Shall We Kiss AKA Un baiser s’il vous plaît
Winter once again heralds the opening of MIFF (Melbourne International Film Festival). As is traditional, this year’s program trumps Sydney’s earlier festival in quality and quantity. Opening night kicks-off with the Not Quite Hollywood - a nice little insight into the Australian film trade circa the 1970s.
Melbourne International Film Festival. July 25 - Aug 10. Fifty plus countries, 17 days. Be there.
Sweet Beauty.
I don’t know why it makes me so happy, but the darn thing is just nifty. Make your own here: Wordle. Customisable fonts, layouts, and color schemes. Go on, lose a few hours.
Yet more things happening nowhere near Sydney.
The infamous Newport Folk Festival rolls into Rhode Island again this August. Held from the 1st to the 3rd, loyal pilgrims can expect an extensive, even impressive, line-up of acts. Tickets have been on sale for quite a while from the decent folks at Festival Network.
The Newport Folk Festival
Day 1
Friday, August 1
International Tennis Hall of Fame
at the Newport Casino
Doors: 6:00 PM
Show: 8:00PM
Brian Wilson
Kate Taylor
Willy Mason
Day 2
Saturday, August 2
Fort Adams State Park
Doors: 10:00 AM
Show: 11:30 AM to 7:00 PM
The Black Crowes
Trey Anastasio
Cat Power
Stephen & Damian Marley
Richie Havens
Cowboy Junkies
Jim James (of My Morning Jacket)
She & Him (feat. Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward)
Steve Earle & Allison Moorer
Young @ Heart Chorus
Jakob Dylan
Willy Mason
The Felice Brothers
Jesca Hoop
Red Rooster
Sydney Wayser
American Babies
Schedule subject to change
Day 3
Sunday, August 3rd
Fort Adams State Park
Doors: 10:00 AM
Show: 11:30 AM to 7:00 PM
Jimmy Buffett
Levon Helm
Gillian Welch
The Avett Brothers
Calexico
Brandi Carlile
Son Volt
Kaki King
Over The Rhine
Jake Shimabukuro
One Flew South
Richard Julian
The Honors
Ryan Fitzsimmons
(Isla Fisher, Ryan Reynolds in Definitely, Maybe )
Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) is a soon-to-be single dad who takes on the task of explaining to his daughter (Abigail Breslin) why her parents don’t love each other anymore. Needless to say, Will’s uttering of the line, “It’s complicated,” doesn’t cut it. Because the kid might be 11 years old, but she’s also played by Abigail Breslin - a child actor whose precocious levels outdo even Dakota Fanning’s. Responsible parent that Will is, he decides to tell his little girl the story of how he and mom first met.
City’s closed. Go home.
… another Mu-Meson lesson in cult (culture) worship. The July program looks choc-full of anarchic goodness – just in time to celebrate the (much-anticipated?) World Youth Day shenanigans. Remember Sydney-siders, we’re all encouraged to do our bit by staying the hell away from the city – and, presumably, the visitors.
Americans and their peculiar ways.
Meadowy
Seafood, alcohol, live music. Because everybody knows bivalve mollusks know where the fun is at.
Tickets available exclusively from Snag Tickets. Free entry for under 14s.
OysterFest 2008 (May 17 - May 18th)
Great Meadow at Fort Mason
Saturday, May 17th - Noon to 7pm
The Dropkick Murphys
Juliette Lewis and the Licks
Yard Dogs Road Show
Eoin Harrington
Sunday May 18th - Noon to 7pm
She and Him (feat. Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward)
Mother Hips
Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express
Whispertown 2000
Sydney-siders, prepare for two weeks of posturing as the annual Sydney Writer’s Festival (May 19 - 25) comes to town.
Seven Billiard Tables
It’s not as big or as glamourous as the French Film Festival that just rolled out of town, but the annual Spanish Film Fest is pretty damn alluring too. Into its 11th year, the 2008 program offers film lovers a fun week of cinematic diversion, kicking off with the acclaimed Seven Billiard Tables (Siete mesas de billar francés).
Running throughout May in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth, the line-up varies slightly from city to city, but the organisers have put together a fairly substantial portfolio that covers a lot of genres – and tastes.
The prospect of venturing into Leichhardt isn’t terribly palatable to anybody, but there just might enough incentive to make the trek on May 17. Youth favourite Y tu mamá también is due to screen at the unfortunately situated Palace Norton Street at noon sharp.
Y tu mamá también
Confounding session times aside, this looks to be two or so weeks of good times.
Tony Richardson’s The Loved One (1965)
The Mu-Meson Archives play host to another month of “psychotronic, cinema, film, music, culture, OVNI, UFO, conspiracy, [and] exploitation”.
Anybody going by the monikers Jay Katz and Miss Death are either going to be the coolest people you ever come across or the biggest asses you’ll ever wish ill upon.
The Mu-Meson guys definitely fall into the former. Check out their current program here: http://www.mumeson.org/
Timid souls might give The Loved One screening a go. With an early, evening kick-off and a $10 charge that covers supper, the May 21st screening is a good way to dip your toes into the glorious Mu-Meson pool.
While the whole May program is choc-full of too-cool goodness, who can go past a title like Flesh Eating Mothers? Can you think of a better way to celebrate that hallowed of holidays: Mother’s Day?
Get thee on down to Annandale.
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.”
“Can I come?”
These are the first words the audience hears. That’s the film – a picture of loneliness and longing. Tobe Sommers (Evan Rachel Wood) and her little brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin) exist in the world without living. Each longs for something better, but behind their expressive eyes, and everyday motions, there’s a resignation. For them, this is… life. Watching the Sommers go about their daily lives is like watching a sort of slow death. We recognise these people and, more heartbreaking, we know where they’re heading – or not. Tobe’s feisty nature doesn’t open doors of optimism but rather offers glimpses of the loss about to follow. Like the opening lines of the movie, the characters are going nowhere, and their every action to rebel against this moves them closer towards tragedy.
