RUSSIAN RESURRECTION

Fade To Red

The Russian Resurrection film festival returns to Perth from Wednesday, September 8 to Wednesday, September 15, screening at both Cinema Paradiso and Innaloo Megaplex.

CAITLIN STASEY & DENIZ AKDENIZ

The Faces Of Tomorrow

Australian actors Caitlin Stasey and Deniz Akdeniz make their debut on the big screen this month in Tomorrow When The War Began. X-Press sat down with the actors before the film’s release to find out what went in to bringing their characters, Ellie and Homer, to life.

TAIKA WAITITI

Boy

Actor/director/writer/what-have-you Taika Waititi is in a playful mood when he takes our phone call, trying to convince us that we’re pronouncing his name wrong (for the record, it’s Tie-ka, not Tee-ah-ka, no matter what he tells you).

BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY

Get A (Bonus) Life

If you grew up with videogames you’ve probably had this experience: you’re heaving furniture into the back of a truck and you catch yourself thinking of Tetris, wishing you had a t-shaped block to finish off this damn row.

NOT THE MESSIAH
(HE’S A VERY NAUGHTY BOY)
The Full Monty

Celebrating 40 years of Monty Python madness, Not The Messiah (He’s A Very Naughty Boy) comes to Luna Leederville and Luna SX Fremantle direct from Royal Albert Hall, with two screenings only on Saturday, July 31, at 1pm and Sunday, August 1, at 5pm.

“It is rare you get to be silly on such a mass scale,” Eric Idle said when announcing his latest project, Not The Messiah (He’s A Very Naughty Boy).

ROBERT LIVINGS

Behind The Lens

It’s a strange and rare kind of ambition, or at least youthful audacity, which allows a young Perth filmmaker to connect with one of the most popular novelists in history.

SAMUEL BAYER

Ready Freddy

AUDI FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS

The Other Side Of History

The word ‘Germany’ is loaded with some serious baggage. Sixty five years after the end of the Second World War and 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germans still prefer to be identified by their region (Ich bin ein Berliner) or more broadly as European to starve off even the slightest insinuation of nationalism.

BRENDAN COWELL

Behind Beneath Hill 60

We hear it every time there’s a bushfire, flood, drought or any of the other threats that face us in this wide brown land, but as actor Brendan Cowell puts it; “Australians are pretty amazing people when they’re under pressure.”

BOLLYWOOD AND

BEYOND INDIAN

FILM FESTIVAL

Bollywood Bound

The Indian Film Festival is back for 2010, head to Luna Outdoor to go Bollywood And Beyond from Thursday, March 25, until Wednesday, April 17.

By now we all know that India’s ‘Bollywood’ film industry is the biggest producer of movies n the world outside of Hollywood itself. What’s great about the annual Indian Film Festival is that it offers those who only occasionally see an Indian film or even the mildly curious, the chance to sample what the country’s movie industry actually offers.

For Mitu Bhowmick Lange, creative director of Mind Blowing Films, the film company behind the 2010 Indian Film Festival, it is a chance to convey both the richness and reality of Indian cinema.

“We wanted to convey the variety and the versatile nature of our films,” she explains, “where there is something for everyone. Whether it’s a romantic, contemporary love story like Love Aaj Kal, or the tale of a renegade student of 3 Idiots, or the crime thriller of Kaminey.”

The festival caters for a general audience and but also ensures there is enough for aficionados of Indian cinema. It can be a tricky distinction.

“It is a bit hard but we were very clear that we wanted as many different genres as possible to showcase Bollywood,” says Bhowmick Lange. ”So we tried to find the balance between films that were commercially successful as well as critically acclaimed and got this great mixed bag.”

This year’s festival is replete with goodtime blockbusters, seductive romantic comedies and edge of your seat thrillers. Highlights for Bhowmick Lange are...

“3 Idiots, which is also the highest-grossing Bollywood film in history; Love Aaj Kal, which is a beautiful, very modern, love story; Dev D, a darker, edgier, more contemporary version of the eternal classic, Devdas; and Dil Bole Hadippa, which is a heartwarming tale of a girl who just wants to play cricket against all odds.”

For Bhowmick Lange, the hard programming work has resulted in a film roadshow that is again touring the country. What does she hope people take away from this year’s festival?

“I hope people will come and just have fun,” she says. “Bollywood is all about pure escapist entertainment that has something for everyone and has different wonderful stories to tell. That’s exactly what we hope people will take back from here.”

_ BOB GORDON

Tonight’s opening night event kicks off from 7pm, with the musical/romantic comedy, Dil Bole Hadippa (starring Bollywood Queen, Rani Mukherjee), plus a Bollywood themed evening of spectacular colourful dance and pulsating music. For bookings and full information head to lunapalace.com.au.