BIFF 2018: A diverse program for all audiences now on sale

Tickets are now on sale for the 2018 Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF), presented by QAGOMA with screenings at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA and venues across Brisbane from 11 to 21 October. The diverse program of more than 100 Australian and international feature, documentary and short films will be complemented by 24 thought-provoking events including conversations, panel discussions, workshops, live music with film and more.

Be part of BIFF 2018 at QAGOMA — the new home of Brisbane’s flagship film festival.

Celeste

BIFF 2018 will launch on Thursday 11 October at GOMA with the Queensland premiere of Celeste, a compelling love story by Brisbane-born film director Ben Hackworth set in the tropical splendour of Far North Queensland starring Radha Mitchell, Nadine Garner and Thomas Cocquerel. Celeste will also be shown accompanied by a dinner in the two-hatted GOMA Restaurant on Saturday 20 October featuring produce inspired by the film’s Far North Queensland setting.

In conversations

One of the many highlights of BIFF 2018, Festival Patrons, Academy Award-nominated director Bruce Beresford and Chauvel Award-winning producer Sue Milliken AO, will discuss their latest collaboration Ladies in Black 2018 on Sunday 14 October, and Beresford will also be joined in conversation by internationally acclaimed dancer and Queensland Ballet Artistic Director Li Cunxin to talk about Mao’s Last Dancer 2009 on Saturday 13 October, his adaptation of the acclaimed dancer’s autobiography, chaired by fellow BIFF 2018 Patron Milliken.

Bruce Beresford

The director of Breaker Morant 1980 and Driving Miss Daisy 1989, Sydney-born Bruce Beresford has been making films around the world for more than 50 years. Following his stint with the British Film Institute, Beresford’s debut feature, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie 1972, became the first Australian film to surpass $1 million at the local box office. He went on to helm over 25 successful Australian and international feature films, including The Getting of Wisdom 1977, Don’s Party 1976, Puberty Blues 1981, Tender Mercies 1983, Crimes of the Heart 1986, Black Robe 1991, Double Jeopardy 1999 and Mao’s Last Dancer 2009. He was nominated for Academy Awards for the script for Breaker Morant and the direction of Tender Mercies, and Driving Miss Daisy won the 1990 Academy Award for Best Picture. Recently, he directed Mr Church 2016 starring Eddie Murphy; an episode of the remake of Roots; and Emmy-nominated TV movie Flint 2017. His new feature Ladies in Black 2018 is an adaptation of Madeleine St John’s iconic Australian novel, The Women in Black. Bruce has also directed numerous operas, including the upcoming Australian premiere of Rossini’s Otello for Melbourne Opera. His books include behind-the-scenes looks at Hollywood, Josh Hartnett Definitely Wants to Do This and The Best Film I Never Made.

Sue Milliken

The 2018 Chauvel Award recipient, Sue Milliken AO is one of Australia’s most experienced and highly regarded film producers. Working since the 1970s, her credits include The Odd Angry Shot 1979, Sirens 1994, Dating the Enemy 1996, IMAX documentary Sydney: The Story of a City 1999, Australian TV mini-series My Brother Jack 2001, the TV series Farscape 2000-2003, and Indigenous Australian films Crocodile Dreaming 2007 and The Redfern Story 2014. She has produced four feature films for Bruce Beresford: The Fringe Dwellers 1986; the first official Australian–Canadian co-production, Black Robe 1991; the World War II survivor film Paradise Road 1997 with an international cast including Glenn Close, Julianna Margulies and Cate Blanchett; and, most recently, Ladies in Black 2018, for which she also co-wrote the screenplay. She is a former chair of the Australian Film Commission, a past president of Screen Producers Australia, and has served on the board of Screen West. Sue is a recipient of the Australian Film Institute’s Raymond Longford Award, the Order of Australia (AO) for service to the film industry, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian International Movie Convention. Her books include a memoir on the Australian film industry, Selective Memory, and a book of correspondence with Beresford, There’s a Fax from Bruce.

Australian premieres

BIFF 2018 also includes the Australian premieres of award winning Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo’s Hotel by the River, Danish provocateur Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built and, as the closing night film, the Queensland premiere of Leave No Trace by Oscar-nominated American director Debra Granik.

Production still from The House That Jack Built 2018 — Production still from *The House That Jack Built* 2018 / Director: Lars von Trier / Image courtesy: TrustNordisk

Production still from Leave No Trace 2018 — Production still from *Leave No Trace* 2018 / Director: Debra Granik / Image courtesy: Sony Pictures Releasing

Wik vs Queensland

A documentary about Australia’s most prominent land rights case, Wik vs Queensland, about the High Court’s landmark 1996 decision to grant native title co-existence to the Wik people of Far North Queensland, will be accompanied by a free panel discussion on Sunday 14 October with activists and lawyers including Noel Pearson and filmmaker Dean Gibson, chaired by Walkley-winning journalist Kerry O’Brien.

Frogman

BIFF 2018 also includes a unique combination of virtual reality and live performance in the thriller Frogman 2018. Frogman is focused on the fragility of childhood imagination presented by UK theatre company curious directive and offers audiences a unique virtual reality and performance experience.

Highlights include

Miranda Tapsell and Rosemary Blight

Australian film star Miranda Tapsell and producer Rosemary Blight will discuss The Sapphires 2012 and Top End Wedding 2018 (currently in post-production) on Saturday 13 October.

Bruce Beresford’s top five

Bruce Beresford’s top five directed films and top five favourite films in the BIFF 2018 program strands: ‘Bruce Beresford Directs’ and ‘Bruce Beresford Selects’, the latter including The Passion of Joan of Arc heralded as one of the greatest films ever made, this transfixing silent feature will screen with live music performed by Brisbane post-rock band, hazards of swimming naked on Thursday 18 October.

Members from hazards of swimming naked, accompanying silent film: The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928 — Members from hazards of swimming naked, accompanying silent film: *The Passion of Joan of Arc* 1928 / Photograph: Mark Sherwood © QAGOMA

Teiji Ito: Music for Film

The world premiere live performance of Teiji Ito: Music for Film on Friday 12 October, presents the film soundtracks of the late composer Teiji Ito (1935–1982) who collaborated with legendary experimental filmmakers Maya Deren and Marie Menken. Films include Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon 1943 and The Very Eye of Night 1958 and Menken’s Dwightiana

Production still from Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon 1943 — Production still from *Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon* 1943 / Director: Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid / Image courtesy: The National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra.

The Cameraman with a new live score on the Gallery’s 1929 Wurlitzer

Ninety years young, The Cameraman 1928 remains one of Buster Keaton’s finest films, a towering achievement of action choreography and silent comedy. The film screens on Saturday 20 October with a new live score on the Gallery’s 1929 Wurlitzer organ by David Bailey, who brings his jazz sensibilities to this remarkable film.

The Wurlitzer console at the Gallery of Modern Art / Photograph: Joe Ruckli © QAGOMA

The Picture Show Men

The Australian premiere of The Picture Show Men 2018, is a documentary about the James C. Sourris AM and family, who over three generations have made a significant contribution to the presentation of cinema in Queensland and New South Wales.

Acute Misfortune

The Queensland premiere of Acute Misfortune 2018, theatre director Thomas M Wright’s debut feature film is about the troubled life of the late contemporary Australian artist Adam Cullen.

Production still from Acute Misfortune 2018 / Director: Thomas M Wright / Image courtesy: Arena Media

YouTube Creator Day

Free YouTube Creator Day for Filmmakers is hosted by online video experts Changer Studios on Monday 15 October, a workshop tailored to teach filmmakers tips and tricks for understanding YouTube. Presented by BIFF and Create Queensland.

Queensland Emerging Screen Talent Conference

Free Queensland Emerging Screen Talent Conference on Tuesday 16 October, is a day of industry roundtables, seminars and workshops presented by the Brisbane International Film Festival and Griffith Film School.

Explore the Australian Cinémathèque’s ongoing program of film and video / Delve into our past programs

Artistic Director for BIFF 2018 is Amanda Slack-Smith, Curatorial Manager of QAGOMA’s Australian Cinémathèque.

The festival is supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland in association with the Australian Federal Government through Screen Australia.

Feature image: Production still from Celeste 2018 / Director: Ben Hackworth / Image courtesy: Curious Film

#BIFF2018