NEW AUSTRALIAN CINEMA

In a bumper year for Australian production, Arc cinema gives Canberra audiences and supporters of Australian Cinema a chance to see on the big screen some of the recent Australian movies that may not make it into local cinema release, film festival screenings, or even television. September and into October marks the Australian Film Institute’s AFI Award judging period and this is also your one chance to see in the cinema all of the short films up for consideration in the AFI Awards’ categories of Short Fiction and Animation. (Please note: These screenings are not official AFI Award screenings and are open to the public. Admission is by normal Arc cinema admission prices. AFI members are encouraged to consult the award’s website www.afi.org.au for details on how to participate in the 2009 AFI Award judging process.)

Kodachrome: On world Home Movie Day we mark the passing of Kodak's most famous colour film stock: for 70 years intrinsic to amateur filmmaking and to Home Movie making's very special frozen-in-time and unfading heritage. Sat 17 Oct (unclassified 18+)

Errol Flynn Turns 100: Celebrating Flynn's centenial, from October 3.

LIONEL

Dir: Eddie Martin, Aust., 2008, 82 mins, video, (M)

In 1968 a young Aboriginal boxer named Lionel Rose punched his way into history when he became the undisputed world bantamweight champion. Two hundred and fifty thousand people hit the streets of Melbourne to welcome him back from his fight and he went on to become a symbolic figure in the racial politics of the times. Combining a remarkable selection of archival and present day footage and interviews, Lionel explores a mythic sporting figure and his struggle with the dimensions of that myth in his every day life.

LAKE MUNGO

Dir: Joel Anderson, Aust., 2008, 87 mins, 35mm, (M)

16 year old Alice Palmer drowns while swimming in the local dam. Her body is recovered and a verdict of accidental death is returned. Her family then experiences a series of strange and inexplicable events centered around her home. The Palmers seek the help of a psychic and parapsychologist, who discovers Alice led a double life. A series of clues lead the family to Lake Mungo where Alice's secret past emerges. Lake Mungo is a mystery, a thriller and a ghost story that illustrates how the dead forever haunt the living.

BASTARDY

Dir: Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Aust., 2008, 82 mins, video, (unclassified 18+)

At age 58, Jack Charles is addicted to heroin and living on the streets, supporting himself with a career as a notorious cat burglar. For forty years, and with infectious humour and optimism, Jack has juggled this life in crime with another successful career - acting. Jack founded the first Aboriginal theatre company and has performed with Australia's most renowned actors and directors in feature films, TV series and hundreds of plays. Provocative, funny, and profoundly moving, Bastardy is the inspirational story of a self-proclaimed Robin Hood.

THE CHOIR

Dir: Michael Davie, Aust., 90 mins, video, (M)

Shot over four years, The Choir is the documentary story of Jabulani Shabangu and a group of fellow inmates who are battling to survive in Leeukwop Prison – South Africa's largest prison. Jabulani is rebellious and angry until he meets a wily old bank robber named Coleman, who recruits him for the prison choir. Jabulani rises in the ranks and soon finds himself leading the choir at the National Prisoner Choir Competition.

2009 AFI AWARD SHORT FILM NOMINEES

Total 123 mins, video except as noted (unclassified 18+)

A chance for the Canberra public to see the Australian Film Institute's 2009 AFI Awards Short Fiction and Animation nominees on the cinema screen. For more information see www.afi.org.au.

BURN
Dir: David Selvarajah Vadiveloo, 34 mins
In this groundbreaking drama from Community Prophets, 11 young adults from the inner-city streets of Sydney, improvise a confronting film about 16 year old Tee Samuelu, whose life spins out of control when he seeks acceptance from older gang members. A searing exploration of youth identity and the dangerous rise of group offending.

LIEBERMANS IN THE SKY
Dir: Richard Vilensky, 18 mins
Liebermans In The Sky is an offbeat comedic journey through fatherhood, waterbeds and Cabalisitc folklore. It is the story of Alan Lieberman, beleaguered waterbed salesman, on the worst day of his life. It is a story about failure and one man's journey towards realising that, like levitation, there are some things in life we cannot achieve.

MIRACLE FISH
Dir: Luke Doolan, 18 mins
8 year old Joe has a birthday he will never forget. After friends tease him, he sneaks off to the sick bay, wishing everyone in the world would go away. He wakes up to find his dream may have become a reality.

WATER
Dir: Corrie Jones, 18 mins
Toby yearns for a life like any other eight-year-old kid. But his mentally disabled father is a constant reminder that life for Toby, will never be normal.

In the Animation Category:

THE CAT PIANO
Dir: Eddie White, Ari Gibson, 9 mins, 35mm
A vibrant city of singing cats is preyed upon by a mysterious, dark figure, intent on performing his own twisted feline symphony.

CHICKEN OF GOD
Dir: Frank Woodley, Clem Stamation, 9 mins
On a drought-ravaged vineyard, Yirri is about to kill his last chicken. He's stopped by his wife, Teresa, who claims the chicken's comb resembles the face of Jesus. Bizarre miracles start to happen, but Yirri and Teresa look a gift chicken in the mouth, with disastrous results of biblical proportions.

THE NOT-SO-GREAT EUGENE GREEN
Dir: Michael Hill, 13 mins
Eugene is a strange elderly man with a simple dream - to entertain his world through the art of vocal sound effects. The trouble is that he only possesses a very small repertoire. Repeatedly rejected by the people around him, Eugene meets Madeleine, an equally strange woman, who shares his sense of humour. But when Madeline disappears from his life, Eugene realises just how alone he really is.

REACH
Dir: Luke Randall, 4 mins
A tiny robot is given the gift of life with only one limitation - the length of his power cable. When a curious bird appears at the workshop window, his lust to live outside of his reach may be his demise.

SWEET MARSHALL

Dir: Eva Acharya, Martin Alvarez Garcia, 91 mins, 35mm, (M)

Marshall has it all. But his high paying job places him on the criminal’s most-wanted list. It all comes crashing down when Marshall is imprisoned for a robbery he did not commit. But jail becomes his play ground, as he weaves his master plan. When he gets his freedom, Marshall becomes a hunted man. Kidnapped, drugged and tortured, he is caught in a sticky web of lies and seduction. Or is he?

STONE BROS.

Dir: Richard Frankland, Aust., 92 mins, 35mm, (MA15+)

Eddie gets jack of city life and decides it's time to reconnect with his blackfella roots, so he takes off in his beat-up Ford to return a sacred stone to his hometown. But he hadn't bargained on his skirt chasing, hard-living cousin Charlie forcing himself along for the ride. Eddie's spiritual quest takes a further detour when an Italian sex-god, a failed drag singer, and a demon dog (possessed by Charlie's jilted girlfriend) join them. Oh, and there's a deadly spider in the car...

UNDER A RED MOON

Dir: Leigh Sheehan, 2009, 84 mins, 35mm, (M)

Jonathan and Anna Dunne lead a perfect life, ripped to pieces when their son, Luke, dies of a drug overdose. In the aftermath of this personal tragedy they struggle to maintain their floundering relationship. When an intruder breaks into their home, Jonathan and Anna are forced to confront the past events which have led to their emotional separation. This is a film with wide appeal, exploring the vulnerabilities of the human condition, looking at relationships, families and the emotional toll of problems caused by drug use.

KODACHROME

90 mins, 16mm, (unclassified 18+)

On world Home Movie Day we mark the passing of Kodak's most famous colour film stock: for 70 years intrinsic to amateur filmmaking and to Home Movie making's very special, frozen-in-time and unfading heritage. We look at milestone documentary and experimental films made in sympathy to Kodachrome's immediacy and hyper-real reversal colour, including William Wyler's The Memphis Belle (USA, 1943, 23 mins) and The Flute of Krishna (1926, 7'): a unique record of choreographer Martha Graham, shot in early 2-colour Kodachrome. NFSA curators also introduce Kodachrome gems from our Home Movie collection. See nfsa.gov.au for more details.