinematheque has provided between its members and an array of international artists. Says Herman, “Our very best moments have been hosting local and foreign filmmakers who present their work and then discuss with our audience.” Herman has hosted the likes of Ira Sachs, Philip Noyce, David Bradbury, John Pilger, Les Blank, Dang Nhat Minh, Albert Berger, John Cameron Mitchell, Todd Solondz, Tim Zinnemann, Le Le Hayslip and Jorgen Leth, to name a few.

After years of existing on meagre returns and occasional local business support, Gerald Herman considers the closure of his Cinematheque with melancholy. “Yes, sad indeed,” Herman says, during the course of our chat, “but I am grateful for all the fun and adventures we've had for the past 14 years”.

Read the SCREEN-SPACE World Cinema: Vietnam article here.

The band of brothers who fought to get Hacksaw Ridge made were rewarded with 9 AACTA trophies in at a red carpet industry soiree in Sydney last night. Returning again and again to the podium, artisans and craftsmen on Mel Gibson’s bloody ode to faith and heroism all but shut out the rest of the nominees, with only Simon Stone’s dark drama The Daughter feeling any love in other major categories.

In accepting his Best Director award from Mad max director Dr George Miller, a moved Gibson (“I am so choked up, I can’t even talk”) acknowledged the ongoing support afforded filmmakers by the funding bodies Screen Australia and Screen New South Wales. He also paid service to local below-the-liners, stating, “the calibre (of this cast and crew) is as good as or better than anywhere in the world. I’m not the only one who wants to make films here, because Ridley Scott says exactly the same thing about working here.”

By the end of the night, most of those cast and crew had AACTA awards in their grasp, with the film earning Andrew Garfield the Lead Actor gong (he accepted via a pre-recorded link) and Supporting Actor for Hugo Weaving. Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan earned Screenplay honours; DOP Simon Duggan’s immersive battlefield camerawork saw him take the Cinematography nod; the kudo list was rounded out by John Gilbert’s editing, Barry Robinson’s production design and the sound design unit.

AACTA’s in the Female Lead and Supporting categories for The Daughter halted a Hacksaw Ridge clean sweep. In her first feature film role, Odessa Young (pictured, right) earned Best Actress while industry favourite Miranda Otto received her first and long-overdue trophy for her supporting turn. Writer/director Simon Stone secured the Adapted Screenplay honour, having reworked Henrik Ibsen’s play The Wild Duck into a contemporary Australian drama.

The only other honourees were the lovably offbeat coming-of-age comedy Girl Asleep, which earned Best Costume Design for Jonathon Oxlade and the Pacific Island romance Tanna, which took home Best Original Music Score for Antony Partos. Chasing Asylum, a harrowing account of the immigrant experience in Australia, won Best Documentary, with the film’s director Eva Orner on hand to collect.

A highlight of the night was the bestowing of the AACTA Longford Lyell Award upon beloved icon Paul Hogan, an honour that has previously acknowledged the global standing of such talents as Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush. Accepting the trophy in typically laconic style, he cheerfully recognised his entire career has largely been a been based upon the one-hit wonder Crocodile Dundee and its sequels, but as he pointed out to the roar of the audience, “It was a mighty hit.” Other industry accolades went to Isla Fisher, who joined the likes of Naomi Watts, Margot Robbie and Toni Collette as the recipient of the Trailblazer Award, and visual artist and VR innovator Lynette Wallworth, who earned the Byron Kennedy Award.