Screen Machine

Feature

Festival Diary, Entry #2: Go Before You Come

A film festival is a curious time for the cinephile. The event (particularly in this cinematically dry city) is the most anticipated occasion of the calendar year. When it comes, life is put on hold for two full weeks – the highest priority is to absorb the audiovisual delights from the international film community. I find it a strange experience to anticipate pleasure; the hope of feeling repeatedly entranced by the moving image usually puts me in a weird mental state. For one, all bodily processes are ignored during the festival. The needs of the stomach must be sacrificed; dinner and lunch are scheduled around the festival timetable. I often won’t eat until 11pm. Our bladders and bowels have to quickly adapt; true cinephiles will not go to the toilet until the film is over. I find myself quickly exhausted from viewing so many films in such a short period of time. Like the relationship between the junkie and the dealer, the promise of a film to its viewer is not always a guaranteed good time. We subject ourselves over and over to reels of audiovisual stimulation waiting for that hit, that moment. Jean Epstein called it photogenie, Godard called it Nicholas Ray, Nicole Brenez calls it the undifferentiated night– whatever, but when it hits, we absorb it, take it in with a deep breath, and go back into the dark auditorium again and again until it hits us once more. The lines for MIFF still wrap around Russell, Flinders and… → continue reading

Reviews

MIFF ‘10: Primate (1974), To Die Like a Man, Cities on Speed

Conall Cash sheds light on Wiseman's 1974 doco on animal research, Alifeleti Brown reviews a transvestite drama and Jessie Scott is unimpressed by the second programme of Cities on Speed. → continue reading

MIFF ‘10: HaHaHa, Border, Beeswax, Cities on Speed

Conall Cash reviews Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo's latest, Alifeleti Brown sees a border conflict drama, Samantha Chater writes on the latest mumblecore film from Andrew Bujalski and Eloise Ross compares 2 parts from the Cities on Speed program. → continue reading

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