Academic, film critic and literature reviewer
Some tales are hidden and wait for the right filmmaker to come along and weave their stories into something that creates such an impression on the audience that they’ll forever carry a part of that story with them. Gabrielle Brady’s ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS, Mathew Sleeth’s GUILTY and Catherine Scott’s BACKTRACK BOYS are stories that will stay in the minds…
One of the most resource rich countries in Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been ravaged by over 20 years of civil instability and its vulnerable people are the ones who suffer the most. In the first five minutes of Daniel McCabe’s This is Congo you are given a frightening glimpse into the sights…
Matthew Heineman’s new documentary, City of Ghosts, focuses on RBSS (Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently), a group of citizen activists who documented the path of destruction and death inflicted on the city of Raqqa in 2014. The group set out to witness the crimes of both the Bashar Al-Assad regime and ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and…
Sarah Barton’s Defiant Lives details the struggle for disability rights in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. Featuring interviews with key disability activists and supplemented with archival footage, the film provides powerful insight into the treatment of people with disabilities from the 1960s to today. Barton’s film explores the recent shift in conversations…
Do Not Resist | Craig Atkinson The opening scenes of Craig Atkinson’s Do Not Resist are confronting in their similarity to scenes of war. Heavy military grade transportation – Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles – roll down streets. Police wearing what appears to be military-issued gear fire tear gas into a crowd of protesters where…
Constance on the Edge | Belinda Mason In 2005 Constance and her family, refugees from war torn South Sudan’s Agoro, settled in Wagga Wagga, regional New South Wales, on a humanitarian visa. Belinda Mason’s Constance on the Edge follows Constance and her family as they settle into life in Wagga. Confronting racism, depression, drug addiction,…
Irrawaddy Mon Amour | Valeria Testagrossa, Nicola Grignani & Andrea Zambell What do you do if your love for your partner is illegal in your country? The village of Kyauk Myaung, on the Irrawaddy River, sits outside of Mandalay – the largest city in Myanmar after Yangon. It has a unique acceptance of the LGBTIQ…
