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Italian Film Festival Returns to Oz

Marina, a gloriously entertaining biopic that tells the true story of singer, songwriter and accordionist, Rocco Granata, will launch the 2014 Lavazza Italian Film Festival.

Based on Granata’s early life, Marina charts his rise from humble beginnings, as the son of a Calabrian coal miner, to his emergence as a musical phenomenon with the release of his 1959 song Marina, which became one of the biggest international hits of that era. Directed by multi-award winning filmmaker Stijn Conix (When the Light Comes, Daens), produced by the Dardenne brothers and starring the smouldering Matteo Simoni as Granata, along with famed screen-star, Luigi Lo Cascio, the nostalgic charm of Marina is certain to leave audiences with a smile on their face, and a spring in their step!

Bringing a dash of Mediterranean romance to 15 superb Palace locations from mid-September to late October, the Festival’s 15th annual outing will screen 33 show-stopping new features and documentaries and one glamourous classic, showcasing the charisma of Italy’s most engaging actors, from Kim Rossi Stuart, Raoul Bova, Monica Bellucci and Claudio Santamaria to Giovanna Mezzorgiorno, Valeria Golino, Margherita Buy and Sergio Rubini.

50 years after its first release, the Sophia Loren/Marcello Mastroianni classic Marriage Italian Style has been restored by Cineteca di Bologna, Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage and Memory Cinéma, in collaboration with Surf Film and we are thrilled to present it as the Closing Night film in each city. This triumph will support our enticing special events presented by Peroni and Enoteca Sileno, and our fabulous international guest (to be announced…!).

And if you’re seeking the ultimate Italian espresso, whilst indulging in some ‘cinema italiano’, look no further than Lavazza, whom the Festival is once again honoured to have as the naming rights partner. Lavazza is proudly served at all Palace Cinemas so attendees year-round can enjoy the premium taste of Barista made coffee.

 

Highlights of the 2014 line-up include:

A LONELY HERO (L’INTREPIDO)
Director: Gianni Amelio | 2013 | 104 mins
Starring: Antonio Albanese, Livia Rossi, Gabriele Rendina & Ginevra Antona
Amelio’s deadpan parable follows a small everyday hero from Milan who throws himself at a wide array of “substitute” jobs with a deep moral consistency as he reinvents himself with each new day.

DARKER THAN MIDNIGHT (PIÙ BUIO DI MEZZANOTTE)
Director: Sebastian Riso | 2014 | 98 mins
Starring: Davide Capone, Vincenzo Amato, Lucia Sardo & Micaela Ramazzotti
With his effeminate looks, Davide is different from other teenage boys. Fleeing a brutish home life, his intuition leads him to take refuge in Villa Bellini, a park in Catania. Villa Bellini is a world in itself, populated by the marginalized, to which the rest of the city turns a blind eye. But one day the past encroaches on the present and Davide has to face the most difficult choice of his tender years. Based in part on the life of drag artist Davide Cordova, this evocative drama screened in Critics’ Week at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

THE FIFTH WHEEL (L’ULTIMA RUOTA DEL CARRO)
Director: Giovanni Veronesi | 2013 | 113 mins
Starring: Elio Germano, Alessandra Mastronardi, Ricky Memphis & Sergio Rubini
Veronesi’s irresistible romantic comedy journeys through four decades of recent Italian history on the back of a good-hearted, honest middle-class guy who always finds himself a step behind.

I CAN QUIT WHENEVER I WANT (SMETTO QUANDO VOGLIO)
Director: Sydney Sibilia | 2014 | 100 mins
Starring: Edoardo Leo, Valeria Solarino, Valeria Aprea & Paolo Calabresi
A band of brilliant under-employed academics turn to a life of crime in order to survive in this biting parody on the plight of the Italian middle-class in the aftermath of the economic crisis.

THE MAFIA ONLY KILLS IN SUMMER (LA MAFIA UCCIDE SOLO D’ESTATE)
Director: Pierfrancesco Diliberto | 2013 | 89 mins
Starring: Cristiana Capotondi, Pif & Alex Bisconti
In Pierfrancesco “Pif” Diliberto’s irreverent feature debut, a young boy’s obsession with the Mafia surpasses even his passion for the beautiful schoolmate who remains his main love interest until adulthood.

QUIET BLISS (IN GRAZIA DI DIO)
Director: Edoardo Winspeare | 2014 | 127 mins
Starring: Celeste Casciaro, Laura Licchetta, Anna Bocadamo & Barbara De Matteis
Three generations of women seek refuge in their family’s Salento olive grove after their small textile business collapses in this warm and vibrant drama, set against the radiant southern Italian landscape.

SACRO GRA
Director: Gianfranco Rosi | 2013 | 93 mins
The first documentary to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Rosi’s latest film reveals the sheer diversity of life bubbling around the margins of the 43.5-mile highway that encircles Rome.

SONG OF NAPOLI (SONG’E NAPULE)
Directors: Antonio Manetti, Marco Manetti | 2013 | 114 mins
Starring: Alessandro Roja, Giampaolo Morelli & Serena Rossi
The charismatic Alessandro Roja plays Paco, a nerdy and exceptionally talented piano player, who after resorting to a low-level job with the Naples police force is reluctantly enlisted on a dangerous top-priority case to go undercover as “Pino Dynamite” – a member of Lollo Love’s pop-music band in order to capture a Camorra boss known as “The Ghost”.

THE SOUTH IS NOTHING (IL SUD È NIENTE)
Director: Fabio Mollo | 2013 | 86 mins
Starring: Miriam Karlkvist, Vinicio Marchioni, Valentina Lodovini & Andrea Bellisario
A teenage tomboy who hasn’t spoken a word since the death of her beloved brother runs away from home and finds herself on a quest to learn the truth about her lost sibling and, ultimately, herself.

THOSE HAPPY YEARS (ANNI FELICI)
Director: Daniele Luchetti | 2013 | 100 mins
Starring: Kim Rossi Stuart, Micaela Ramazzotti & Martina Gedeck
Luchetti’s warm-hearted, bittersweet autobiographical account of his childhood as a budding filmmaker witnessing his parents’ tumultuous relationship.

 

The 2014 Lavazza Italian Film Festival will take place nationally at Palace Cinemas on the following dates:

VIC: 17 Sept – 12 Oct Palace Cinema Como, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton
Bay, Palace Westgarth, The Kino Cinemas
NSW: 18 Sept – 12 Oct Palace Verona, Palace Norton Street & Chauvel Cinema
ACT: 23 Sept – 15 Oct Palace Electric
WA: 24 Sept – 15 Oct Cinema Paradiso & Luna on SX
QLD: 1 Oct – 22 Oct Palace Barracks & Palace Centro
SA 2 Oct – 22 Oct Palace Nova Eastend
BYRON 9 Oct – 15 Oct Palace Byron Bay
TAS: 16 Oct – 22 Oct State Cinema

For updates, keep checking: http://www.italianfilmfestival.com.au

New Boxtrolls Trailer

The brand new trailer for The Boxtrolls has arrived. You can check it out here:

Sydney Film Festival Announce Special Ticket Packages

Sydney Film Festival is without doubt our favourite film festival each and every year. It’s why we are happy to share the following message from our good friends at the Sydney Film Festival:

A strictly limited number of special ticket packages that allow you to make massive savings to Sydney Film Festival 2014 (4-15 June) are available until 1 April or until sold out.

Designed to appeal to the avid festivalgoer, these six ticket packages give you freedom to see more films for far less.

For more detail and a full breakdown on each package see below, call SFF on (02) 8220 6650 or visit our website:http://www.sff.org.au/public/tickets/book-tickets//

Compare these ticket prices to the standard adult price of $19.50 + booking fee per film:

A Daytime GA Subscription permits you to attend 34 daytime screenings in two venues – the State Theatre and Events Cinemas 4 – all for only $225+ BF. That means you only pay $6.62 per ticket, saving a total of $438!

A Sydney Film Festival daytime subscription is a curated program of films – perfect for fans interested in a wide variety of cinema from across the globe. It takes place daily (excluding Opening Night), with sessions starting from 10am until 2:30pm on weekends and Public Holiday Monday, and starting from 10am until 5:30pm on weekdays. Subscription dates are Thursday 5 June to Sunday 15 June 2014.

A Daytime Reserved Subscription is exactly the same as the above, except you get allocated seating for an extra $25 (total price = $250 + BF). At the State Theatre, reserved seats are located in the Mezzanine section. At Event Cinemas 4, these seats are located in front and centre of the cinema. With this subscription you pay only $7.35 per ticket, saving a total of $413.

Buy your Subscription here.

An Evening Stalls (Reserved) Subscription permits you to attend 30 evening screenings at the State Theatre – all for only $300. An evening subscription is a set program of outstanding world cinema that takes place daily (excluding Opening and Closing Night films) from after 6pm on weekdays, and after 2pm on weekends (including Public Holiday Monday).

All sessions in an Evening Stalls (Reserved) Subscription are allocated seating in State Theatre’s stalls section.

An Evening Mezzanine (Reserved) Subscription permits you to attend 30 evening screenings at the State Theatre – all for only $325. This subscription is exactly the same as above, except the seats are located in the State Theatre’s Mezzanine section.

A Flexipass 30 lets you choose most regular screenings around the festival, at up to four seats per film, so sharing with friends, family and colleagues is easy. A couple could easily see 15 films together, a ménage à trois could see 10 together, or any other combination that suits you – they are that flex-ible! A Flexipass 30 costs $360 + BF, which brings the ticket price down to $12 per ticket and saves you $225 over 30 adult tickets.

A regular Flexipass 30 buyer, Melba, explains why she chooses this way of experiencing the Festival:

“I attend at least 30 screenings at SFF each year, so purchasing a Flexipass 30 is a no-brainer for me. Aside from the obvious allure of saving $225 – more if you take into account the booking fee that individual ticket purchases attract – I enjoy the freedom the pass allows.

For instance, I usually book around 10 sessions initially, and add more as I work my way through the program. The fact that I can log in to my profile on the SFF site or on the mobile app (which is great!) and book tickets on my Flexipass without having to enter credit card details each time is a real bonus.

Booking sessions for friends and family is a breeze. The personalised schedule you can generate is invaluable; and on the odd occasion when I double-book myself, the flexibility the pass offers for amendments and cancellations is a very attractive feature indeed.”

Of course if 30 is too many for you and your friends, you can buy a Flexipass 20 for $270 + BF, bringing the price down to $13.50 per ticket – saving you $120 over 20 adult tickets.

A Sensational Summer of Cinema with St George Openair

Seriously, what better way for film fans to spend their sultry summer evenings than by enjoying this summer’s biggest blockbusters at Mrs Macquaries Point.

Tickets are now on sale for St George Open Air Cinema 2014, which runs from Jan 10 to Feb 15. You can book here: http://www.stgeorgeopenair.com.au

We’re looking forward to The Railway Man (with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman), Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (with Idris Elba who we love as Luther) and of course the stunning Aussie film, TRACKS, which is set to open the season on Jan 10.

 

 

 

 

First Look: Kill Me Three Times

WA Film Fans may have seen a few famous faces around the place recently, with the filming of Kill Me Three Times having only wrapped last month.

We’ve got the first image of Simon Pegg as his character Charlie Wolfe, and we look forward to bringing you more about this local film as it comes out.

KMTT_0426_Final copy

The plot:

KILL ME THREE TIMES takes place in a sundrenched Australian surfing town, where a young singer, portrayed by Alice Braga, is the thread that binds three tales of murder, blackmail and revenge. Simon Pegg plays a mercurial assassin, who is hired by her wealthy husband (Callan Mulvey), but there is more than one person gunning for her. Sullivan Stapleton has been cast as a gambling addict that attempts to pay off his debts through a risky life insurance scam, whilst Teresa Palmer plays a small town Lady Macbeth who masterminds the scheme. Bryan Brown, a corrupt cop, also tries to get his cut and Luke Hemsworth portrays Braga’s love interest, a local surfer who hopes to rescue the young woman from Pegg’s telescopic sights.

Hollywood Event Producer and Designer to headline Sydney’s Event Showcase

Organisers of Sydney’s Event Showcase have confirmed one of Hollywood’s leading event producers as their keynote speaker for their 2013 educational program, the Event Seminars.

Cheryl Cecchetto will draw from her 25 years at the top of events when she delivers her keynote seminar Keeping Events Fresh, Innovative and Unique – the Hollywood Way at Sydney’s Event Showcase.

The 90 minute presentation will reveal how, after years of experience, Cecchetto continues to raise the benchmark and set the standards for innovation and unrivalled production value. She will share her tips on successful and effective event production and describe how she and her team keep their ideas fresh and unique.

Cheryl Cecchetto, Founder and President of Sequoia Productions, is globally renowned in the world of event planning. Ms Cecchetto manages and directs prestigious events including G’DAY USA Australia Week (10 years), the Emmys® Governors Ball (16 years) and the Oscars® Governors Ball (24 years), in addition to regularly masterminding special events throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

Ms Cecchetto is very much looking forward to speaking at Sydney’s Event Showcase’s Event Seminars in August.

“I’ve been working on the G’Day USA Event in Los Angeles for 10 years, through which I have developed a love affair with all things Australian! I am very much looking forward to talking to the Australian event industry, meeting as many of my fellow event colleagues as possible and sharing some of my experiences.”

“I’ll be talking about some of my work, and how I believe the role of an event producer is to create experiences – ones that live on in the memory of the guest long after they have gone home, and more importantly, how to do that successfully year after year,” said Ms Cecchetto.

Karen Krieger, Event Director, Exhibitions and Trade Fairs said that Ms Cecchetto’s keynote will be a major drawcard for many event professionals.

“It isn’t often that we get to hear from one of the world’s best event producers in a face to face environment. Her experience is extraordinary and her passion unrivalled.

“Ms Cecchetto’s events are meticulously created and are designed to engage all five senses, leaving guests with memories they will cherish for a lifetime – I’m positive her seminar will deliver the same result. This is one definitely not to be missed,” said Ms Krieger.

Tickets to Cheryl Cecchetto’s Event Seminar: Keeping Events Fresh, Innovative and Unique – the Hollywood Way are strictly limited to delegates of Sydney’s Event Showcase 2013.

Buy tickets to Cheryl Cecchetto’s seminar: Keeping Events Fresh, Innovative and Unique – the Hollywood Way here.

Registrations are now OPEN!

Register to attend the Showcase for free here.

Register to attend the Australian Business Events Expo for free here.

Sydney’s Event Showcase, and co-located Australian Business Events Expo, will be held on the 14-15 August 2013 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Sydney Film Festival Announces 2013 Line-up

The 60th Sydney Film Festival program was officially launched today by NSW Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Hospitality and Racing and Minister for the Arts, The Hon. George Souris.

“The New South Wales Government, through Screen NSW and Destination NSW, is proud to support Sydney Film Festival, a much-loved part of the city’s arts and events calendar. Sydney Film Festival continues to provide filmmakers a wonderful opportunity to showcase their work, as well as boosting the State’s economy,” Minister Souris said.

SFF Festival Director Nashen Moodley said, “Opening with the World Premiere of a landmark Australian film, Ivan Sen’s Mystery Road, is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate just how far both the festival and the Australian film industry have come since 1954. Confident, mature, word-class and compelling – these are words that describe both this wonderful film and this extraordinary festival.

“Our 2013 program has more screenings of more films from more countries in more venues than even our record-breaking 2012 festival. We cover all tastes in film, with the peak best represented by our Official Competition films, made by some exciting new talents as well as masters of the form. Beyond the competition, feature and documentary programs, the 60th Sydney Film Festival features a focus on Austrian cinema, the best of British Noir, a good splattering of horror and some downright weird works that are bound to become future cult classics.”

This year SFF is proud to announce the 2013 festival is expanding its program, audience reach and accessibility to Sydneysiders. 38,000 additional seats will go on sale for festivalgoers to experience the best films from across Australia and around the world. Sydney’s North Shore residents can now more easily share the excitement with the addition of 23 screenings at the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Cremorne.

The program features 190 titles (19 world premieres, 5 international premieres, and 122 Australian premieres) from 55 countries at the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Opera Quays, the new screening location at the Hayden Orpheum Cremorne and Art Gallery of NSW. The Apple Store Sydney hosts a selection of free public talks; Grasshopper continues as the official festival lounge, open late for drinks and dinner; and SFFTV@Martin Place returns with a free giant outdoor screen showing a selection of SFF highlights plus fascinating shorts from Film Australia collection at the National Film and Sound Archive.

A few minutes’ walk from the Festival’s major venues, the Sydney Film Festival Hub at Lower Town Hall will return for a second year, celebrating the theme of Cinema, Reconstructed. Now open until midnight, the Hub offers an expanded line-up of FREE exhibitions, inspiring talks and panels, parties, performances, DJs and screenings throughout the Festival. It is the only place to buy $10 discount tickets for selected screenings, or take part in the new Film Club, daily from 5pm to 6pm, to share your festival experiences.

For the first time ever SFF screens films from Angola (Death Metal Angola, screening in our Sounds on Screen program); Bangladesh (Television, directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and awarded a Muhr AsiaAfrica special mention at the 2012 Dubai International Film Festival); North Korea (Comrade Kim Goes Flying); Malawi (William and the Windmill) winner of the Grand Jury Award for Documentary at SXSW; and Saudi Arabia (Wadjda directed by Saudi Arabia’s first-ever female filmmaker).

Among the 19 World Premieres at this year’s festival are two major Australian feature productions. Opening Night’s Mystery Road is an Outback-set murder mystery written, directed and edited by Ivan Sven (Beneath Clouds, Toomelah) and starring Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving, Jack Thompson, Ryan Kwanten, Damian Walshe-Howling, Tasma Walton, Zoe Carides and Samara Weaving. Then we welcome the psychological drama Nerve, a Sydney-based production directed by Sebastien Guy, starring a stellar cast of well-known and upcoming Australian actors including Gary Sweet, Christian Clark, Georgina Haig, Craig Hall, Andrea Demetriades, Denise Roberts and Cameron Daddo.

For more info visit SFF.org.au

New Australian Film Production Venture Secures Rights to International Best Seller ‘MICE’

Southern Light Alliance is the new production venture from acclaimed producer Timothy White (TWO HANDS, THE BOYS ARE BACK) of Southern Light Films and former film publicity and marketing specialist Anna Vincent.

The partnership was formed earlier this year and aims to develop Australian projects and international co-productions. SLA is based at the Adelaide Studios, South Australia, where Vincent resides. White will continue producing though his own company, Southern Light Films, which is based in Sydney and currently post-producing SON OF A GUN starring Ewan McGregor.

The first coup for SLA is their successful bid for the rights to the novel, MICE by British author Gordon Reece, partnering with Julie Ryan (RED DOG, TEN CANOES) of Cyan Films. Reece’s debut thriller has received worldwide acclaim and has been published in 17 countries and released in 12 languages.

“Tim White and I have worked together on several projects and saw a real benefit with setting up a production arm in South Australia,” said Vincent. “When Julie Ryan brought MICE to our attention we saw a great story with international appeal and were excited to outbid a European company to secure the rights.”

Author Gordon Reece said, “I’m thrilled MICE is in the hands of such a talented group of people – they’ve been behind some brilliant Australian movies and I’m sure they’re going to do an amazing job!”

As well as the UNTITLED PROJECT, based on the novel MICE, Southern Light Alliance are developing other projects. Tim White brings the Irish co-production PURSUIT to the partnership, and Anna Vincent brings Jane Austen adaptation EM which she has developed with Sydney-based writer/producer Matthew Dabner.

FOR MORE INFO VISIT: southernlightalliance.com and cyanfilms.com

World War Z excitement amps up

 

WWZ_TEASER_1-SHT copy

 

Last night, prior to the Star Trek preview, we got a taste of the upcoming World War Z. Visuals look amazing!
You can check out the first look featurette here: YouTube link: http://youtu.be/z5xx_XTBemE

The film is out in Australia June 20.

St Kilda Film Festival Celebrates 30 years!

The St Kilda Film Festival, Australia’s premier short film event will celebrate thirty years in 2013 with a bumper ten-day program launching on Thursday 23 May 2013.

A vital showcase for the Australian film industry, the St Kilda Film Festival’s 30th anniversary celebrations will include special screenings featuring unseen footage and Australia’s Top 100 short films in competition, alongside a rich program of music and international shorts, youth programs, filmmaker development series and industry networking events.

Last night the festival officially launched the 2013 program and announced the films to play on the prestigious Opening Night, the lineup includes;

30th Anniversary Screenings

Sad Dark Eyes ‘The Loved Ones’ (Prod. Peter Lamb, Garry Wapshott & Dir. Peter Lamb, Garry Wapshott)

Top 100 Program

Scratch (Prod. Sam Mieke, Rachael Turk & Dir. Danielle Bosenberg)

Death Of A Bogan (Prod. Nick Matthews, Craig Behenna, Tom Heuzenroeder & Dir. Nick Matthews)

Melbhattan (Prod. Oslo Davis & Dir. Oslo Davis)

Julian (Prod. Matthew Moore, Rob Jago & Dir. Matthew Moore)

Ruby (Prod. Summer DeRoche & Dir. Summer DeRoche)

Explosions (Prod. Christopher Frey & Dir. Christopher Frey)

SoundKILDA

Barbarion ‘My Rock’ (Prod. Carolyn Masel & Dir. Dave Budge)

SXSW

Hellion (Dir. Kat Candler & Prod. Kelly Williams)

For more information visit: http://www.stkildafilmfestival.com.au