Melbourne International Film Festival makes first line-up announcement
The Melbourne International Film Festival has announced its first 30 films.
Joining the The Sapphires, already announced as the opening night film, two Australian thrillers have been selected in the feature film section.
The directorial debut by the Colin and Cameron Cairnes, 100 Bloody Acres, is a gruesome comedy starring Angus Sampson and Damon Herriman.
Last Dance, by first-time director David Pulbrook, editor of The Cup and Hotel Sorrento, tells of the fallout of a terrorist attack on a synagogue by surviving bomber Sadiq Mohammad, played by Underbelly’s Firass Dirani as he seeks shelter in the house of holocaust survivor Ulah Lippman, played by Julia Blake.
Joining the Australian films are Sundance and Cannes winner Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitlin and Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom.
In the documentary section Paul Kelly: Stories of Me, about Australian musician Paul Kelly while Make Hummus Not War, tries to answer which nationality – Lebanon, Israel or Palestine – invented the chick-pea based dip. They are accompanied by LCD Soundsystem documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits and This Ain’t California about 1980s East German skateboarders.
Yardbird, by Michael Spiccia, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, will screen in the short film section alongside Disney short film Paperman and The Man that Got Away.
The festival runs from 2-19 August. The full program will be announced on 11 July.
topics
100 Bloody Acres
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Last Dance
Michael Spiccia
Moonrise Kingdom
Paul Kelly
The Sapphires
Yardbird
