Monday 30 July 2007

A better opening weekend could not have been anticipated for this year’s Festival. It was marked by sell-out sessions, celebrity appearances by the likes of actor-director Ethan Hawke and emerging audience favourites (noted by anyone who witnessed the cheers and applause at screenings of Black Sheep and Teeth ). Black Sheep screens again on Sat 11 Aug, 7.15pm at RMIT Capitol, and Teeth screens again Fri 3 Aug, 7pm at RMIT Capitol.
WATCH REVIEWS AT melbournefilmfestival.com.au/review/

Ethan Hawke at the Coopers Festival Lounge
- Photo by Jim Lee

Dave O'Neil & Ethan Hawke at the Coopers Festival Lounge
- Photo by Jim Lee

With 13 days to go, there’s still a smorgasbord of film viewing left to satisfy even the most ravenous of film appetites.

Highlights of today’s screening schedule include:

• A tribute to Jamaica’s colourful and highly influential music legacy in Made in Jamaica TODAY 4.45pm Regent Theatre
• An audience favourite at Sundance Film Festival, Year of the Dog screens TONIGHT 7pm at Regent Theatre.
• Something of a goof-ball gore fest from the UK, Severance , which manages to mix The Office with Deliverance. Screens with Accelerator short film Spider, directed by Nash Edgerton. TONIGHT 9pm at Regent Theatre.

Win Tickets

WE HAVE 10 DOUBLES UP FOR GRABS TO TONIGHT'S SCREENING OF SEVERENCE at REGENT THEATRE. FOR A CHANCE TO COME ALONG, E-MAIL YOUR FULL NAME AND CONTACT NUMBER TO penny@melbournefilmfestival.com.au by 5.30pm TODAY.

Filmmakers present…

Coming up this week, Magnum Photos photographer Donovan Wylie introduces his documentary, The Train ; (Wed 1 Aug 7pm at ACMI Cinemas) director and producer Lucille Desoto Clements presents her on-the-road tribute to stalwarts of Aussie rock Rose Tattoo, Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw (Wed 1 Aug, 9.15pm at Greater Union) and Ivan Sen introduces his moving documentary about the abduction and murder of Indigenous performer Rhoda Roberts’ twin sister, A Sister’s Love. (Thur 2 Aug, 7pm at ACMI Cinemas).

• After party for screening of Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw will follow Cherry Bar from 10.30pm (Wed 1 Aug). Free entry.

Stay tuned for more details…

Coopers Festival Lounge @ Forum

There’s only one place where MIFF-goers and friends should be seen outside the cinema – and that’s the Coopers Festival Lounge, open daily from the afternoon until late at the Forum Theatre and guaranteed to alleviate even the most severe case of Mondayitis. Better still, entry is free.

Note to regulars: The Coopers Festival Lounge has been made even more ‘schmooze-friendly’ with the majority of Talking Pictures sessions moved to ACMI cinemas. This means your conversation can now flow freely with entertainment that is designed to complement your chatter, not impinge on it.

TONIGHT: Take a trip back to the 80s with tonight’s The Ivan Hutchison Sessions - #1 The Actors’ Session.
From 6pm, we’ll be playing classic interviews from Hutchison in a tribute to Melbourne’s much-loved Mister Movies.

At 8pm, sit back and enjoy the world tunes of DJ Tendekashu. The best way to ease into your working week.

Talking Pictures @ ACMI

Join industry specialists, Festival guests, filmmakers and actors as they discuss everything ‘film’. Admission is free and you can reserve your seat directly from the ACMI Box Office.

TONIGHT: 6.15pm, Where have I seen you before? Digital Exhibition of Short and Feature Films sees industry specialists discuss a new era in film distribution. ‘Upload, post & play’ is now the mantra for many Internet users – so how does this mentality affect our film industry? Do you want people saying “seen it on You Tube”? Or should you save ‘it’ for entry into a film festival? Panellists include Catherine Gough-Brady (director, Time to go John), Dan Fill (ABC New Media), Nick Batzias (Madman Distribution) and Simone Govic (si-mi.com). Hosted by MIFF programmer Nick Feik.

Tomorrow at 6.15pm, Pictures in Motion – a Macro Look at Magnum presents Magnum Photos youngest member, Donovan Wylie, to coincide with MIFF’s Magnum in Motion screenings. Wylie will be elucidating on the highs and lows of bringing photojournalism to the screen with Brett McLennan, ACMI’s Screen Education Manager. He will also expound on the relationship between sitter and shooter, the process of going from still to the moving image and his documentary, The Train (screening Wed 1 Aug and Thurs 9 Aug).

Australian Perspectives at ACMI

Sold Out and Selling Fast

Following a weekend of auspicious red dots on many of the film screenings, the sell-outs continue, which means just one thing: No time for second thoughts, get your tickets now.

The following sessions are sold out:

Exit – tonight 7pm Forum
Buy a Ticket, Take the Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film – tonight 9pm Greater Union
Short & Local – Tues 7pm Greater Union
Inland Empire – Tues 7 Aug 9pm ACMI & Thurs 9 Aug 9.15pm Forum
Spicks & Specks Trivia Night @ Coopers Festival Lounge – Thurs 9 Aug 7pm
Azur and Asmar – Fri 10 Aug 1pm ACMI (tickets still available for Sat 4 Aug 1pm Forum)
Once – Fri 10 Aug 7pm ACMI
This is England (closing night feature) – Sun 12 Aug 7.30pm Regent

The following sessions are selling fast:

Words from the City – Thurs 4 Aug 9.25pm ACMI
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days – Sat 4 Aug 9.15pm Forum
Savage Grace – Sun 12 Aug 3pm Forum

Browse films at melbournefilmfestival.com.au

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