The BIFF starts in just over a week and I am soooo excited. No I am not talking about any kind of fighting. It's the 20th year of the Brisbane International Film Festival, a 10 day long haven for movie buffs. I've been going on and off for around 15 of those years and every year without fail I see something that amazes me and usually there is at least one movie that bores me or I openly dislike. The thing about the BIFF is that it showcases a whole bunch of movies that you haven't heard of and probably will never see anywhere else, but therein lies the fun of it! You take the risk that the movie you've been drawn in to see by one little paragraph you've read, turns out to be something totally different than you expected. And usually it is different, sometimes wonderful, sometimes not. It's a glorious experiment.
Last year I was completely sickened by one of the movies I saw and wanted to walk out but didn't (never have left a movie yet) but I actually wish I did. It's the worst movie I ever saw by a mile. But I've also seen some movies that have become deadset faves, and the great thing about the modern age is that you can usually find them on DVD somewhere in the world to be revisited with friends in the future. I really encourage everyone to try to attend at least 1 or 2 movies at the BIFF each year. Even if not something from the "world cinema" or "shock corridor" selections, even if just a local or arthouse movie having its premiere at the festival before it appears in our cinemas next year. Just get along and soak up the atmosphere. And make sure you participate in the BIFF tradition of rating the movies as you leave (tear the sheet against your rating) as they keep track and let you know at the end what were the most popular movies. For some reason they never seem to be the ones I go to, year in year out. I must pick wrong!
The website for the BIFF is http://www.biff.com.au/ - it contains a description of every movie that is being shown (except 1 which is being labelled a mystery movie - you just have to go with it) plus details of ticket options. Spend a bit of time exploring to see what you might be interested in. Or, if you have been liking my film reviews so far you may like the same movies as me, so the guide to what I'm seeing below might be of interest.
This year my eye has been caught by the categories of films from the "La Mirada" spanish language film festival, and the "Fantastic Fest" mini festival from the guy who directs the largest genre film festival in the United States (fantasy, horror, weird action movies). My initial list of movies I really wanted to see or were strong "maybes" ran to 27 this year! I've narrowed it down to about 20, so I need people to come and see 5 movies with me to make it worthwhile to get a "Take 25 Pass". Here's what I'm seeing - look these up on the site.
Opening Night: Attack the Block - cool UK genre film produced by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim) with BMX teens fighting off aliens attacking their council estate. Opening night party includes drinks and some BMX tricks!
Friday 4 Nov: Comic-Con Episode IV A Fan's Hope - doco on Comic-Con geeks could be the closest I get to the legendary sci-fi and fantasy convention.
Friday 4 Nov: Helldriver - totally OTT Japanese weirdness in store and the director will be doing an intro! The director made the crazy "Tokyo Gore Police" a few years back which we loved.
Saturday 5 Nov: Let the Bullets Fly - chop socky with Chow Yun Fat
Saturday 5 Nov: Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same - how can you go past that for the best movie title ever! B-grade awesomeness expected.
Saturday 5 Nov: Manborg - second best title of the festival, short but hopefully not sweet!
Sunday 6 Nov: Trailerpalooza + 50 Best Kills - this double bill pretty much does what it says on the packet.
Sunday 6 Nov: The Corridor - spooky cabin in the woods goings on?
Tuesday 8 Nov: The Zero Hour - Venezualan crime thriller intensity.
Tues 8 Nov: See How they Fall - French thriller
Wed 9 Nov: Revenge: A Love Story - violent Hong Kong genre cinema
Wed 9 Nov: Cronos - the directorial debut of Guillermo del Toro, who you may know from such classics as Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy. Where it all began for him, a vampire story.
Thurs 10 Nov: Penumbra - Argentinian creepiness, another pick from the Fantastic Fest section.
Friday 11 Nov: Medianeras - a romantic comedy set in Buenos Aires.
Friday 11 Nov: Cairo 678 - Egyptian drama highlighting the level of sexual harrassment experienced by women in that country. Not a doco.
Sat 12 Nov: Another Earth - what if there was another planet like Earth where your exact duplicate lived? The guide refers to this as a redemptive drama and low-tech science fiction.
Sat 12 Nov: Tribal Cinema Trivia Night - I'm hoping I can make it along to this trivia night starting at 6pm and get a team together. However I have tickets to a concert that night so depending on the start time of that I may not be able to make it.
Sun 13 Nov: Policeman - should be a gripping look at the racial and class tensions in Israel via this cop drama.
Sun 13 Nov: TrollHunter - Norwegian fake doco in which film students following a guy on a bear hunt realise he's not really hunting bears, he's hunting trolls. Could be very weird and interesting.
Let me know if any of these interest you and you want company. Most movies have at least 2 screenings so if these dates/times don't appeal it may be on at a more convenient time. Best thing to do is grab a hard copy of the guide which should be available at the BIFF box office at the old Regent Cinema site in the mall. Wish the Regent was still with us, as traipsing around the Palace Barracks and Centro cinemas, plus Tribal Cinema, is a bit of a pain.
So yeah and after that I'm gonna be totally movie-d out for a while so don't expect any other film reviews around that time! Last year I think I saw 9 or 10 so this will be a big task.
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