A still from RED. (Del Kathryn Barton, Australia, born 1972, RED, 2016 high resolution digital video, 15 mins, patrons edition 2/3 (film still); Gift of the Art Gallery of South Australia Contemporary Collectors 2016, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Images courtesy of the artist)
Painter Del Kathryn Barton’s RED, starring Cate Blanchett, will premiere at the Art Gallery of South Australia next year.
A surrealist short, RED is a “savage tale of female power” inspired by the mating rituals of the red-back spider.
“This brutal chronicle spoke to me of the poetics of female power as an inherent and indeed, elemental force in the universe. By intercutting human protagonists with extraordinary macro footage, RED has evolved into what I now consider to be an uncompromising celebration of female power,” said Barton in a statement.
As well as Blanchett, the film stars Alex Russell and Sydney Dance Company’s Charmene Yap.
This is not the first time Blanchett has collaborated with Barton; Barton's portrait of Blanchett, "Mother (a portrait of Cate)" was a finalist in the 2011 Archibald Prize.
Barton, a two-time Archibald Prize-winner, has described her transition into filmmaking as a “challenging and ambitious journey”.
Alongside filmmaker Brendan Flecther, Barton has previously directed the human dress and Oscar Wilde’s Nightingale and the Rose both with filmmaker Brendan Fletcher.
The Nightingale and the Rose won Best Direction in an Animation at the ADG Awards earlier this year, and is also up for Best Short Animation at the 2016 AACTA Awards.
Barton was also a recipient a 2015 AFTRS Creative Fellowship.
“We are thrilled to be part of this brand new commission,” said Art Gallery of South Australia director Nick Mitzevich. “RED will take Del’s career to a new level and to new audiences, and with the support of the Contemporary Collectors the work will also enter the Art Gallery’s collection’.
Presented as part of the 2017 Adelaide Festival, RED will run from January 26 to April 30. Admission is free.