Snowtown
There’s a very interesting Australian film being released on May 19. It’s called Snowtown and having now seen it twice, I should have a full review up on my site by the weekend.
I don’t want to say too much just yet but it’s one of the most unsettling films that I’ve seen in a long time. I was lucky enough to host a Q&A last night with the director, Justin Kurzel. You can check out a photo of us here...
Justin was great to speak with and offered much insight into the film and what he was trying to achieve. Snowtown has been selected for Critic’s Week at the Cannes Film Festival too which is a great honour. Justin flies out tomorrow and I’ll be curious to see what kind of reception it gets at Cannes.
Despite the fact that a Q&A would be hosted afterwards, it didn’t stop 25 people in total from leaving before the film finished. It’s a very tough film to watch at times and some people just couldn’t take it. One member in the audience, Sarah Moran, wrote a great piece on her experience which you can read by clicking here.
I may sound strange but I think this film’s selling point is its hard-hitting nature. When I tweeted that a number of people had walked out last night, I received a few comments like this on Twitter – “I want watch it now!”, “I kind of want to see this now. Didn't know about it but sounds like an interesting watch” and “I'll have to check it out - sounds really interesting”.
It’s kind of like reverse psychology. If you tell people not to go see a film because it’s going to be “too hard to watch”, then it’s going to get people’s attention. They’ll want to see the film themselves to find out what all the fuss is about.
The film isn’t perfect but I do hope a lot of people take the time to see it. It’ll open their eyes to a dark part of Australian culture that is often unspoken about. Whether you like it or not, it’s a film that will generate discussion. I certainly won’t forget it in a hurry.
Toronto Film Festival
I’ve been planning this over the past couple of months but everything looks locked in for my trip to the Toronto Film Festival. It’s been a new years resolution of mine for a while and I’ve finally found the time and energy to organise it.
Applications for press accreditation open in June and hopefully I’ll be able to get some decent. Would love to be able to attend press screenings with some of my favourite US critics and then have access to a few of the stars. Worst case scenario, I’ll go along to the screenings with the general public.
Toronto has always been my favourite film festival to follow on the web given it’s the launching platform for so many Oscar contenders. It’ll be exciting to get a heads up on many from the 2011 crop and I’ll be trying to blog / tweet continually while there.
The plan is to also spend some time in New York and Washington DC (two places on my bucket list) and I’ll hopefully be able to sneak in a few Broadway shows. Can’t wait!
Cannes Film Festival
If I could pick another film festival to attend, it’d be the one and only Cannes Film Festival. It kicks off tomorrow with the premiere of Woody Allen’s new film, Midnight In Paris. This year’s jury is headed by Robert DeNiro and many well known filmmakers have their latest works in contention.
The film everyone is waiting for is Terrence Malick’s Tree Of Life. Malick is a gifted filmmaker (The Thin Red Line, Badlands) but perhaps he is more widely known for being a recluse. He hasn’t given an interview since 1973 and you’d be hard-pressed to find many photos of him on the internet. I don’t know how he manages to keep such a low profile. It’ll be interesting to see if he shows up in Cannes.
Also adding to the mystique of the film is the fact it is was shot so long ago. It was originally going to be released in December 2009 but Malick decided it wasn’t ready yet. There have been a few other hiccups along the way but the good news is that it will finally see the light of day at Cannes. The trailer looks fantastic and I hope it lives up to the hype.
Also screening at Cannes are The Skin I Live In (the latest from two time Oscar winner Pedro Almodovar), Melancholia (from Lars Von Trier), Sleeping Beauty (directed by Australian novelist Julia Leigh) and The Beaver (directed by Jodie Foster).
What I’d give to be in Cannes over the next two weeks!