DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL - PALACE ELECTRIC CINEMA THURSDAY 2 AUG - SUNDAY 5 AUG 2018 - Stronger Than Fiction
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DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL PALACE ELECTRIC CINEMA THURSDAY 2 AUG – SUNDAY 5 AUG 2018
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
WELCOME
Welcome to the fifth Stronger than Fiction - the film
festival dedicated to the art of documentary cinema. We
are delighted to bring Canberra audiences some of the
most exciting and moving documentaries of the year.
We kick off with Speak Up, a fast-paced French film about
a class of bubbly French university students navigating
the cut and thrust of public speaking and we close with
an exhilarating and intimate portrait of Ian McKellen in
McKellen: Playing the Part.
This year’s lineup includes several major award winners.
The controversial winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin,
Touch Me Not is a stylish hybrid doc about physical
intimacy while Minding the Gap, with twelve awards,
focuses on three skateboarding buddies and the gap
between fathers and sons in a small Illinois town.
Nearly half this year’s films are directed by women, and
we’re thrilled that several of them will be our guests at
the festival - Gabrielle Brady, director of the powerfully
poetic Island of the Hungry Ghosts, Christy Garland with
the suspenseful What Walaa Wants, and Catherine Scott
screens her deeply moving The Backtrack Boys.
Looking forward to seeing you at the festival and talking
about the films you enjoyed the most.
Deborah Kingsland Hannah de Feyter Simon Weaving
Director Producer Founder & Co-curator
GALA OPENING NIGHT 6:30PM ARRIVAL FOR 7PM SCREENING THURSDAY 2 AUGUST
“Uplifting and
authentic ...
PRESENTS
The French
have always
had a way SPEAK UP
with words.”
French university students navigate
HOLLYWOOD
REPORTER the cut and thrust of public speaking in
this rabble-rousing romp.
As they prepare for the annual Eloquentia
public speaking contest, students are
pushed to their limits through theatre and
rap-based exercises. Their passionate
lecturers coach them with shock tactics
and outrageous humour.
Several students from immigrant
backgrounds invite us into their home lives
but the heart of the film is the energetic
training process the whole class relishes.
DIRECTOR:
Stéphane de Freitas
COUNTRY:
France
LANGUAGE:
French with English subtitles
YEAR:
2017
RUN TIME:
99 mins
Join us after the screening for an Opening
Celebration on the Nishi Grand Stair, courtesy
of Ainslie IGA, complete with a delicious spread
from Woodbrook and a selection of Eden Road
Wines and beer from Capital Brewing Co.
6:30PM FRIDAY 3 AUGUST
MINDING THE GAP DIRECTOR:
Bing Liu
Three skateboarding buddies on the cusp COUNTRY:
of manhood face unexpected revelations USA
and small town pressures. LANGUAGE:
English
Liu’s debut is a coming-of-age story from
recession-ravaged Rockford. Beginning as YEAR:
an ode to skateboarding, the film unfolds to 2018
explore the forces that push the boys together RUN TIME:
and apart. The revelation of Zach’s troubled 93 mins
relationship with his girlfriend leads Bing and
Winner, Special Jury
Keire to their own family secrets. Liu’s focus Prize, Sundance Film
becomes the gap between fathers and sons, Festival 2018 and
between discipline and domestic abuse, and 11 other awards
ultimately the chasm between childhood and
becoming an adult.
“There has never been a more in-depth portrayal of
late adolescent masculinity.”
CPH POST
THE BACKTRACK BOYS DIRECTOR:
Catherine Scott
A deeply moving study of three Aussie COUNTRY:
boys who join an extraordinary outback Australia
program as a way of staying out of jail. LANGUAGE:
English
Just outside Armidale, NSW at a youth
program called BackTrack, Bernie offers YEAR:
unconditional support and a last chance for 2018
troubled kids to pursue their dreams. We RUN TIME:
follow Zack, Russell and Alfie as they travel 99 mins
to rural shows with Bernie’s dog jumping
Q&A SPEAKERS:
team. It’s a rollercoaster ride as we share the
Q&A with the director,
challenges these boys face as they try to find Catherine Scott.
their place in the world.
Winner of the Audience
Award, Sydney Film
Festival 2018
8:30PM FRIDAY 3 AUGUST
M.I.A., MAYA, MATANGI DIRECTOR:
Steve Loveridge
The inspiring story of Maya, daughter of COUNTRIES:
a Tamil revolutionary, who’s become a UK, USA, Sri Lanka
pop phenomenon with her special brand LANGUAGE:
of political rap. English and Tamil with
English subtitles
Maya to her friends and M.I.A. to the world,
she’s a self-proclaimed “problematic YEAR:
2018
pop star” — innovative and provocative.
Loveridge blends pre- and post-fame footage RUN TIME:
into a high-energy documentary portrait 90 mins
that channels its subject’s eclectic style.
The result is a smart, lively investigation of
M.I.A.’s own concerns: the lives of immigrants
worldwide, the plight of Tamil people, and
the question of whether pop stars can make
effective activists.
“A treasure trove of intimate insights.”
SIGHT AND SOUND
8:45PM FR1DAY 3 AUGUST
1:45PM SATURDAY 4 AUGUST
HOBBYHORSE DIRECTOR:
Selma Vilhunen
REVOLUTION COUNTRIES:
Finland, Sweden
A feel-good look at the obsessions
and delights of Finnish teenage girls LANGUAGE:
Finnish with English
immersed in the competitive world of the subtitles
hobbyhorse.
YEAR:
Oscar-nominated director Selma Vilhunen’s 2017
film explores the curious sub-culture of
RUN TIME:
quasi-equestrian dressage with warmth and 90 mins
humour. Struggling at home and at school,
the three teenage protagonists embrace
the hobbyhorse world to find joy and self-
expression. We are drawn into this culture
where, free of judgement, young girls have
created an imaginative and surprisingly “You’ll stand,
athletic sport that is utterly their own.
you’ll cheer, you’ll
wonder what to
name your horse.”
NOWTORONTO.COM
3:45PM SATURDAY 4 AUGUST
GENESIS 2.0 DIRECTORS:
Christian Frei and
Maxim Arbugaev
A haunting story of hunters of mammoth
remains in remote Siberia and unnerving COUNTRY:
Switzerland
cloning technology.
LANGUAGE:
On desolate islands in the Arctic Ocean, English, Russian, Yakut,
hunters search for the tusks of extinct Korean and Mandarin
mammoths. The thawing permafrost not only with English subtitles
releases precious ivory but also a surprisingly
YEAR:
well-preserved mammoth carcass. Such 2018
finds are magnets for genetic scientists who
RUN TIME:
hope one day to use its DNA to resurrect the
113 mins
long-extinct creature. Werner Herzog meets
Jurassic Park in this real-life thriller that Special Jury Prize,
Sundance Film
explores humanity’s reckless courage and the
Festival 2018
theme of Man vs Nature.
“Genesis 2.0 is a double-stranded helix of a real-life
thriller, chilling and unforgettable.”
HOLLYWOOD REPORTERDIRECTOR:
THE HIGH COMMISSION Christy Garland
OF CANADA PRESENTS
COUNTRIES:
Canada/Denmark
WHAT WALAA WANTS LANGUAGE:
Arabic with English
The gripping tale of a rebellious subtitles
Palestinian girl on the West Bank who YEAR:
wants to join the police force. 2018
Raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank RUN TIME:
89 mins
while her mother was in prison, Walaa is
a wilful teenager whose dream to join the Q&A SPEAKERS:
Palestinian Authority is placed in jeopardy by The film will be
the need to follow rules during basic training. introduced by Charles
Reeves, Deputy High
Walaa’s riveting story unfolds over six years Commissioner, High
Commission of Canada.
through the intimacy of conversations
between family members, friends and Q&A with the director,
workplace situations. Christy Garland
following the screening.
Special Jury Prize,
Hot Docs 2018
6:30PM SATURDAY 4 AUGUSTTHE CLEANERS DIRECTORS:
Hans Block and
Moritz Riesewieck
The extraordinary, at times graphic story
of the workers who wade through social COUNTRIES:
Germany, Brazil
media and digital sewage, deciding what
to censor. LANGUAGE:
English and Tagalog
In the shadowy industry of digital cleaning with English subtitles
we meet the Filipino censors paid to rid
YEAR:
social media of what it doesn’t like - violence, 2018
pornography and, we discover, some political
content. Who is making the rules? Are we RUN TIME:
88 mins
comfortable with allowing a private company
to control what we see? The Cleaners explores
these questions and ponders the conundrum
of cross-cultural censorship.
“A neon-lit documentary shot like a noir thriller.”
VARIETY
8:30PM SATURDAY 4 AUGUST9PM SATURDAY 4 AUGUST
TOUCH ME NOT DIRECTOR:
Adana Pintilie
This bold look at intimacy and how we COUNTRIES:
perceive beauty blurs the line between Romania, Germany,
Czech Republic,
fiction and reality. Bulgaria, France
Laura, a middle-aged English woman, LANGUAGE:
struggles with sexual intimacy. In her quest English, German with
for answers, she hires a handsome gigolo, a English subtitles
Tantric Sex specialist and also turns to Hannah,
YEAR:
a transsexual sex worker. At a group therapy 2018
session, she meets Christian, a remarkable man
RUN TIME:
whose significant physical limitations are no
125 mins
barrier to a highly sexual life.
Winner, The
Golden Bear, Berlin
International Film
Festival 2018
“An eye-opening look at human sexuality.”
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER2PM
12 MIDDAY
SUNDAY
SUNDAY
5 AUGUST
2 AUGUST
PICK OF THE LITTER DIRECTORS:
Don Hardy and
Dana Nachman
The delightful journey following Labrador
puppies as they face the challenges of COUNTRY:
USA
training to become a guide dog for the
blind. LANGUAGE:
English
Soon after birth, the pups are distributed
to ‘Puppy Raisers’ who fall in love with their YEAR:
2018
adorable charges. But wanting their puppy to
succeed comes with a looming sense of loss, RUN TIME:
particularly for a war veteran with PTSD. 81 mins
As the puppies grow, they learn how to make
difficult calls in complex situations. We cheer
them on as they approach their final test, but
only the pick of the litter will make it.
“Earnest and heart-warming, filled with… tight close-ups
of beseeching doggy eyes.”
SEATTLE TIMESISLAND OF THE DIRECTOR:
Gabrielle Brady
HUNGRY GHOSTS COUNTRIES:
Australia, Denmark UK
This compelling genre-defying exploration of
attitudes to migrants across time and culture LANGUAGE:
English
is at once beautiful, coherent and powerful.
YEAR:
Gabrielle Brady’s debut feature is amongst a 2018
strong lineage of films about asylum seekers,
but it is wholly unlike any of them. Hypnotic and RUN TIME:
93 mins
at times surreal, the film focuses on Poh Lin – a
trauma therapist working at the Christmas Island Q&A SPEAKERS:
Detention Centre. Brady interweaves Lin’s story Q&A with director
Gabrielle Brady and the
with the island’s violent past and the annual
film’s main character,
migration of the island’s famous red crabs. Poh Lin.
Gabrielle Brady is an Australian filmmaker who Best Documentary
studied film at the International School of Film Tribeca Film Festival 2018
and Television in Cuba.
“A film that made us feel we were witnessing nothing less than
the emergence, fully formed, of a major new cinematic talent.”
TRIBECA JURY
3PM SUNDAY 5 AUGUSTOF FATHERS AND SONS DIRECTOR:
Talal Derki
An intimate and at times provocative COUNTRIES:
study of the family life of a Syrian Jihadist Germany, Syria,
Lebanon
soldier and his sons.
LANGUAGE:
Derki risked his life to give us this extremely Arabic with English
rare insight into growing up in a radical subtitles
Islamist family in northern Syria. While the
YEAR:
camera occasionally accompanies the father,
2017
Abu Osama as he disarms bombs or snipes
at distant enemies, the film’s chief focus is RUN TIME:
98 mins
his sons, particularly 10-year-old Osama, who
can’t wait to start military training, and his Grand Jury Prize,
sensitive younger brother Ayman, who wants Sundance Film Festival
to stay at school. 2018
“What makes the film all the more poignant is the
fact that the children are, of course, despite all this,
kids like anywhere else.”
EYE FOR FILM
4PM SUNDAY 5 AUGUSTGALA CLOSING NIGHT 6:15PM ARRIVAL FOR 7PM SCREENING SUNDAY 5 AUGUST “The thrilling clips of his big Shakespearean roles are worth the price of a ticket alone.” GUARDIAN
McKELLEN: PLAYING THE PART An exhilarating and intimate portrait of stage and screen legend Ian McKellen. McKellen’s storytelling is captivating and his candour bracing, as he shares his defining moments. Told with his trademark wry humour, there is much left unsaid in this mesmerising first-person documentary as he enthrals us with musings on his film work plus inspiring memories of coming out late in life and his AIDS campaigning. DIRECTOR: Joe Stephenson COUNTRY: UK LANGUAGE: English YEAR: 2017 RUN TIME: 92 mins Join us before the film for a Closing Night celebration with delicious treats, Eden Road Wines and beer from Capital Brewing Co.
Introducing
Podilato
You’re invited to experience Podilato restaurant, located at the all new
Mantra MacArthur Hotel.
Meaning ‘bicycle’, Podilato is the sister restaurant to Bicicletta and offers
a Mediterranean inspired menu.
Show this advert on arrival and you’ll receive
20%* off the total bill.
Book now! Reserve your table by calling (02) 6112 9292
or visit podilato.com.au
Podilato Restaurant, Mantra MacArthur Hotel
219 Northbourne Avenue Turner ACT, Canberra
*Valid for lunch and dinner. Discount applicable for bills up to the value of
$200. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Subject to property
black-out periods. If unused, cannot be redeemed for cash or credit. Can only
be used at the Mantra Group property where the voucher was provided. Max
4 people per voucher.Eden Road Wines, Proud Supporters
Eden
ofEden
the Road Wines,
Stronger Proud
Than Supporters
Fiction Festival
Road Wines, Proud Supporters
of the Stronger Than Fiction Festival
of 3182
theBarton
Stronger
HighwayThan FictionNSW
Murrumbateman Festival
2582
+61 2Barton
3182 6226 8800 www.edenroadwines.com.au
Highway Murrumbateman NSW 2582
3182
+61 2Barton Highway
6226 8800 Murrumbateman NSW 2582
www.edenroadwines.com.au
+61 2 6226 8800 www.edenroadwines.com.auPROGRAM AT A GLANCE
DATE TIME FILM RUN TIME
THURS 6:30 for 7pm SPEAK UP 99 mins
2 AUG
FRI 6:30pm MINDING THE GAP 93 mins
3 AUG
8:30pm THE BACKTRACK BOYS 99 mins
8:45pm M.I.A., MAYA, MATANGI 90 mins
SAT 1:45pm HOBBYHORSE REVOLUTION 90 mins
4 AUG
3:45pm GENESIS 2.0 113 mins
6:30pm WHAT WALAA WANTS 89 mins
8:30pm THE CLEANERS 88 mins
9pm TOUCH ME NOT 125 mins
SUN 2pm PICK OF THE LITTER 81 mins
5 AUG
3pm ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS 93 mins
4pm OF FATHERS AND SONS 98 mins
6:15 for 7pm McKELLEN: PLAYING THE PART 92 minsCOUNTRY EVENT DETAILS
France Join us after the screening for an Opening Celebration on
the Nishi Grand Stair, courtesy of Ainslie IGA, complete
with a delicious spread from Woodbrook and a selection
of Eden Road Wines and beer from Capital Brewing Co.
USA
Australia Q&A with the director, Catherine Scott following the
screening.
UK, USA, Sri Lanka
Finland, Sweden
Switzerland
Canada, Denmark Q&A with the director, Christy Garland following the
screening.
Germany, Brazil
Romania, Germany,
Czech Republic,
Bulgaria, France
USA
Australia, Q&A with director Gabrielle Brady and the film’s main
Denmark, UK character, Poh Lin.
Germany,
Syria, Lebanon
UK Join us before the film for a Closing Night celebration
with delicious treats, Eden Road Wines and beer from
Capital Brewing Co.FESTIVAL TEAM Director: Deborah Kingsland Festival Producer: Hannah de Feyter Founder and Co-Curator: Simon Weaving Project Management: Lavanna Neal, Alice Taylor and Zoe Kooyman Event Coordinator: Jeremy Jones Graphic Design: Daniel Hadiwibawa Interns: Alasdair Barnes and Laura Giacomin Volunteers: Rossen de Ramos, Carolyn Voss, Amanda-Jo Birchall, Tim Daly, Camilla Blunden Glynis Stokes and many more. You know who you are. Thank you! Stronger than Fiction Committee: Alice Taylor, John Frohlich, Hannah de Feyter, Zoe Kooyman and Lavanna Neal Festival Trailer Editor: Frank Oly Festival Photography: Konrad Lenz Special Thanks: Diana Streak, Cris Kennedy, Sophia Hamblin-Wang, Agency 9, Bec Fleming, Pamela Slocum, Brett Yeats and Tina Van Raay Ainslie IGA Short Films Producer/Director – Deborah Kingsland & Hannah de Feyter Camera: Christian Doran Additional Camera: Kim Beamish Sound: Tim Duck Editing: Hannah de Feyter Colourist: Annica Mott Production: Zoe Kooyman and Carolyn Voss Photography: Olia Balabina Audio Engineering: Sam Andrews Music: Audio Network
TICKETS All tickets can be purchased at the Palace Electric box office or online at www.palacecinemas.com.au MULTI-FILM PASSES* ADULT MCLUB MEMBER 3 FILMS $54 $42 5 FILMS $80 $65 OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHT EVENTS ALL TICKETS MCLUB Opening Night - Join us post film $45 $40 for an opening celebration party on the Nishi Grand Stair, with a delicious spread courtesy of the Ainslie IGA plus drinks from Eden Road Wines and Capital Brewing Co Closing Night and after-party with $35 $30 light supper, Eden Road Wine and beer from Capital Brewing Co SINGLE TICKETS STANDARD MCLUB Adult $19.00 $15.00 All Concession/Students/Seniors $16.00 GROUP TICKETS** Adult Groups of 15 or more $12.00 School Groups of 20 or more $10.50 per student * Can only be purchased in person at the box office ** For all group enquiries, contact events.act@palacecinemas.com.au Follow Stronger than Fiction on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram www.facebook.com/strongerthanfictiondocs.com
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