Tuesday, May 26, 2009

2009 Australian Film Release Schedule

The following information is lifted straight from the AFI website, which may interest you if you'd like to know about release dates for upcoming Australian productions. Note that the list is not complete and subject to change.

Samson & Delilah 7 May
The Chifleys of Busby St 21 May
My Year Without Sex 28 May
The Choir 28 May
Shadows of the Past May/June
Lake Mungo June tbc
Bastardy 25 June
The Burning Season June/July tbc
Four of a Kind 11 June
Bad Bush 11 June
Disgrace 25 June
Crush July 2009 tbc
Last Ride 2 July
Lucky Country 16 July
Cedar Boys 30 July
Beautiful Kate 6 August
Balibo 13 August
Subdivision 20 August
$9.99 20 August
Charlie & Boots 3 September
Blessed September tbc
Mao’s Last Dancer 1 October
Prime Mover 29 October
The Boys are Back in Town December
Bright Star December tbc
Van Diemen’s Land tbc
Bran Nue Dae tbc
Accidents Happen tbc

8 comments:

Luke Buckmaster said...

Looking pretty good, eh? Great year for the Aussie film industy. As I said in my review of Samson & Delilah - a few more years like this and critics start using crazy words like ‘new wave’ and ‘renaissance.’

Paul Martin said...

It is looking good, Luke, it is. We've had at least two very good films already, Mary and Max and Samson and Delilah, so I guess that means it's technically a renaissance (until next year, when we're down in the dumps again).

I think you're more up-to-date with some of these titles, but to me Bastardy, Disgrace, Cedar Boys, Last Ride, Bright Star, Van Diemen's Land and $9.99 all look quite hopeful. My most anticipated film, Alkinos Tsilimidos' Blind Company, doesn't have a confirmed release date yet, but is premiering at MIFF.

poignantPoint said...

'Beautiful Kate' has been tipped to win the prize at the Syd Film Fest, which starts tomorrow. Will be seeing 'Last Ride' this sunday, really keen on it.

Just returned from the Dungog Film Fest, which featured all Australian short and feature length films. Definitely some real quality up and coming people in the film industry coming through now, with some progressive opinions on how to make Australian films work in Australia.

Paul Martin said...

Dungog looks like a good event, PP. It'd be good to have something like that down here. What were your highlights?

Feel free to drop back with your comments on Last Ride.

poignantPoint said...

Dungog was really great man.. 3.5 hours out of Syd in a picturesque country town. Their goal is to bring the film maker and the film goer together, and they really deliver on that more than I could have hoped for. I met so many of the film makers, and in such organic situations, e.g. whilst having a beer in the RSL. Barely any hint of pretension either, which was really nice.

Lots of good cinema, but the Palme d'Or - so to speak - was definitely George Gittoes new documentary 'The Miscreants'. Not 100% sure of release details for this, as it seems to have already been shown on SBS tv (even though it was billed as the world premiere at Dungog). In any case, it's an incredible achievement, and I'm sure you'll hear about it soon, if you haven't already.

And just quickly, a little film called 'The Dinner Party' is one worth keeping an eye out for mate. To me it really felt like a 2:37, or Elephant, for the late teen / early 20's bracket. I was actually sharing a house with the young guy who directed this, it was his first feature-length film, and he gets the Camera d'Or of Dungog in my opinion. I'm sure it will find distribution soon.

Anyway, I'll link you to my proper review of the festival when I get it published!

Paul Martin said...

You piqued my interest with your praise for The Miscreants so I found these links:
- Trailer on YouTube
- Gittoes on Wikipedia
It looks and sounds very good.

I don't know about The Dinner Party, but I'll keep an open mind and look forward to seeing your review.

poignantPoint said...

Hey Paul,

Thought you might wanna have a quick read of my review on Dungog. Just check my page for the article link (not sure how to link in the comment section).

'Beautiful Kate' was very disappointing, it had a promising beginning, but kinda left me feeling that it was a bit by-the-numbers. I'm also quite tired of so many Australian films telling white Australian stories. Margaret Pomeranz was sat in front of me, jotting down some notes (which was cute to see, and probably the highlight of the film screening), and i'll be surprised if she speaks highly of it when it gets a general release. Bryan Brown just doesn't do it for me either, particularly in this film.

I'm ashamed to say that's the only film I saw at the Syd Film Festival. I was exhausted from Dungog, and I'm kinda falling in love with someone at the moment. But.. I'm making an effort as of now to get back to cinemas more regularly. I'll be down in Melbourne for the MIFF again, during the last week. Maybe we can have a coffee and catch a flick?

Paul Martin said...

Maybe we can have a coffee and catch a flick?
Sounds good, Ryan. I've set up a Google Calendar for MIFF that I can add you to if you like. Once the program comes out and we've booked tickets, we can see what each other is seeing and synchronise movements. If you're interested, email me and I'll add you.