Trailblazing indigenous artist and outspoken provocateur Richard Bell is arguably one of our most important artists whose work has been exhibited internationally. But he is also confrontational and unapologetic in his opinions about Australia’s treatment of its First Nations people, and he also bemoans the fact that traditional Aboriginal art work and paintings have now…
My Old School is a quirky and unusual documentary constructed from a mix of archival footage, interviews and animation. In 1993 17-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled as a student at Bearsden Academy in Glasgow. He was a popular student even though his appearance was a bit odd. He claimed that his unusual looks were due to…
In 2019, award winning nature photographer Vincent Munier set out to try and capture vision of the rare snow leopard in its natural habitat. There are fewer than 7,000 snow leopards in the world today and they mostly live in the most remote regions of the Himalayas, and rarely venture below 3,500 feet. Munier was…
A New Zealand fundamentalist church is under the spotlight in Gloriavale. The Christian community, located at Haupiri, north-west of Christchurch, is home to about 600 people from 70 families. Neville Cooper, who changed his name to Hopeful Christian, founded it in 1969. It stands accused of using slave labour and exploiting women and children. The…
The 2022 Cunard British Film Festival full programme has been unveiled with a formidable line-up celebrating the talents of Britain’s finest filmmakers and actors including Stephen Frears, Sally Hawkins, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy and more. Marking its 10th anniversary this year, the festival will deliver a number of exclusive premieres of highly anticipated films in…
Sandra Pankhurst was a remarkable woman whose life hardly followed a conventional path. She founded a successful trauma cleaning business and is a no-holds-barred public speaker. The documentary Clean starts by outlining the work undertaken by her conscientious employees. They must have a strong constitution, because this is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. Blood,…
David Bowie was unquestionably a creative genius for whom “safe” and “middle of the road” didn’t cut it. He was innovative. He pushed himself. He liked to live life on the edge and admired others who did. According to the family-endorsed documentary Moonage Daydream, he was heavily influenced by his older half-brother Terry Jones who…
The final film from director Roger Michell (whose drama The Duke is currently screening in cinemas), Elizabeth: A Portrait in Part(s) is a documentary about Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning British monarch. The documentary has been released to coincide with her platinum jubilee. While this may not be the definitive portrait of Queen Elizabeth…
What a woman! As the saying goes, they broke the mould when they created her, as shown in Matthew Walker’s documentary I’m Wanita. The Wanita of the title likes to be known as Australia’s queen of honky-tonk. In her late 40s, she’s autistic, a binge drinker, a smoker and a prostitute of 18 years who…
If 2020 was a shock to the movie-going system, 2021 was – in many ways – worse. Lockdowns, delays and uncertainty cruelled both the Australian and international film industries. Many studios deferred their biggest releases, hoping for smoother sailing ahead. As a result, it was no coincidence that the two biggest films at the box…
