5 films plugging in to the power of music

 

Tap into music’s power of social conscience from soundtracks that immerse us in carefully-crafted, thought-provoking worlds to full-fledged riff-powered activism.  

For his debut feature Air Conditioner 2020, Angolan director Fradique’s invites singer-composer-producer Aline Frazão to compose the perfect lilting score for the magical-realist wanderings of protagonists Matacedo and Zézhina through the alleys and streets of Luanda.

Last and First Men 2020 finds the late renowned composer Jóhann Jóhannsson’s directing and scoring a cautionary future-history of humanity narrated by Tilda Swinton and set against evocative 16mm footage of the former Yugoslavia’s otherworldly spomenik war memorials – all underlayed with Jóhannsson sonorous and resonant ambience.

In Bring Down the Walls 2020, Turner-nominated artist and filmmaker Phil Collins (not that one) taps into the propulsion of house music to challenge the American prison-industrial complex, recording classic house cuts with vocals by former prisons to break down barriers built on the legacy of incarceration.

White Riot, by Rubika Shah, is a collage of punk music, activism and DIY-media that looks at the Rock Against Racism movement’s stand against hardline anti-immigration rhetoric from UK far-right politicians in the 1970s.

And finally, Steven McGregor’s Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky is a compositional odyssey that creates a new songline around Captain Cook’s arrival in Australia, spearheaded by performer Steven Oliver and soundtracked by an all-star musical cast of Kev Carmody, Birdz, Moju and Trials.

Bonus beats: You can also find the busy mayor of Ramallah vamping on keys to let off steam between high-pressure diplomatic engagements as he manages the occupied city in David Osit’s Mayor, and settle in for the night with Max Richter’s Sleep, a documentary about the composer’s ambitious and sublime eight-hour overnight concert.

RELATED: More 5 film suggestions to watch

1. Air Conditioner

Air Conditioner 2020 / Director: Fradique

2. White Riot

White Riot 2020 / Director: Rubika Shah

White Riot 2020 / Director: Rubika Shah / Rights: Icon Films

3. Last and First Men

Last and First Men 2020 / Director: Jóhann Jóhannsson

4. Bring Down The Walls

Bring Down the Walls 2020 / Director: Phil Collins

5. Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky

Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky 2020 / Director: Steven McGregor

Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky 2020 / Director: Steven McGregor / Rights: Roar Film and Tamarind Tree Pictures

More on BIFF 2020 / View the Cinémathèque’s ongoing program / Subscribe to QAGOMA YouTube to go behind-the-scenes

BIFF 2020 screened at QAGOMA’s Australian Cinémathèque, and at valued partner venues Dendy Cinemas Coorparoo, The Elizabeth Picture Theatre, New Farm Six Cinemas, Reading Cinemas Newmarket and the State Library of Queensland — all part of a city-wide celebration of film — with over 70 films from 28 countries from 1 to 11 October 2020.

QAGOMA is the only Australian art gallery with purpose-built facilities dedicated to film and the moving image. The Australian Cinémathèque at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) provides an ongoing program of film and video art that you’re unlikely to see elsewhere, offering a rich and diverse experience of the moving image, showcasing the work of influential filmmakers and international cinema, rare 35mm prints, recent restorations and silent films with live musical accompaniment on the Gallery’s Wurlitzer organ originally installed in Brisbane’s Regent Theatre in November 1929.

BIFF 2020 is supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland and the Australian Federal Government through Screen Australia.

Artistic Director for BIFF 2020 is Amanda Slack-Smith, Curatorial Manager of QAGOMA’s Australian Cinémathèque.

Featured image: Bring Down the Walls 2020 / Director: Phil Collins / Rights: Shady Lane Productions

#BIFFest2020 #QAGOMA

The mystery is revealed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2

 

Marvel was so confident in the first Guardians of the Galaxy that a sequel was ordered before the original premiered. Despite being the least well known of the Cinematic Universe heroes to date, the motley band struck an instant chord with audiences, and James Gunn eagerly returned to direct the second outing for Peter Quill and his crew of galactic adventurers.

Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’ screens Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 2017 during the last week of the exhibition, then view never-before-seen costumes and props.

‘The fate of the universe lies on your shoulders. Now, whatever you do, don’t push this button. Because that will set off the bomb immediately, and we’ll all be dead. Now repeat back what I just said.’
‘I am Groot.’

Rocket and Baby Groot

Production still from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 2017 / © 2017 MARVEL / © The Walt Disney Company (Australia) Pty Limited / Screening at GOMA on 3 September 2017

DELVE DEEPER INTO THE guardians of the galaxy and WATCH OUR BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEOS

Go behind the scenes to experience more than 500 unique objects seen in your favourite films which offer a glimpse into the work of production designers, storyboarding and pre‑visualisation artists, costume and prop designers, and visual effects artists alongside the original comic books which introduced the characters and influenced the films.

Installation view of the ‘Behind the Scenes: Post-production’ room, ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’, GOMA 2017 / Photograph: Natasha Harth © QAGOMA
Detail of the baby Groot interactive Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 2017 / © 2017 MARVEL

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Film notes by Dan Cameron
Feature image: Film still from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 2017 / © 2017 MARVEL

Doctor Strange embraces the mystical

 

Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’ screens all the films including Doctor Strange 2016. This is a great opportunity to see the films then the never-before-seen set pieces which have inspired the exhibition. In Doctor Strange, director Scott Derrickson takes on the origin of masterful, but narcissistic, neurosurgeon Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who irreversibly damages the nerves in his hands — the very source of his wealth and stardom.

‘We never lose our demons, we only learn to live above them.’

The Ancient One

Exhausting his resources to seek a cure, Dr Strange is taken in at a temple for the mystic arts in Kathmandu by Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Sceptical Strange resists the quiet insistence of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) that his mind can overcome infirmity, but he becomes a fast learner when she shows him his Astral form, mystical protals and other dimensions of reality.

Strange soon meets zealot Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), who seeks to deliver Earth to Dormammu, a primordial entity from the Dark Dimension where wicked sorcerers draw their power. Where Thor steps into the mythic and Guardians of the Galaxy the galactic, Doctor Strange is the Cinematic Universe’s first embrace of the mystical.

Production still from Doctor Strange 2016 / Director: Scott Derrickson / © 2017 MARVEL / © The Walt Disney Company (Australia) Pty Limited / Screening at GOMA on 3 September 2017
The Ancient One costume worn by Tilda Swinton in Doctor Strange 2016 / Production still from Doctor Strange 2016 / © 2017 MARVEL / Screening at GOMA on 3 September 2017
Installation view of the ‘Alternate dimensions’ room, ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’, GOMA 2017 / Photograph: Natasha Harth © QAGOMA

DELVE DEEPER INTO DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Go behind the scenes to experience more than 500 unique objects seen in your favourite films which offer a glimpse into the work of production designers, storyboarding and pre‑visualisation artists, costume and prop designers, and visual effects artists alongside the original comic books which introduced the characters and influenced the films.

Doctor Strange costume featuring Eye of Agamotto / From Doctor Strange 2016 / © 2017 MARVEL
Eye of Agamotto / From Doctor Strange 2016 / © 2017 MARVEL

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Film notes by Dan Cameron
Feature image: Installation view of the ‘Alternate dimensions’ room, ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’, GOMA 2017 / Photograph: Natasha Harth © QAGOMA

The conflict ignites in Captain America: Civil War

 

Should super heroes remain free to defend humanity without government interference? The debate ensues and escalates into an all-out feud in Captain America: Civil War 2016. Visit the Gallery of Modern Art’s Australian Cinémathèque then head over to ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’ to see never-before-seen set pieces from the film.

‘I’m doing what needs to be done, to stave off something worse.’

Tony Stark

The complexity of accountability is at the core of this earthbound episode from The Winter Soldier directors Anthony and Joe Russo. The good-natured ribbing that has propelled the team so far turns to all-out war when far-reaching casualties from their defeat of Ultron in Sokovia prompt new calls to rein in the Avengers. A contrite Tony Stark supports accords that will put them under the control of the United Nations, while Steve Rogers argues that reassigning responsibility will subject them to shifting and unknowable agendas.

Stark teams with Black Widow, War Machine, Vision and T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), newly suited as Wakandan national hero Black Panther, then drops by Queens, in New York, to recruit young Peter Parker (Tom Holland), aka Spider-Man. In a bid to help his best friend Bucky Barnes, now a wanted fugitive, Rogers teams with Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Ant-Man in an epic airport fight which catapults the factions into beautifully choreographed chaos.

Production still of Captain America: Civil War 2016 / Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo / © 2017 MARVEL / © The Walt Disney Company (Australia) Pty Limited / Screening at GOMA on 30 August 2017.
Installation view of ‘The Avengers’ room, ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’, GOMA 2017 / Photograph: Natasha Harth © QAGOMA

DELVE DEEPER INTO captain america AND THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Go behind the scenes to experience more than 500 unique objects seen in your favourite films, including iconic objects which offer a glimpse into the work of production designers, storyboarding and pre‑visualisation artists, costume and prop designers, and visual effects artists alongside the original comic books which introduced the characters and influenced the films.

Rodney Fuentebella / Splash panel / Keyframe for Captain America: Civil War 2016 / © 2017 MARVEL
Rodney Fuentebella / Keyframe for Captain America: Civil War 2016 / © 2017 MARVEL

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Purchase tickets for ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe‘ online or at the ticket desk 10.00am-4.00pm daily, and until 8.00pm Wednesday. ‘Marvel’ film screenings and ‘Marvel’ Up Late are separate ticketed events.

Film notes by Dan Cameron
Feature image: Installation view of ‘The Avengers’ room, ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’, GOMA 2017 / Photograph: Natasha Harth © QAGOMA

Ant-Man embraces his inner hero to save the world

 

In Ant-Man 2015 Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength. In ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’ see the suit worn in the film, the original comic cover by Jack Kirby of Ant-Man’s first appearance in Tales to Astonish 1959 #27 published 10 January 1962, and never-before-seen Ant-Man key frames. The Gallery of Modern Art’s Australian Cinémathèque also screens the film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

‘Did you think you could stop the future with a heist?’
‘It was never just a heist.’

Darren Cross and Scott Lang

Part-heist thriller with requisite infiltration montages, and part-miniaturised human caper, Ant-Man finds cat burglar Scott Lang struggling to reconnect with his daughter and make ends meet after three years in prison. He gets the crew together for one last job — the prize of which turns out to be the original Ant-Man suit of Dr Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). Pym himself has returned to his company from self-imposed exile to discover protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) reviving technology which reduces humans to ant size, at the same time as vastly magnifying their strength – but now Cross wants to sell his version of the technology to Hydra.

The subatomic finale — naturally a route the hero is warned against taking — is a counterpoint to the pan-galactic expanse seen in Guardians of the Galaxy. With Ant-Man, the Universe is extended to the extremes of both dimensions. Directed by Peyton Reed.

Production still of Ant-Man 2015 / Director: Peyton Reed / © 2017 MARVEL / © The Walt Disney Company (Australia) Pty Limited / Screening at GOMA on 27 August 2017.
Installation view of Ant-Man in the ‘Alternate dimensions’ room, ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’, GOMA 2017 / Photograph: Natasha Harth © QAGOMA

Ant-Man costume

DELVE DEEPER INTO ANT-MAN AND THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Go behind the scenes to experience more than 500 unique objects seen in your favourite films, including iconic objects which offer a glimpse into the work of production designers, storyboarding and pre‑visualisation artists, costume and prop designers, and visual effects artists alongside the original comic books which introduced the characters and influenced the films.

Andrew Kim / Prison escape / Keyframe for Ant-Man 2015 / © 2017 MARVEL
Andrew Kim / Flying with Ant-thony / Keyframe for Ant-Man 2015 / © 2017 MARVEL

TICKETS CINEMAEXHIBITION | UP LATE / BUY THE PUBLICATION

Purchase tickets for ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe‘ online or at the ticket desk 10.00am-4.00pm daily, and until 8.00pm Wednesday. ‘Marvel’ film screenings and ‘Marvel’ Up Late are separate ticketed events.

Film notes by Dan Cameron
Feature image: Installation view of Ant-Man in the ‘Alternate dimensions’ room, ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’, GOMA 2017 / Photograph: Natasha Harth © QAGOMA

The web-slinger returns in Spider-Man: Homecoming

 

During the exhibition ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe’, GOMA’s Australian Cinémathèque screens all the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe including Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017. This is a great opportunity to see Spider-Man, then the exhibition to view the original comic book Amazing Fantasy 1962 #15 on loan from the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Published today 55 years ago on 10 August 1962 it is the first appearance of the web-slinger. Read on to get your Spidey fix.

‘So, to become an Avenger, are there, like, trials, or an interview?’
‘Just don’t do anything I would do. And definitely don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. There’s a little grey area in there, and that’s where you operate.’

Peter Parker and Tony Stark

Following an agreement between Marvel Studios and Sony which allows Spider-Man to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity, Tom Holland debuted as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, and director Jon Watts went on to helm the reboot featuring the web-slinger in his youngest big-screen incarnation to date.

Parker is growing up in New York, in a world where the Avengers are celebrities. Following his audition with Team Iron Man during Civil War’s airport confrontation in Germany, he returns home to Queens and tries to focus on his studies, but villainy is never far away. Spidey goes up against Vulture (Michael Keaton) and Shocker (Bokeem Woodbine), while Marisa Tomei reprises her Civil War cameo as Aunt May. Tony Stark also appears to mentor young Parker, whose schoolmates are played by Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier and Tony Revolori.

DELVE DEEPER INTO SPIDER-MAN AND THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Amazing Fantasy 1962 #15 / Comic book / Published 10 August 1962 / © 2017 MARVEL

Presented in the exhibition is the first appearance of Spider-Man, a co-creation of writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the team who would go on to create the highly popular Doctor Strange, a character first seen in Strange Tales 1963 #110. Considered a national treasure, this original Spider-Man artwork is one of 11 pages held in Washington DC’s Library of Congress.  The full series of original artwork is shown alongside as a digital presentation.

Amazing Fantasy 1962 #15 / Published August 1962 / Drawing on layered paper board: ink, opaque white and overlay over graphite underdrawing; 1a of 11 drawings; digital documentation of 11 drawings / Collection: Prints and Photographs Division, The Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Go behind the scenes to experience more than 500 unique objects seen in your favourite films which offer a glimpse into the work of production designers, storyboarding and pre‑visualisation artists, costume and prop designers, and visual effects artists alongside the original comic books which introduced the characters and influenced the films.

Wayne Nichols / Homage to Spider-Man 2017 / Ink wall-drawing / Courtesy: The artist

TICKETS CINEMAEXHIBITION | UP LATE / BUY THE PUBLICATION

Purchase tickets for ‘Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe‘ online or the ticket desk 10.00am-4.00pm daily, and until 8.00pm Wednesday. ‘Marvel’ film screenings and ‘Marvel’ Up Late are separate ticketed events.

Film notes by Dan Cameron
Feature image: Film still from Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017 / © 2017 MARVEL