The Australian Centre for the Moving Image presents
In Praise of Parker Posey
Sunday 13 to Monday 28 March 2016
acmi.net.au/acmi/parker-posey #parkerposey
“The greatest character actress of the last few decades.” – The New Yorker
From 13 to 28 March, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) presents In Praise of Parker Posey, a film season that turns the spotlight on our favourite ‘90s party girl’ who The New Yorkerrecently named “the greatest character actress of the last few decades.”
From Noah Baumbach’s directorial debut Kicking and Screaming and Hal Hartley’s Henry Fool trilogy, to Posey’s Independent Spirit Award-nominated turns in Personal Velocity and Broken English, ACMI takes audiences on a cinematic journey through ten of Posey’s best films.
The screening program will be augmented by a special event, Talking TV: Parker Posey on the Small Screen on 17 March, in which a panel of commentators will examine Posey’s small screen work, which includes appearances in shows such as Bored to Death, Portlandia, Inside Amy Schumer, The C Word, Parks and Recreation and Louie. The panel comprises four reputable Melbourne writers who work across film, TV, lifestyle and popular culture: Penny Modra (The Good Copy), Sinead Stubbins (Junkee, TheVine, Yen, Frankie, Smith Journal, ThreeThousand), Luke Buckmester (Daily Review, Guardian Australia) and Bhakthi Puvanenthiran (The Age).
Curated by ACMI Film Programmer Roberta Ciabarra, In Praise of Parker Posey is an ode to one of today’s great character actors.
“Dubbed Queen of the Indies almost two decades ago, Parker Posey matured into a character actress who graduated beyond kooky to develop into a screen talent to be reckoned with,” said Roberta, “Whatever the genre – rom-com, improvisational spoof documentary or tragicomedy – Posey’s intensely committed approach to performance, wry, spiky wit and emotional fearlessness are trademarks of a disarmingly direct and winning style. Twice nominated for a Best Female Lead Independent Spirit Award – in films directed by women filmmakers who share Posey’s uncompromising approach to craft – we think the fabulous Ms Posey has earned her due.”
The season celebrates Posey’s offbeat charm and unabashed portrayals with ten titles selected from her three and a half decades of film work. The season spans Posey’s breakthrough role as nasty high school senior Darla Marks in Richard Linklater's cult classic Dazed and Confused (1993), to her most recent casting as Rita, college lecturer and love interest in Woody Allen's Irrational Man (2015) and her seminal roles in between. Each feature showcases Posey and her penchant for improvised drama and comedy.
Parker Posey began her acting career in 1991 on soap opera As the World Turns, before her debut on the silver screen in Dazed and Confused. Throughout the 90s she played a slew of supporting roles in independent titles such as Kicking and Screaming (1995), The Daytrippers (1996) and Waiting for Guffman (1997), leading to Time magazine dubbing her "Queen of the Indies." Posey’s sharp delivery of sometimes unusual characters earned her critical acclaim leading to her being cast as the ex-girlfriend of Tom Hanks in Nora Ephron's blockbuster romantic comedy You've Got Mail (1998).
Posey later appeared in Scream 3 (2000), Superman Returns (2006), Blade: Trinity (2004) and Irrational Man (2015), along with her famed improvisational roles in the Christopher Guest spoof documentaries Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). Beyond film, Posey has made guest appearances on TV in programs from The Simpsons and Will & Grace, to Louie, Bored to Death and Inside Amy Schumer.
ACMI will honour Parker Posey in a screening program which includes; Dazed and Confused (1993), Kicking and Screaming (1995), Best In Show (2000), Personal Velocity (2002), For Your Consideration (2006), Broken English (2007), Irrational Man (2015), and the Henry Fool trilogy: Henry Fool (1997), Fay Grim (2006) and Ned Rifle (2015).
ACMI’s In Praise of Parker Posey program will screen from 13 to 28 March 2016. Talking TV: Parker Posey on the Small Screen takes place on 17 March. For tickets and information:acmi.net.au/parker-posey and acmi.net.au/ parker-posey-tv