“Come up to the lab and see what’s on the slab”… here are five on-screen scientists we’re absolutely mad about. Monsters, secret laboratories, and experiments gone awry all feature in the terrifyingly inspired ‘Mad Science‘ film program at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA (3 May – 23 June 2024). For decades, Mary Shelley’s infamous Frankenstein story…
On the last Wednesday of each month of 2024 the Australian Cinémathèque curatorial team present ‘For the love of it: A curator’s pick’ These films which have shaped the way they think about cinema — unbounded by theme, genre, or era, this eclectic selection ranges from guilty pleasures to Palme d’Or winners, most of which…
Continue reading » “For the love of it: Curator picks for 2024”
Transformation is an essential element in the fairy tale tradition. A change of appearance can signal or conceal a character’s true identity. While some characters alter their own appearance to escape or trick others, many are victims — transfigured as punishment. The spells that trigger these transformations are, in many cases, broken by a character’s…
Continue reading » “Fairy Tales: The history & hidden meaning of ‘Beauty and the Beast’”
In April, we explore the changing role of women in fairy tale cinema. Girls and women have been central protagonists of fairy tales for millennia, with the earliest recorded ‘Cinderella’ story dated to the year 7 BC. The experiences of women in fairy tales reveal much about the times in which they are told, as…
Continue reading » “Fairy Tales: Unmissable films & live music in April”
In March we venture into the surreal outer reaches of fairy tale cinema. The enchantment of fairy tales lies in their fantastical elements, which conjure uncanny images like pumpkin carriages, magic carpets, or houses made of gingerbread. Fairy tales significantly influenced the development of Surrealism, with Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) acknowledged as…
Continue reading » “Fairy Tales: Unmissable films & live music in March”
In February, the Fairy Tales Cinema program explores the changing face of fairy tales and the ways they blend with other storytelling traditions to reflect particular moments in time. The fairy tale theorist and historian Jack Zipes has used the concept of the ‘meme’ to think about this ever-shifting continuity of storytelling, and the importance…
Continue reading » “Fairy Tales: Unmissable films in February”
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.