http://if.com.au/ Inside Film - Australia en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss info@if.com.au (The Editor) http://if.com.au////article/Ben-Allen-wins-APRA-Tropscore-competition/AHKVOMUEIQ.html http://if.com.au////article/Ben-Allen-wins-APRA-Tropscore-competition/AHKVOMUEIQ.html Danii Logue The Northern Territory will be well represented at this year’s Tropfest with the announcement that Alice Springs-based musician, Ben Allen, is the winner of the APRA Tropscore competition. Meanwhile, Tropfest’s first ever Northern Territory finalist, Samantha Young, will compete in the third annual Telstra Mobile Masterpiece program. Allen beat out almost 900 other entrants, who were required to compose an original score to Australian filmmaker Amelia Olsen-Boyd’s three minute short Returning. TheŒwin delivered a $5000 cash prize as well as the opportunity to perform his score live onstage at Movie Extra Tropfest, which will be held at The Domain in Sydney on Sunday, February 19. A prolific songwriter, Allen performs under two banners - Yellow Streetlight,... Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:54:07 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Snowtown-and-The-Slap-clean-up-at-inaugural-AACTA-Awards/JBYWAHWHZY.html http://if.com.au////article/Snowtown-and-The-Slap-clean-up-at-inaugural-AACTA-Awards/JBYWAHWHZY.html Sam Dallas It seems controversy leads to awards. The two big winners at last night’s inaugural AACTA Awards were thriller feature film Snowtown and TV drama series The Slap. Both renowned for their controversial nature, the film and TV series netted four and five gongs respectively. Snowtown, about Australian serial killer John Bunting who befriends a 16-year-old, was honoured in the Best Direction (Justin Kurzel), Best Adapted Screenplay (Shaun Grant), Best Actor (Daniel Henshall) and Best Supporting Actress (Louise Harris) categories. The last two awards were particularly impressive as neither actor had appeared in a feature film before. While Henshall had previously acted in such shows as Out of the Blue, it was Harris’ first ever acting role. The four gongs awarded last... Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:39:36 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Rotterdam-audiences-enjoy-Black--White--Sex/MXWQBKDYEA.html http://if.com.au////article/Rotterdam-audiences-enjoy-Black--White--Sex/MXWQBKDYEA.html Aleksandra Popovic Australian film Black & White & Sex has been voted in the top three favourite films in its opening weekend at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. Producer John Winter (Rabbit-Proof Fence, Doing Time for Patsy Cline), in his directorial debut – a film-within-a-film about a sex worker who is determined to set the record straight about sex – secured an outstanding response from audience members for his provocative film which speaks honestly and openly about sex and sexuality. The UPC Audience Award, which is voted by the public, saw Martin Scorsese's Hugo at number one and Les géants (translated as The Giants) at number two. Written and directed by Winter and produced by Melissa Beauford, the Titan View-distributed film had a positive response... Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:26:50 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/The-Artist-scoops-three-AACTA-international-awards/QCDZZLBVOJ.html http://if.com.au////article/The-Artist-scoops-three-AACTA-international-awards/QCDZZLBVOJ.html Fay Al-Janabi The winners of the first ever Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) International Awards have been announced, acknowledging international talent over five categories. The stylishly black-and-white French comedy-drama, The Artist, picked up three awards on the night: Best Actor to Jean Dujardin's portrayal of a silent-film star whose career is on the decline as the ‘talkies’ are introduced to Hollywood; Best Film to producer Thomas Langmann; and the award for Best Direction was given to French director Michel Hazanavicius. Meryl Streep was present at the ceremony to receive the Best Actress award for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, in The Iron Lady. The award for Best Screenplay was presented to joint winners... Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:43:48 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Geoffrey-Rush-Australian-of-the-Year-2012-plans-to-promote-local-industry/FNRAIGYLRW.html http://if.com.au////article/Geoffrey-Rush-Australian-of-the-Year-2012-plans-to-promote-local-industry/FNRAIGYLRW.html Brendan Swift Academy Award-winning actor Geoffrey Rush plans to use his Australian of the Year award to encourage more people to watch local theatre productions and films. Prime minister Julia Gillard presented Rush with the prestigious award yesterday in recognition of his 40-year contribution to the industry, as well as his support forŒyoung actors and remaining grounded in the local community. Screen industry veteran Peter Fenton, whoŒwas chief mixer on more than 150 films, was also awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his services to the Australian film industry as a sound engineer. Rush, the third actor to receive the award after Robert Helpmann and Paul Hogan, later told reporters: “An empty theatre or an empty cinema, metaphorically, is not a great place for a culture... Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:13:36 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Iron-Sky-to-premiere-at-Berlin-International-Film-Festival/EKTDHKGCGH.html http://if.com.au////article/Iron-Sky-to-premiere-at-Berlin-International-Film-Festival/EKTDHKGCGH.html Brendan Swift Comedy sci-fi feature Iron Sky has been selected in the Panorama Special section of next month's Berlin International Film Festival. The film, about Nazis who fled to the Moon in 1945 before returning to claim the Earth in 2018, marks the first Australian-Finnish-German co-production. Australian producer Cathy Overett said: “We are incredibly excited that Iron Sky has been selected for Berlin. It is recognition of the incredible vision and tenacity of our director Timo Vuorensola and of the importance international co-productions play in the Australian film industry.” The film has relied on an innovative financing structure which included crowd-funding during production. It is still raising finance after facing blizzards in Germany and floods in Queensland during... Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:56:42 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Film-Festivals-tag-team-to-get-more-Aussies-in-cinemas/KLTIMVBJJD.html http://if.com.au////article/Film-Festivals-tag-team-to-get-more-Aussies-in-cinemas/KLTIMVBJJD.html Sam Dallas Four major Australian feature film festivals have formed a new partnership to support local niche and arthouse films during their cinematic run. The festivals in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will work with distributors and undertake targeted marketing for the releases in each territory. More than 95,000-combined e-newsletter subscribers will be targeted throughout the initiative, which has been in the works for the past 2-3 years. It’s a positive move from the festival directors at a time when audiences often sell-out festival screenings but not local complexes during their theatrical run. Last year, Australian films grossed just 3.9 per cent ($42.9 million) of the total $1.09 billion at the box office and this was largely because of one film: Red Dog. Outgoing... Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:12:28 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Hail-Black--White--Sex-to-screen-at-Rotterdam-International-Film-Festival/CXPFAIWMKH.html http://if.com.au////article/Hail-Black--White--Sex-to-screen-at-Rotterdam-International-Film-Festival/CXPFAIWMKH.html Danii Logue Two Australian features have been chosen to screen at the prestigious Rotterdam International Film Festival. Hail, by Melbourne director Amiel Courtin-Wilson, will screen as part of the Spectrums selection (which celebrates powerful, innovative forms of cinema), while John Winter’s Black & White & Sex will be shown as part of the Bright Future program (which celebrates the stand out work of debut directors). The culmination of Courtin-Wilson’s six-year collaboration with ex-prison inmate turned actor, Daniel P. Jones, Hail is a semi-fictional narrative about Jones’ attempts to return to society and his girlfriend (played by real-life partner, Leanne Letch) after his most recent stint in jail. “I was honoured when I heard the news as Rotterdam is... Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:20:44 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Anthony-Maras-The-Palace-wins-Best-Aus-Short-Film-at-2012-Flickerfest-Festival/IHFUYSOHEF.html http://if.com.au////article/Anthony-Maras-The-Palace-wins-Best-Aus-Short-Film-at-2012-Flickerfest-Festival/IHFUYSOHEF.html Sam Dallas Sunday, January 15, 2012 will go down as one of Anthony Maras' most proudest days. The South Australian filmmaker's latest powerful short film, The Palace, cleaned up at both the inaugural AACTA Awards and last night's Flickerfest. Earlier in the day, Maras – an AFI Award winner – won gongs for Best Short Fiction Film and Best Screenplay In A Short Film at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts' revamped awards before travelling to Sydney's Bondi Beach last night to collect Best Australian Short Film at the 21st annual Flickerfest ceremony. Not a bad 10 hours. Inspired by true events, The Palace – an Australian-Cyprus co-production – tells the story of a Greek Cypriot family which flees advancing Turkish forces and takes refuge... Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:15:58 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/AACTA-unveils-first-round-of-awards/QLKKBPOYAR.html http://if.com.au////article/AACTA-unveils-first-round-of-awards/QLKKBPOYAR.html Brendan Swift The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) hasŒunveiled the first round of its revamped awards at a Sydney luncheon. Presenters at the event, which was hosted by actor Sigrid Thornton, included actors such as Radha Mitchell, Rebecca Gibney and Susie Porter, as well as directors Bruce Beresford, Fred Schepisi and Adam Elliot. Australian cinematographer Donald McAlpine ACS ASC picked up the AACTA's highest accolade, the Raymond Longford Award, whileŒfilmmaker Ivan SenŒreceived the Byron Kennedy Award, which recognises innovation and the pursuit of excellence. Sen, whose latest film Toomelah screened at last year's Cannes Film Festival,Œwas chosen for “his unique artistic vision and for showing, by his resourceful multidisciplinary... Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:12:25 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Don-McAlpine-receives-AACTAs-Raymond-Longford-award/HELUMGOLDD.html http://if.com.au////article/Don-McAlpine-receives-AACTAs-Raymond-Longford-award/HELUMGOLDD.html Brendan Swift Cinematographer Don McAlpine ACS ASC has been presented with the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts’ (AACTA) prestigious Raymond Longford Award at a luncheon held in Sydney. The award was presented by film director Bruce Beresford, actors Jack Thompson and Sigrid Thornton, and Australian Film Institute chairman Alan Finney, in recognition of McAlpine’s 40-year career. "I have often joked that it’s quite easy to make a good film – you just have to make a lot," McAlpine told the audience. "We all have commenced our opus in the blind belief that it must be a success. I hope that in the future more mature successful people could be co-opted into the selection process... "Since receiving this award I have been motivated... Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:29:57 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Till-Death-Do-Us-Die-wins-AWG-Terror-Australis-Horror-Script-Competition/DIEBWOUYGQ.html http://if.com.au////article/Till-Death-Do-Us-Die-wins-AWG-Terror-Australis-Horror-Script-Competition/DIEBWOUYGQ.html Staff reporter Writers Andrew Connell and Gordon Napier's Till Death Do Us Die script hasŒtaken out top honours at the inaugural Australian Writers’ Guild Terror Australis Horror Script Competition. The script, about a groom who is forced to battle supernatural forces when a cursed wedding ring unleashes an ancient evil upon his bride, was chosen from 130 entries. It will now be read by genre producers Chris Brown (Daybreakers, The Proposition), David Lightfoot (Wolf Creek, Rogue), Josh Reed (Primal) and Andrew Traucki (Black Water, The Reef). The two writers have also won a micro-mentorship with Shayne Armstrong and Shane Krause (Acolytes). Kraken by Rick Kalowski (story by Rick Kalowski and Andrew Jones) was highly commended by the judges. Also on the finalists' shortlist... Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:01:50 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Four-Australian-shorts-to-screen-at-Clermont-Ferrand-Film-Festival/WKYDMDCKSG.html http://if.com.au////article/Four-Australian-shorts-to-screen-at-Clermont-Ferrand-Film-Festival/WKYDMDCKSG.html Amanda Diaz Four Australian films have been selected to screen at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France. Of the films chosen, two will be shown as part of the International Competition, while the others have been entered into the experimental content category. Recognised as one of the world's leading short film festivals, Clermont-Ferrand received more than 7,100 entries for this year's festival. The International Competition will feature 77 films from around the world, including local short films Tethered and Paris Lakes. Written and directed by Craig Irvin and produced by Ash Harris, Tethered follows the story of a young man who takes a job at a slaughterhouse. Robert Stephenson's Paris Lakes is an animated advertisement for a brand new suburb... Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:21:14 +1100