For Playground Films owner and director David Barker, there are many industry opportunities to discuss the business of filmmaking - less so the art of filmmaking. To help redress this, Playground has launched Helm, a program of monthly film screenings 'for directors, by directors'.
Ben Lawrence took home the main prize – Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget $1M+) – at last night’s Australian Directors’ Guild (ADG) Awards for his debut narrative feature 'Hearts and Bones'.
Monica Zanetti's screenplay of 'Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt)', Ben Lawrence and Beatrix Christian's 'Hearts and Bones' and Ally Burnham's 'Unsound' have been nominated for best original feature in the 53rd annual AWGIE Awards.
In this unprecedented, fractured year for Australian cinemas, finally enough Aussie films have been released to compile the top 10 titles.
First-time feature directors Thomas Wright ('Acute Misfortune'), John Sheedy ('H is for Happiness'), Ben Lawrence ('Hearts and Bones') and Natalie Erika James ('Relic') will vie for the Australian Directors' Guild Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde ('Animals') and Wayne Blair ('Top End Wedding').
As more cinemas around Australia opened their doors, ticket sales improved last weekend from a low base as several art house titles led by Kitty Green's The Assistant entered the market.
Kriv Stenders' feature documentary on motor racing legend Peter Brock, 'Brock: Over the Top' will start to roll out in cinemas on Thursday before its Premium VOD release on July 3.
Universal's 'The Invisible Man' is getting a second lease of theatrical life thanks to drive-ins and newly re-opened cinemas in Western Australia, Adelaide and Alice Springs.